U.S. Leads World with Largest Active F-35 Lightning II Fleet Surpassing 350 Units

On July 12, 2025, two F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets arrived at Okinawa’s Kadena Air Base. The American Air Force’s newest jets are part of a “Resolute Force Pacific 2025” training exercise. These top-of-the-line craft are designed to replace the older F-15C/Ds, delivering stealth avionics, increased payload flexibility, and hypersonic missile capabilities. Deployment to the Pacific region is a significant show of force aimed at China, communicating military power and highlighting a union with Japan and South Korea. Such state-of-the-art aircraft may be an excellent deterrent to Chinese advancement in the region.

U.S. military aircraft serve different functions: combat, surveillance, logistical support, search and rescue. To continue asserting itself as a global military force, the U.S. heavily invests in its air force. Its aircraft fleet is incredibly diverse. Out of all combat aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II is one of the most recent to enter service. With over 350 units in service, the F-35 forms the backbone of American military air dominance strategy.

Accordingly, the U.S. has built an incredibly diverse fleet of aircraft. Out of all the combat aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II is one of the most recent to enter service. With over 350 units in service, the F-35 forms the backbone of the military’s air dominance strategy. This advanced multirole fighter, developed by Lockheed Martin, combines stealth capabilities, advanced sensors, and networking technology, making it an indispensable tool for maintaining military superiority. (These are the oldest and newest fighter jets in modern air forces.)

The U.S. also employs aircraft like the C-130 Hercules and E-3 Sentry. While these do not serve in combat, they provide incredibly crucial support for U.S. military needs. The C-130 Hercules, with hundreds of units in service, remains the workhorse for mobility and transport in the U.S. military. It also takes on a few different variants across branches. The E-3 Sentry is an airborne early warning and control aircraft, providing critical surveillance and command-and-control capabilities.

24/7 Wall St. referenced the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website, to identify all of the planes in active service in the U.S. military. We ranked aircraft by the number of units in active service. We excluded all trainer aircraft and helicopters and all aircraft from the Coast Guard. Supplemental data regarding the type of aircraft, how many are in active service, and how many are on order also came from FlightGlobal.

This post was updated on July 22, 2025 to include news of America’s elite fighter jets landing in Japan.

Why We’re Covering This

Angola military aircraft | Fighter jet at the runway

Looking at the scope of U.S. military aircraft provides a better understanding of where the country’s strategic and defense priorities sit. The number of certain active aircraft also show how ready the military is for other tactical or logistical missions. By seeing how many active U.S. military planes are in service, 24/7 Wall St. also gives you the knowledge to situate U.S. military capabilities in the larger global landscape.