List of active United States Air Force aircraft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of currently active military aircraft in the United States Air Force.
Aircraft
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter aircraft (1,794) | |||||
| McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle | United States | air superiority | F-15C Eagle | 42[1] | 75 F-15C/D total force as of September 2025[2]
42 F-15C - Air National Guard |
| McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle | multirole | 203 | 208 F-15E total force as of March 2026
203 F-15E - Active 5 F-15E - Shot down over Iran/destroyed in the Middle East due to Iranian missile and drone bombardment (203 active aircraft remaining)[3] | ||
| Boeing F-15EX Eagle II | 27 | 13 F-15EX total force as of September 2025[2]
6 F-15EX - Active 21 F-15EX - Air National Guard (268 units planned)[4] | |||
| General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon | F-16C Fighting Falcon | 814 | 814 F-16C total force as of September 2024[5]
400 F-16C - Active 257 F-16C - Air National Guard | ||
| Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor | stealth air superiority | F-22A | 183 | 183 F-22A total force as of September 2024[5]
163 F-22A - Active 20 F-22A - Air National Guard | |
| Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II | stealth multirole | F-35A Lightning II | 525 | 525 F-35A total force as of May 2026[5] (USAF Visual in May 2025 indicates 471 aircraft)[6]
400 F-35A - Active 43 - Air National Guard (program of record of 1,763 aircraft), between 161 and 189 aircraft on order[7] | |
| Attack aircraft (208) | |||||
| L3Harris OA-1 Skyraider II | United States | CAS / Reconnaissance | OA-1K | 8 | 8 OA-1K total as of 2026
8 OA-1K – SOC support |
| Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II | ground attack / CAS | A-10C Thunderbolt II | 170 | 172 A-10C total force as of September 2024[5]
139 A-10C - Active 31 A-10C - Air National Guard 2 A-10C - Shot down over Iran[8] | |
| Lockheed AC-130 | ground attack / CAS | AC-130J | 30 | 30 AC-130J total force as of September 2024[5]
30 AC-130J - Active | |
| Bomber (142) | |||||
| Rockwell B-1 Lancer | United States | strategic bomber | B-1B | 46 | 46 B-1B total force as of September 2024[5]
46 B-1B - Active |
| Northrop B-2 Spirit | strategic stealth bomber | B-2A | 20 | 20 B-2A total force as of September 2024[5]
18 B-2A - Active | |
| Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider | B-21A | 2 | 2 Raiders currently in service, testing at Edwards Air Force Base CA.
A minimum of 100 B-21A must be made. | ||
| Boeing B-52 Stratofortress | strategic bomber | B-52H | 75 | 75 B-52H total force as of September 2024[5]
57 B-52H - Active 18 B-52H - Reserve | |
| AWACS (25) | |||||
| Boeing E-3 Sentry | United States | AWACS | E-3G Sentry | 13 | 13 E-3G total force as of September 2026 (USAF Almanac).[9][10]
19 E-3G operational (WAF 2025).[11] 1 E-3G destroyed at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia due to an Iranian ballistic missile strike.[12] |
| Boeing E-4 | command and control | E-4B | 4 | 4 E-4B as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
4 E-4B operational (WAF 2025).[11] | |
| De Havilland Canada E-9A Widget | Canada | SIGINT / ELINT | E-9A | 2 | 2 E-9A as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9] |
| Bombardier E-11A | command and control / BACN | E-11A | 5 | 5 E-11A as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
6 E-11A operational, 4 on order (WAF 2025).[11] | |
| Electronic Warfare (14) | |||||
| L3Harris EA-37B Compass Call | United States | SIGINT / PSYOP / attack | EA-37B | 3 | 3 EC-37B operational, 7 on order (WAF 2025).[11] |
| Reconnaissance | |||||
| CASA/IPTN CN-235 | Spain/Indonesia | SIGINT / ELINT | 5[13] | ||
| L3Harris OA-1K Skyraider II | United States | armed reconnaissance | 3[14] | ||
| De Havilland Canada P-9 Pale Ale | Canada | Maritime patrol | P-9A | ~4 | Approx. 4 P-9A total force as of February 2023 (Air Combat Command).[9] |
| Boeing RC-135 | United States | ELINT / surveillance | S/U/V/W | 22[13] | The breakdown is as follows: 1 RC-135S Cobra Ball, 2 RC-135U Combat Sent, 1 RC-135V Rivet Joint, 18 RC-135W Rivet Joint. |
| Lockheed U-2 | high altitude reconnaissance | U-2S | 27 | 27 U-2S as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
24 U-2S operational (WAF 2025).[11] Trainer aircraft listed separately. | |
| Pilatus U-28 Draco | Switzerland | ISR / SIGINT | U-28A | 26[13] | Special Operations Surveillance aircraft. |
| Tanker | |||||
| Boeing KC-46 Pegasus | United States | aerial refueling | KC-46A | 107 | 107 KC-46A total force as of September 2026[5]
58 KC-46A - Active 19 KC-46A - Air National Guard |
| Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker | KC-135R/T | 314 | 325 KC-135R / 51 KC-135T total force as of September 2024[5]
123 KC-135R / 28 KC-135T - Active 140 KC-135R / 23 KC-135T - Air National Guard | ||
| Lockheed HC-130J Super Hercules | SAR / transport / tanker | 39 | 39 total force as of September 2024[5]
21 HC-130J - Active 12 HC-130J - Air National Guard 6 HC-130J - Reserve | ||
| Lockheed MC-130J Commando II | EW / transport / tanker | 62 | 62 MC-130J total force as of September 2024[5]
60 MC-130J - Active 2 MC-130J - Air National Guard | ||
| Transport | |||||
| Lockheed C-5 Galaxy | United States | strategic airlifter | C-5M | 52[13] | |
| Beechcraft C-12 Huron | utility / transport | 23[13] | |||
| Beechcraft C-12J | transport | C-12J | 3[13] | ||
| Boeing C-17 Globemaster III | strategic airlifter | 196 | 222 C-17A total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
146 C-17A - Active 50 C-17A - Air National Guard 196 C-17A operational (WAF 2025).[11] | ||
| Learjet C-21A | VIP transport | C-21A | 19[13] | ||
| Boeing C-32 | 4[13] | ||||
| Gulfstream C-37A/B | C-37A C-37B |
13[15] | The breakdown is 12 C-37As and one C-37B (based on the Gulfstream G550). | ||
| Boeing C-40 Clipper | C-40B/C | 12[16] | The breakdown is four C-40Bs (USAF) and seven C-40Cs (4-USAFR, 3-DC ANG). | ||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | transport | C-130H | 91 | 91 C-130H total force as of September 2024[5]
0 C-130H - Active 91 C-130H - Air National Guard | |
| Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules | tactical airlifter | C-130J | 142 | 142 C-130J total force as of September 2024[5]
102 C-130J - Active 40 C-130J - Air National Guard
| |
| Dornier C-146 Wolfhound | Germany | transport | C-146A | 20[13] | |
| Cessna U-27A Caravan | United States | transport / utility | 2[13] | ||
| de Havilland Canada UV-18B Twin Otter | Canada | utility transport | 3[14] | STOL capable aircraft. Supports parachute training for USAFA and AFROTC Cadets. | |
| Boeing VC-25A | United States | Presidential transport | 2[16] | ||
| Boeing VC-25B Bridge | 1 | Currently less equipped for safety compared to the VC-25A, but based on more modern Boeing 747-8 airframe. Shares responsibility with the VC-25A, primarily used for low-threat domestic flights. | |||
| Helicopter | |||||
| Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk | United States | CSAR | HH-60GW | 47 | 47 HH-60W total force as of September 2024[5]
32 HH-60W - Active 15 HH-60W - Air National Guard |
| Boeing MH-139A Grey Wolf | Italy | utility | MH-139 | 8 | 8 MH-139 total force as of September 2024[5]
8 MH-139 - Active (Maximum order volume of 79 aircraft) |
| Bell UH-1N Twin Huey | United States | 63 | 63 UH-1N total force as of September 2024[5] | ||
| Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey | CSAR | CV-22B | 52 | 52 CV-22B total force as of September 2024[5]
52 CV-22B - Active | |
| Trainers | |||||
| Embraer A-29 Super Tucano | Brazil | assessment trainer | A-29C | 3[13] | |
| Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk | United States | trainer | 4[13] | stealth OPFOR trainer | |
| General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon | F-16D | 134 | 136 F-16D total force as of September 2024[5]
98 F-16D - Active 36 F-16D - Air National Guard | ||
| McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle | F-15D | 24 | 12 F-15D total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
1 F-15D - Active 11 F-15D - Air National Guard 17 F-15D operational (WAF 2025).[11] | ||
| Grob G 120TP | Germany | basic trainer | 2[13] | contracted by JPAG Aviation | |
| Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk | United States | multi-engine trainer | T-1A | 127 | 127 T-1A total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
98 T-6A operational (WAF 2025).[11] |
| Beechcraft T-6 Texan II | advanced trainer | T-6A | 442 | 442 T-6A total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
442 T-6A operational (WAF 2025).[11] | |
| Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk | T-7A | 351 units (maximum number of units planned for deployment) | Of these, one unit is deployed and the remaining 350 units are on order.[13] | ||
| Northrop T-38 Talon | jet trainer | T-38A/C | 495 | 495 T-38A / T-38C / AT-38B total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
52 T-38A / 6 AT-38B / 437 T-38C - Active 485 C-17A operational (WAF 2025).[11] | |
| Cessna T-41 Mescalero | basic trainer | T-41D | 4 | 4 total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9] | |
| Cessna T-51 | T-51A | 3 | 3 total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9] | ||
| Cirrus T-53A Kadet II | T-53A | 24 | 24 T-53A total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
25 T-53A operational (WAF 2025).[11] | ||
| TG-16 | Germany | TG-16A | 18 | 17 TG-16A total force as of November 2025. | |
| Boeing TC-135 | United States | multi-engine trainer | TC-135W | 3 | 3 TC-135W total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
3 TC-135W operational (WAF 2025).[11] |
| Bell TH-1 Iroquois | rotorcraft trainer | UH-1H | 28 | 28 UH-1H total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
39 T-53A operational (WAF 2025).[11] | |
| Lockheed TU-2 | high altitude reconnaissance trainer | TU-2S | 4 | 4 TU-2S total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9]
3 TU-2S operational (WAF 2025).[11] | |
| UAV | |||||
| General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper | United States | multi-mission | MQ-9A | 135 | 135 MQ-9A total force as of May 2026[5]
114 MQ-9A - Active 21 MQ-9A - Air National Guard |
| General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle | MQ-1C | 204 | |||
| Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk | ISTAR / SIGINT | RQ-4B | 9 | 9 RQ-4B total force as of September 2023 (USAF Almanac).[9] | |
| AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven | ISR | RQ-11B | 3,000[17] | ||
| AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma | RQ-20B | 60[18] | Puma 3 AE variant is on order[19][20] | ||
| Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel | ISTAR / SIGINT | 20[21][22] | |||
Images
An AC-130J of the 4th Special Operations Squadron flies over Kansas in 2023.
An F-15C Eagle flies over Japan in 2019
An F-15EX from the 40th Test Flight Squadron flies over Florida in 2023
An F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron
An F-16C over Iraq in 2008
An F-22A Raptor flies over Andrews Air Force Base during an airshow in 2008
An F-35A in flight
A USAF B-52 bomber
A B-1B in flight over Afghanistan
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flies over the Pacific Ocean
An E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft
One of 4 E-4B Nightwatch airborne command posts
A new E-11 aircraft being rolled out in 2018
A C-146A Wolfhound taking off
A C-17A Globemaster III taking off from Ramstein Air Base
A VC-25 Air Force One with landing gear down
The MH-139A Grey Wolf replacement for the Bell UH-1N
A CV-22 Osprey over RIAT in 2015
A T-38 Talon over Edwards AFB
An MQ-9 Reaper flies over Southern Afghanistan, 2008
KC-135 Refueling F-16s
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See also
- Future military aircraft of the United States
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of U.S. DoD aircraft designations
- List of currently active United States naval aircraft
- List of United States Air Force squadrons
- List of active U.S. Air Force aircraft squadrons
- UAVs in the U.S. military