The ability to control the air allows for the speed, range, and elevation it provides. The US Air Force, with its 689,000 total personnel and nearly 5,500 active aircraft, is constantly seeking to maintain a competitive advantage against its rivals. Consistently innovating technology and keeping its assets up-to-date is the way to support its five core functions: air superiority, global strike, rapid global mobility, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and command and control. The main competitive advantage the United States has over the rest of the world militarily is its Air Force, which constantly adds to its fleet.
In 2024 alone, the entire US military has over 3,900 military aircraft and helicopters on order. Most of these are combat aircraft, but there are a few tankers, transports, and special aircraft mixed in. Whether the United States is looking to improve its combat capabilities or logistics, it is by far the world’s largest purchaser of military aircraft.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry publication, to identify every aircraft on order for the U.S. military. We ranked these aircraft by how many are on order. We also included supplemental data on the type of aircraft, military branches with aircraft in service, and how many of these aircraft are in active service.
The F-35 Lightning II ranks at the top of this list, with over 1,800 aircraft on order. This order would complement the already 376 F-35 aircraft in service. The Lightning II comes in a couple of variations with different capabilities depending on which military branch they are going to.
The cost for the F-35 ranges depending on the variant. The F-35A is the stock standard variant and costs roughly $110 million per unit. The B variant costs slightly more at around $136 million per unit but it incorporates a short take-off and vertical landing system, which allows it to take off from extremely short runways as well as land vertically. The C variant is designed to be launched from aircraft carriers and costs about $117 million per unit.
Separate from the F-35 Lightning II, the US Armed Forces are ordering a series of AH-64 Apache and S-70 Black Hawk helicopters to fill combat and support roles. Tankers and transports are not being ordered as much as the F-35 or S-70 Black Hawk, but they fill important logistical roles as well.
Why Is This Important?
The United States military, as with all militaries worldwide, seeks to maintain its aircraft fleet to support operations and meet its present and future defense needs. The fleet is constantly refreshed and updated, including fighter jets, bombers, tankers, command and control aircraft, and helicopters.
Here is every U.S. military aircraft on order.
24. Citation Encore/Sovereign/Ultra
- Aircraft on order: 2
- Active aircraft: 10
- Type of aircraft: Transport
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Marine Corps
23. Global Express (E-11A) (Comms)
- Aircraft on order: 4
- Active aircraft: 7
- Type of aircraft: Special mission
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
22. G550 (EC-37B) (SIGINT)
- Aircraft on order: 9
- Active aircraft: 1
- Type of aircraft: Special mission
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
21. AH-64D/E
- Aircraft on order: 15
- Active aircraft: 824
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army
20. E-2C/D (AEW)
- Aircraft on order: 25
- Active aircraft: 83
- Type of aircraft: Special mission
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy
19. T-6A/B/C
- Aircraft on order: 29
- Active aircraft: 294
- Type of aircraft: Training aircraft/helicopters
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy
18. H145 (UH-72A/B)
- Aircraft on order: 30
- Active aircraft: 391
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army
17. 737 (E-7A) (AEW)
- Aircraft on order: 36
- Active aircraft: 118
- Type of aircraft: Special mission
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Navy
16. C-130J
- Aircraft on order: 51
- Active aircraft: 338
- Type of aircraft: Special mission, transport, tanker
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps
15. CH-47D/F/MH-47G
- Aircraft on order: 57
- Active aircraft: 510
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army
14. King Air 90/200/250/350
- Aircraft on order: 66
- Active aircraft: 71
- Type of aircraft: Transport, training aircraft/helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy, United States Marine Corps
13. CV/MV-22
- Aircraft on order: 69
- Active aircraft: 367
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps
12. AW119 (TH-73A)
- Aircraft on order: 71
- Active aircraft: 59
- Type of aircraft: Training aircraft/helicopters
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy
11. AT-802U
- Aircraft on order: 73
- Active aircraft: 0
- Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
10. MD500 (AH/MH-6)
- Aircraft on order: 74
- Active aircraft: 47
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army
9. F/A-18E/F
- Aircraft on order: 76
- Active aircraft: 421
- Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy
8. AW139 (MH-139)
- Aircraft on order: 78
- Active aircraft: 4
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
7. 767 (KC-46A)
- Aircraft on order: 99
- Active aircraft: 72
- Type of aircraft: Tanker
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
6. B-21
- Aircraft on order: 100
- Active aircraft: 0
- Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
5. F-15C/E/EX
- Aircraft on order: 102
- Active aircraft: 377
- Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
4. CH-53K
- Aircraft on order: 193
- Active aircraft: 11
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Marine Corps
3. T-7A
- Aircraft on order: 350
- Active aircraft: 1
- Type of aircraft: Training aircraft/helicopters
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force
2. S-70
- Aircraft on order: 455
- Active aircraft: 2,849
- Type of aircraft: Combat helicopter
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army, United States Air Force, United States Navy
1. F-35 A/B/C
- Aircraft on order: 1,855
- Active aircraft: 376
- Type of aircraft: Combat aircraft
- Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps
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