List_of_active_United_States_Air_Force_aircraft Knowpia

The following is a list of currently active military aircraft in the United States Air Force.

Aircraft edit

Current inventory edit

Aircraft	Manufacturer	Origin	Propulsion	Role	Control	Introduced	In service	Total	Notes
A-29C Super Tucano	Embraer	Brazil	Jet	CAS / Attack	Manned		3^[1]		Operated by United States Air Force Special Operations Command
A-10C Thunderbolt II	Fairchild Republic	USA	Jet	CAS / Attack	Manned	1977	270^[1]
AC-130J Ghostrider	Lockheed	USA	Propeller	CAS / Attack	Manned	2017	31^[2]		Final aircraft delivered in 2022.^[2]
B-1B Lancer	Rockwell International	USA	Jet	Bomber	Manned	1986	42^[1]		Employs variable-sweep wing design. To be replaced by the B-21 Raider.
B-2A Spirit	Northrop Grumman	USA	Jet	Bomber	Manned	1997	17^[1]		Stealth capable aircraft. To be replaced by the B-21 Raider.
B-52H Stratofortress	Boeing	USA	Jet	Bomber	Manned	1955	76^[3]
C-5M Super Galaxy	Lockheed	USA	Jet	Strategic airlifter	Manned	1970	52^[1]
C-12C/D/H/J Huron	Beechcraft	USA	Propeller	Transport	Manned	1972	23^[1]		32 aircraft are used for reconnaissance
C-17A Globemaster III	McDonnell Douglas/Boeing	USA	Jet	Strategic airlifter	Manned	1995	228^[1]		Were produced by McDonnell-Douglas prior to the merger with Boeing.
C-21A Learjet 35	Learjet	USA	Jet	VIP transport	Manned	1985	19^[1]
C-32A/B Air Force Two	Boeing	USA	Jet	VIP transport	Manned	1998	4/2^[4]
C-37A/B Gulfstream V	Gulfstream	USA	Jet	VIP transport	Manned	1998	16^[4]
C-40B/C	Boeing	USA	Jet	VIP transport	Manned	2001	11^[4]
C-130H Hercules	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Tactical airlifter	Manned	1956	158^[1]
C-130J Super Hercules	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Tactical airlifter	Manned	1996	172^[1]
C-146A Wolfhound^[5]	Fairchild-Dornier	Germany	Propeller	Transport	Manned	2011	20^[1]		Flown with the 524th Special Operations Squadron^[6]
CN-235	CASA	Spain	Propeller	Reconnaissance	Manned	1988	5^[1]		Flown with the 427th Special Operations Squadron
CV-22B Osprey	Bell, Boeing	USA	Tiltrotor	CSAR / transport	Manned	2006	52^[1]
E-3B/C/G Sentry (AWACS)	Boeing	USA	Jet	AWACS	Manned	1977	21^[1]
E-4B (NAOC)	Boeing	USA	Jet	Command and control	Manned	1973	4^[1]		Assigned to the 595th Command and Control Group
E-8C Joint STARS	Northrop Grumman	USA	Jet	Command and control	Manned	1996	12^[4] E-8C, 1 TE-8A
E-9A Widget	De Havilland Canada	Canada	Propeller	Surveillance	Manned	1984	2^[4]		Military surveillance version of the DHC-8-100, used for missile range control
E-11A (BACN)^[7]	Northrop Grumman	USA / Canada	Jet	Command and control / BACN	Manned	2005	11^[1]
EA-37B Compass Call	Gulfstream	USA	Jet	Radar jamming / PSYOP	Manned	2024	1^[8]		Replacement for EC-130H Compass Call.^[8]
EC-130H Compass Call	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Radar jamming / PSYOP	Manned	1982	5^[8]		To be replaced by EA-37B Compass Call.^[8]
EC-130J Commando Solo III	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Radar jamming / PSYOP	Manned	1978	7^[1]
F-117 Nighthawk	Lockheed	USA	Jet	Aggressor aircraft/research and development	Manned		4^[1]
F-15C/D Eagle	McDonnell Douglas	USA	Jet	Air superiority	Manned	1976	234^[9]		18 D variants^[1] are used for training. To be retired by 2030.
F-15E Strike Eagle	McDonnell Douglas/Boeing	USA	Jet	Multirole, primarily strike	Manned	1988	218^[9]
F-15EX Eagle II	McDonnell Douglas/Boeing	USA	Jet	Multirole, primarily strike	Manned	2020	8^[10]		F-15C/D Eagle replacement
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon	General Dynamics	USA	Jet	Multirole	Manned	1978	875^[1]
F-22A Raptor	Lockheed Martin	USA	Jet	Air superiority	Manned	2005	178^[1]		Stealth capable aircraft. To be replaced by NGAD
F-35A Lightning II	Lockheed Martin	USA	Jet	Multirole	Manned	2016	363^[1]		59 on order
HC-130J Combat King II	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Search and rescue	Manned	1959	40^[1]
HH-60G/U/W	Sikorsky	USA	Helicopter	CSAR	Manned	2016	101^[4]		To be replaced by the HH-60W Jolly Green II
KC-10A Extender	McDonnell Douglas	USA	Jet	Aerial refueling	Manned	1981	20^[1]
KC-46A Pegasus	Boeing	USA	Jet	Aerial refueling	Manned	2019	72^[1]		77 on order
KC-135R/T Stratotanker	Boeing	USA	Jet	Aerial refueling	Manned	1957	377^[1]
LC-130H Hercules	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Cargo aircraft	Manned	1954	10^[11]		Assigned to 109th Airlift Wing
MC-12W Liberty	Beechcraft	USA	Propeller	Multi-mission/Special Operations	Manned	1974	36^[1]
MC-130J Commando II	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Multi-mission/Special Operations	Manned		57^[1]
MH-139 Grey Wolf	AgustaWestland			Utility helicopter	Manned		4^[1]
MQ-9A Reaper	General Atomics	USA	Propeller	Multi-mission^[12]	Unmanned	2006	338^[4]
QF-16A/C	Lockheed Martin	USA	Jet	Target drone	Unmanned		74^[4]
RC-135S/U/V/W Combat Sent/Rivet Joint	Boeing	USA	Jet	Reconnaissance / ELINT / surveillance	Manned	1972	22^[1]
RQ-4B Global Hawk	Northrop Grumman	USA	Jet	ISTAR	Unmanned	2001	11^[4]
RQ-20 Puma	AeroVironment	USA	Propeller	Patrol	Unmanned	2008		1000
RQ-170 Sentinel	Lockheed Martin	USA	Jet	Multi-Mission	Unmanned	2007
T-1A Jayhawk	Raytheon	USA	Jet	Trainer	Manned	1992	131^[1]		Multi-engine trainer
T-6A Texan II	Raytheon/Beechcraft	USA	Propeller	Trainer	Manned	2001	444^[1]
T-38A/C Talon	Northrop	USA	Jet	Trainer	Manned	1961	497^[1]
T-41D Mescalero	Cessna	USA	Propeller	Basic trainer	Manned	1964	4^[4]
T-51A Cessna	Cessna	USA	Propeller	Basic trainer	Manned	1957	3^[4]
T-53A Kadet II	Cirrus	USA	Propeller	Basic trainer	Manned	1995	25^[1]		USAFA flight training aircraft
TC-135S/W	Boeing	USA	Jet	Trainer	Manned	1961	3^[1]
TE-8A Joint STARS	Northrop Grumman	USA	Jet	Trainer	Manned	1991	1^[1]
TH-1H Iroquois	Bell	USA	Helicopter	Trainer	Manned	1959	39^[1]
TU-2S Dragon Lady	Lockheed	USA	Jet	Conversion trainer	Manned	1957	4^[1]
U-2S Dragon Lady	Lockheed	USA	Jet	Reconnaissance	Manned	1957	26^[1]
U-28A Draco	Pilatus	Switzerland	Propeller	Utility	Manned	1991	12^[1]		Used for reconnaissance. To be replaced in SOCOM by the OA-1K Sky Warden.^[13]
UH-1N Twin Huey	Bell	USA	Helicopter	Utility	Manned	1969	64^[1]		To be replaced by the MH-139 Grey Wolf
UV-18B Twin Otter	De Havilland Canada	Canada	Propeller	Utility	Manned	1988	1^[1]		USAFA parachute training aircraft
VC-25A Air Force One	Boeing	USA	Jet	VIP transport	Manned	1990	2^[4]		Presidential Transport, operated by 89th Airlift Wing^[14]
WC-130J Hercules	Lockheed Martin	USA	Propeller	Weather reconnaissance	Manned	1996	10^[4]		Assigned to 403d Wing
WC-135R Constant Phoenix	Boeing	USA	Jet	Atmospheric research	Manned	1993	3^[4]

Images edit

An A-10 Thunderbolt II in 2011. The attack aircraft is used for close air support
An AC-130J of the 4th Special Operations Squadron flies over Kansas in 2023.
An F-15C Eagle flies over Japan in 2019
An F-15EX from the 40th Test Flight Squadron flies over Florida in 2023
An F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron
An F-16C over Iraq in 2008
An F-22A Raptor flies over Andrews Air Force Base during an airshow in 2008
An F-35A in flight
A USAF B-52 bomber
A B-1B in flight over Afghanistan
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flies over the Pacific Ocean
An E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft
One of 4 E-4B Nightwatch airborne command posts
A new E-11 aircraft being rolled out in 2018
A C-146A Wolfhound taking off
A KC-10 Extender with the 76th Air Refueling Squadron
A C-17A Globemaster III taking off from Ramstein Air Base
A VC-25 Air Force One with landing gear down
The MH-139A Grey Wolf replacement for the Bell UH-1N
A CV-22 Osprey over RIAT in 2015
A T-38 Talon over Edwards AFB
An MQ-9 Reaper flies over Southern Afghanistan, 2008

Notes edit

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap Flight Global 2023, p. 33.
^ ^a ^b Premo, Capt. Alicia (3 November 2022). "AFSOC receives final AC-130J". U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ Losey, Stephen (12 February 2024). "The new B-52: How the Air Force is prepping to fly century-old bombers". Defense News. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "2023 USAF & USSF Almanac: Equipment". Air & Space Forces Magazine. 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
^ C-146A Wolfhound Archived 16 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine af.mil
^ "524th Special Operations Squadron | 524th SOS". Airforce.americanspecialops.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
^ Tamir Eshel (2011-09-21). "U.S. Air Force Extends BACN Com-Relay Biz Jets Operations in Kandahar". defense-update.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mabeus-Brown, Courtney (22 March 2024). "Air Force to add 5 new Compass Call electronic-attack planes in 2025". Air Force Times. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ ^a ^b By Brian W. Everstine (2021-05-23). "F-35 Is Now the Air Force's Second-Largest Fighter Fleet". Air Force Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
^ "USAF Places First Order for Boeing F-15EX Eagle Fighter".
^ Finnerty2024-03-22T21:30:00+00:00, Ryan. "US lawmakers call for recapitalisation of LC-130 Arctic transport fleet". Flight Global. Retrieved 2 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "MQ-9 Reaper". af.mil. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
^ Hadley, Greg (19 March 2024). "SOCOM Cuts Armed Overwatch Buy from 75 to 62 Aircraft". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ Shalal, Andrea (29 January 2016). "Boeing wins contract to build new Air Force One presidential jets". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.