The Air Force may not have enough aircraft ready to fight

The U.S. Air Force is facing one of its most serious issues in recent history: It does not have enough aircraft ready to fight.

Recent data on aircraft readiness reveal that the Air Force is struggling to maintain an adequate combat fleet with availability numbers plunging.

According to data published by the Air & Space Forces Magazine, the Air Force’s operational fleet is not in a good shape. Indeed, aircraft readiness has dropped to its lowest level in at least 10 years.

For Fiscal Year 2024, the average mission capable rate of all the aircraft in the Air Force’s fleet was 67.15%. In Fiscal Year 2023, the average mission capable rate was 69.92%. And in Fiscal Year 2022, the average mission capable rate was 71.24%. Over the past few years, there has been a steady drop in how many aircraft are ready for combat. One potential reason for that drop is that the aircraft are getting older and are thus harder to maintain.

To make matters worse, compared to data from 2004 to 2006 and 2012 to 2024, the average mission capable rate of 2024 was the lowest.

Some clarity is important. The Air Force considers an aircraft mission capable when it is available to perform at least one of its core missions. Many aircraft can perform several missions sets, including strategic attack, electronic warfare, ground attack, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), etc. For example, if an F-15EX Eagle II can conduct air superiority, but not missile defense missions, it is still considered mission capable.

The above percentages pertain to missile capable rates and not “full-mission capable” rates, which refer to the availability of an aircraft to conduct all of its assigned mission sets.

Crucially, in recent years, the Air Force changed the way it calculates mission availability. Now, it considers the availability of spare parts, trained pilots, and qualified maintenance personnel when determining the average mission capable rate. To make matters more confusing, the Air Force employs different metrics from aircraft to aircraft.

Related: British F-35s faced off against their American counterparts in rare showdown

It is also worth highlighting that the Air Force funnels spare parts and general support priority to squadrons that are forward deployed around the world. Consequently, aircraft that are closer to hot spots in Europe and the Indo-Pacific enjoy a much better average mission availability rate than aircraft that are stationed in the United States.

In terms of the strategic bombers, the B-1 Lancer had a 43.44% average availability (a 3.56% drop from Fiscal 2023), the B-2 Spirit a 55.04% availability (a 0.96% drop), and the B-52 Stratofortress a 53.77% availability (a 0.23% drop).

The situation on the fighter jet front is mixed. Some aircraft vastly improved their rates, others held a similar rate, while others dropped significantly.

As far as fighter jets go, the F-35A had a 51.5% average availability (0.5% increase from Fiscal 2023), the F-22A Raptor had a 40.19% availability (11.81% drop), the F-15D had a 63.73% availability (8.73% increase), the F-15C had a 52.86% availability (33% increase), the F-15EX had a 83.13% availability (1.87% drop), and the F-16C had a 64.05% availability (4.95% drop), and the F-16D had a 59.03% availability (5.97% drop).

The Air Force is currently in the process of modernizing its fleet with the incorporation of F-35As and F-15EX Eagle II. Moreover, the service will soon be introducing the B-21 Raider strategic stealth bomber and retiring the venerable B-2 Spirit.

It is better to have combat ready aircraft than to have aircraft sitting in hangars unable to properly operate. The Air Force understands this and is working on a solution. 

Feature Image: F-15E Strike Eagles assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and Polish air force F-16 Fighting Falcons perform an elephant walk at Łask Air Base, Poland, April 21, 2021. Continual exercises and interactions between allied and partner forces allow us to work together as a team to address security threats and enable all participants to contribute to international coalitions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Madeline Herzog)

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