The Flamingo Wing Association
A VC-25B Bridge aircraft taxis on a runway after landing at Waco, Texas. The aircraft recently completed modification and flight-testing phases, entering maintenance to be painted in red, white, gold and blue livery. The program remains on schedule to deliver the Bridge aircraft to the Presidential Airlift Group no later than summer 2026. (Courtesy Photo)
The Air Force is more than doubling the planned size of its new F-15EX Eagle II fleet, increasing the number of fighters it aims to buy from 129 to 267.
An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the new purchase plan to Air & Space Forces Magazine and said it includes the 24 F-15EXs the service plans to buy in fiscal 2027. The new fleet total was first reported by Breaking Defense.
“This will complete building existing F-15EX units and then begin to recapitalize the aging F-15E fleet,” the spokesperson said.
There are currently about 25 EXs in the Air Force inventory, and the service has agreed on contracts with Boeing for more than 100 of the fighters, which are upgraded versions of the F-15 that feature advanced avionics, fly-by-wire controls, and improved electronic warfare capabilities.
In an April 21 budget briefing with reporters at the Pentagon, Air Force officials said the service needs to buy both the F-15EX along with the F-35A, because their different capabilities work together to balance out the fighter portfolio.
“There are fundamental differences in what we’re looking for in a platform like the F-15EX, as compared to other advanced fifth-generation and sixth-generation fighters,” an official said. “And when you break down the specifics of what that airplane can do, in its specific carriage capability, is the number of [weapons] rails that it has, and its role in the Pacific theater, there is a specific need for it. It’s about a balanced portfolio in order to meet combatant command and joint service requirements.”
The new goal of buying 267 jets is a dramatic increase after multiple tweaks to the purchase plan in recent years:
To date, the Air Force has bought the F-15EX to replace to replace older F-15C and D models, many of which have been flying since the 1980s, as well as the A-10.
But buying an additional 138 EXs to get to a fleet of 267 would allow the Air Force to make significant headway in retiring the F-15E Strike Eagle too—the service currently has 216 F-15Es in its inventory and previously outlined plans to retire all but 99 of them, keeping only E models with the newer F100-PW-229 engines.
The expanded buy could also help the Air Force hit its goal of buying at least 72 new fighters each year. Officials say they need at least that many aircraft to reverse the long-term trend of the fighter fleet getting older and smaller over time.
The Air Force’s 2027 budget request would buy 62 new fighters, including 38 F-35As and 24 F-15EXs. In 2026, it is buying just 24 F-35s and 22 F-15EXs.
Archive: F-16C 93-0682 Turkish Air Force | Rob VogelaarIn Turkey, a Turkish Air Force jet crashed near a highway in the western part of the country after losing radio and radar contact shortly after takeoff from the 9th Main Jet Base in Balikesir province. Local officials confirmed the pilot did not survive the impact. Meanwhile, a Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) F-16C assigned to the Chungju base went down in a mountainous region near Yeongju. In the South Korean incident, the pilot successfully used the ejection seat and was recovered safely, with no reported damage to civilian property on the ground.
A Kazakhstan Air Force Sukhoi SU-30SM fighter jet crashed on February 25, 2026, during a training flight in the Karaganda Region near the city of Balkhash, according to statements from Kazakhstan media citing the country’s Ministry of Defense.
The crew ejected in time and survived, according to reports.
AURORA, Colorado—The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have reached an agreement to increase production capacity of the B-21, bolstered by billions in additional funding provided by last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced the agreement on Feb. 23, saying that industry across the board has increased its production capacity—but not enough.
“No as fast as we need and want, but faster than they had,” Meink said in an address at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here. “The B-21 is doing well, and we recently reached an agreement to ramp production capacity.”
In a subsequent announcement, the Air Force laid out the long-awaited production capacity increase. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act included $4.5 billion in funding to increase production, along with Northrop Grumman announcing up to $3 billion of its own funding for production.
The agreement would increase annual capacity by 25%, though the Air Force did not specify an exact production rate. The exact pace is classified, though understood to be up to eight aircraft per year. The Air Force also said the agreement would compress delivery timelines and preserve “cost and performance discipline.”
The Air Force and Northrop Grumman said the program is on pace to deliver aircraft to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, in 2027. Two flight test aircraft have been delivered, with additional aircraft undergoing ground testing. Two flight test aircraft are in assembly.
“The strong performance of the B-21 program has our Northrop Grumman and Air Force team ready to accelerate production of this game-changing capability for our nation,” Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden said in an announcement. “Northrop Grumman has invested more than $5 billion in digital engineering and manufacturing infrastructure, and we are ready to produce B-21 faster.”
Warden had said on Feb. 18 that the agreement had been expected in March, indicating an accelerated process to make the announcement at the symposium.
The Air Force has a program of record for 100 B-21s, but key leaders have called for at least 150 of the bombers.
Photo / Image : East-coast-based U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) perform a high-altitude low-opening jump during bilateral tr...
