By Aaron Spray
Washington seems to have conflicting ideas on whether to approve, slash, or increase the number of F-35s the DoD has requested.
Summary
- Frustration grows over Lockheed Martin's F-35 woes; debate in Washington on purchase numbers.
- Senate NDAA would leave DoD's planned purchase of 68 F-35 jets unchanged.
- House NDAA seeks to trim F-35 jets order to 58; adds precondition for 10 jets if issues not resolved.
Growing frustration over Lockheed Martin's woes is apparently showing in different defense bills with different purchase numbers of F-35s for 2025. The Technology Refresh 3 upgrade has caused around 100 F-35s to be rejected for delivery and are being stored at Lockheed facilities. While the problems are expected to be solved, it will likely take a year to clear them. There appears to be a debate in Washington about how many F-35s to purchase. At some point, a decision about how many to acquire will need to be taken.
Senate NDAA approved DoD's request
As written, the Senate's proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would leave the DoD's planned purchase of 68 F-35 fighter jets unchanged. The NDAA is still a draft and was unveiled on Friday. The US Air Force has requested to purchase 42 F-35As in Fiscal Year 2025, while the Navy wishes to purchase 13 F-35Cs, and the Marine Corps wants F-35Bs.
Photo: Lockheed Martin | Flickr
DoD request | Senate NDAA | House NDAA | Appropriations Committee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
F-35As (Air Force) | 42 | 42 | unclear | 44 |
F-35Bs (Marine Corps) | 13 | 13 | unclear | 13 |
F-35Cs (Navy) | 13 | 13 | unclear | 19 |
Total: | 68 | 68 | 58 | 76 |
The Air Force also wants to procure 18 F-15EX Eagle IIs. However, the NDAA rejects the Air Force's proposal to divest 26 F-15Es and 32 Block 20 F-22 Raptors. The Senate NDAA also permits the Air Force to divest the requested amount of aging A-10 Warthogs, F-15C/Ds, and F-16s.
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House NDAA reduces DoD's request
The House has its own version of the NDAA, and this draft seeks to cut the number to 58. That act passed its reading on Friday. But not only does the House NDAA trim the jets to 58, but it also adds a precondition for 10 of those jets. Defense News states,
"The Pentagon can only accept the delivery of 10 of the jets when the defense secretary certifies to the lawmakers that several problems with the F-35 are fixed."
Photo: Lockheed Martin | Flickr
F-35 by the numbers (per F-35.com) | |
|---|---|
Number delivered: | 990+ |
Number assembled: | 1000+ (approx. 100 undelivered due to issues) |
Flight hours: | 860,000 |
Pilots: | 2,460+ |
Maintainers: | 16,290+ |
If this act is adopted in its current form, the Pentagon will only receive 48 jets next year. The aim of the NDAA would be to reinvest around $1 billion to fix the issues.
Washington is growing impatient with delays caused by the Technology Refresh 3 upgrades. These upgrades give the jet improved computer memory, processing power, and displays. However, delays and issues with the upgrade mean the Pentagon has not accepted any of the jets with the upgrade since July 2023.
Photo: VanderWolf Images l Shutterstock
The House NDAA also blocks the Air Force from retiring any F-22s while pausing the retirement of F-15Es.
House Appropriations Bill increases DoD's request
Defense News has noted that the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee's draft spending bill goes the other way. Instead of approving or cutting the DoD's proposed order, it would add another eight jets to the order. The draft bill adds two more F-35As for the Air Force, bringing the number to 44, and another 6 F-35Cs, bringing the Navy's jets to 19. The number of jets the Marines are to receive would remain the same. That is a total of 76 jets.
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A shrinking air force
The Air Force requested to divest 250 aircraft in Fiscal Year 2025 and procure 121 aircraft, which would shrink the Air Force to below 5,000 aircraft (sparking concerns as the Chinese Air Force grows). At least 58 of the requested divestments (F-15Es and F-22s) have been rejected by the Senate's NDAA.
In all, the US Air Force currently has around 5,189 aircraft, including trainers and UAVs, or around 4,000 excluding trainers and UAVs. The force has around 1,217 4/4.5-generation fighters (F-16s and F-15s) and around 294 5th-generation fighters (F-22s and F-35As). That said, the DoD has more than one "air force" as the Navy and Marine Corps operate around 3,308 aircraft together.
US Air Force | |
|---|---|
Current inventory: | 5,189 |
Fighter jets: | F-16s, F-15s, F-22, F-35As |
Attack aircraft: | A-10, AC-130 |
Bombers: | B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-21 Raider |
Ranking: | #1 |
The Air Force is expected to continue to shrink in the future. While over 1,700 F-35s are planned to eventually be purchased by the DoD (for all three service branches operating them), only a few hundred next-generation NGAD fighters will likely be procured (by the Air Force).
It is suggested that only around 200 6th-generation NGAD fighters will be purchased by the Air Force. However, to make up for the loss in mass, the Air Force is developing a loyal wingman drone called the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The NGAD program is expected to be a system of systems and a massive leap over today's aircraft. It is expected to replace the F-22 Raptor and the F-15 family and complement the F-35 stealth fighter.
Photo: 2nd Lt. Mary Begy | 507th Air Refueling Wing | US Air Force
The Navy has parted ways with the Air Force's NGAD program and is developing its own jet with the same acronym. To prevent confusion, the Navy's aircraft are typically called the F/A-XX program. It is unclear how many manned F/A-XX aircraft the Navy plans to purchase.
