The number of United States military aircraft has reached more than 13,000
units. That's the highest number in the world since World War II ended.
These combat assets are also one of the main supporters of America's
superiority over other countries that are considered enemies.
According to a Defense View review, Tuesday (18/1/2022) Flight Global
magazine recently published a report entitled "World Air Force directory
2022". According to data provided by the magazine, the number of US
military aircraft is 13,246 units.
That number is 25 percent of the total military aircraft worldwide. Russia
has 4,173 units or 8 percent, China has 3,285 units or 6 percent, India
has 2,182 units or 4 percent, South Korea has 1,595 units or 3 percent,
Japan has 1,449 units or 3 percent and others are owned by Pakistan,
Egypt, Turkey, France and etc.
Just for additional information, US air power is divided into two parts;
Air Force and Air National Guard.
Although the two are two different organizations in terms of names, there
is no significant difference between the Air Force and the US Air National
Guard in actual operation, so the statistics released cover the equipment
of both organizations.
USAF Operational Fighter Jets By the end of 2021, the US Air Force or USAF
will be equipped with four fighter jets, including two stealth fighters;
F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, and two non-stealth fighters; F-15 and
F-16. A total of 187 F022 fighter jets have been produced, but 5 of them
have crashed within decades of service. The number that is active or
operational is 182 units.
By the end of 2021, the USAF had received 302 F-35A fighter jets, and the
total number of two stealth fighters to 484.
As a fourth-generation aircraft, the first F-15s were air superior
fighters, but the US Air Force's F15A/Bs have all been retired. Currently,
what remains are the upgraded F-15C/D and F-15E dual mission fighters, and
the newly developed F-15EX is in service with 2 aircraft. By the end of
2021, the US Air Force had 237 F-15s.
Furthermore, the F-16 is the largest number of active service fighter
aircraft in the USAF. There are still 937 F-16 fighter jets in operation.
The current total number of two fourth-generation aircraft in the USAF is
1,174. The USAF Strategic Bomber has three types of strategic bombers;
B-52, B-1B, and B-2. All three are known as the USAF "troika".
Among them, 21 B-2 stealth strategic bombers were produced. In 2008, B-2
bomber number 89-0127 crashed on Guam and thus the number of B-2 bombers
now stands at 20. The B-52 strategic bomber is the oldest in service among
the US USAF active bombers.
By the end of 2021, there are 76 B-52 strategic bombers that have been in
service for more than half a century. By 2021, the U.S. Air Force will
retire 17 of the B-1B supersonic strategic bombers, currently 45 of which
are still in service.
Although the bomb load and flight speed of the B-1B exceeds that of the
B-52 strategic bomber, the combat mode of the strategic bomber has
undergone fundamental changes. In such a combat mode, the penetration
capabilities of the B-1B are no longer outstanding, and the cost of
equipment and services is much higher than that of the B-52.
Therefore, the current plan made by the USAF is to accelerate the
retirement of the B-1B and fully upgrade the currently equipped B-52H
bomber to be functional until 2050.
The US Military Tanker and Early Warning Aircraft has the most early
warning aircraft in the world, but the majority of US military early
warning aircraft are in the hands of the US Navy, and not many early
warning aircraft are in service with the Air Force.
Currently, there is only one E-3 early warning aircraft in active service
of the US Air Force and there are 32 E-3 early warning aircraft equipped
by the US Air Force. The reason why the US Air Force is a strategic Air
Force is inseparable from its large tanker fleet. Currently, the number of
tankers in active service in the US Air Force stands at 503 units, the
main ones being the KC-135 and KC-10 tankers.
In addition, the US Air Force is also equipped with 47 KC-46A and 33
KC-130 series tankers. It is this large number of early warning aircraft
and tankers that support the US Air Force's global strike capability. It
is important to the Air Force, and without a sufficient number of tankers,
it cannot become a strategic Air Force standard.
Air Force Carrier Aircraft has three active transport aircraft, namely the
C-5 strategic transport aircraft, the C-17 large transport aircraft, and
the C-130 series medium tactical transport aircraft. The C-5 is currently
the third largest transport aircraft in the world in terms of carrying
capacity, having a maximum carrying capacity of 130 tonnes.
In theory, it can carry two MIA2 main battle tanks simultaneously.
Currently, the US Air Force is equipped with 48 C-5 strategic transport
aircraft, and these 48 C-5 strategic transport agencies have become the
backbone of the rapid deployment of US military forces worldwide.
The other two transport aircraft are the C-17 which is active in the US
Air Force with 222 units and the C-130 with 279 units. The C-17 Galaxy
transport aircraft is claimed to be much better than the Russian Il-76 76.
Currently, the US Air Force is developing a series of new upgraded models
of the C-130, such as the AC-130 ground attack aircraft.
Other Major Military Aircraft The A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack
aircraft is a major force in the US Air Force. Although the US Air Force
is gradually reducing the size of the A-10 attack aircraft, the number of
A-10 attack aircraft currently in service is still 239.
The A-10 attack aircraft became the center of attention in the Gulf War,
and is also one of the few specialized ground attack aircraft in the
world. Although the maneuverability and flying speed of the A-10 is not
very good, but in terms of mastery of air dominance, the A-10 attack
aircraft is the favorite attack fighter aircraft of the US Air Force
pilots.
In addition, the US Air Force is also equipped with approximately 300
types of special aircraft, including reconnaissance aircraft, electronic
warfare aircraft, and special operations aircraft. The total number of all
models is about 3,400 units. A total of 3,400 main fighter aircraft are
the US Air Force's first-line military aircraft that can be directly
deployed to the battlefield.
In addition to these first-line models, the US Air Force also has
thousands of drones, helicopters, trainers, and more.
