The Air Force has proposed the retirement of its last 162 A-10 Warthog attack aircraft by fiscal year 2026, this move is part of a broader initiative to phase out 340 aircraft in total.

Additionally, the Pentagon has decided to terminate the E-7 Wedgetail project due to what an official described as “significant delays” and rising costs.

The Air Force disclosed its aircraft retirement strategy concurrently with the Pentagon’s delayed release of its 2026 budget plan, which allocates a $211 billion discretionary budget for the Department of the Air Force. This budget includes $184.9 billion for the U.S. Air Force and $26.1 billion for the Space Force.

The Pentagon is also seeking an additional $38.6 billion in “mandatory” spending through the budget reconciliation bill, which would provide $24.7 billion to the Air Force and $13.8 billion to the Space Force. Should this bill pass, the total funding for the department would rise to $249.5 billion, marking a 17.2% increase compared to the funds enacted in 2025.

However, if the reconciliation bill fails to pass and the administration’s budget request is approved as it stands, the Space Force would face an 8.7% reduction in its budget from 2025, while the Air Force’s budget would remain almost unchanged from the $184.1 billion enacted in 2025.

If approved by Congress, this would be one of the largest rounds of aircraft retirements in recent years.

Earlier this year, the Air Force announced plans to expedite the retirement of older and less efficient aircraft, following an order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to cut and reallocate about 8% of the defense budget.

The decision to completely end the A-10 program represents a significant escalation from the original plan, which aimed to phase out all Warthogs by the end of the decade. Although recent years have seen some Congressional approval for partial retirements of the A-10, it is uncertain whether there will be consensus to retire all these jets now.

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The Air Force also plans to retire 62 F-16Cs and Ds, 21 F-15Es, 13 F-15Cs and Ds, 14 C-130H Hercules cargo planes, and 3 EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle performs a flare check over an unspecified area of U.S. Central Command, March 9, 2025. (Senior Airman Zachary Willis/Air Force)

Other retirements include 14 KC-135 Stratotankers, 11 HH-60G combat rescue helicopters, 35 T-1 Texan trainers, 4 UH-1N helicopters, and a B-1 Lancer.

The proposed retirement list, however, does not include the Block 20 F-22A Raptors, approximately 32 of which the Air Force has attempted to retire in recent years due to their lack of combat readiness. Congress has consistently opposed these retirement attempts.

E-7 Program Halted

During a briefing on June 26, an Air Force official explained that the cost of the E-7 airborne battle management aircraft had escalated from $588 million to $724 million, prompting its cancellation. Concerns were also raised about its viability in contested environments.

As an alternative, the Pentagon is exploring space-based assets for missions initially intended for the Wedgetail, and is considering acquiring more Northrop E-2D Hawkeye aircraft.

This shift comes as the Air Force is retiring its aging E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, which had previously considered the E-7 as its most suitable replacement.

The budget also allocates $10.3 billion for the B-21 Raider, a Northrop Grumman stealth bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and $4.2 billion for the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, which will replace the aging Minuteman III. Northrop Grumman is also constructing the Sentinel.

Funding for the procurement of the B-21 is set to increase from $1.9 billion in 2025 to $2.6 billion in 2026, with an additional $2.1 billion proposed in the reconciliation spending. If Congress approves all proposed spending, the procurement budget for the Raider would more than double.

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The B-21 Raider at Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facility on Edwards Air Force Base, California. (DOD via Northrop Grumman)

The Pentagon plans to continue buying the F-15EX Eagle II, a modern version of the fourth-generation F-15E, with a proposal to purchase 21 Boeing-made jets next year, up from 18 in 2025. This decision comes as the military intends to significantly reduce its acquisition of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters across the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps to 47 in 2026, down from 74 in 2025.

For the Air Force, this means a reduction in F-35A procurement from 44 units in 2025 to just 24 in 2026. The budget for the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft would decrease from $4.5 billion this year to $3.6 billion in 2026.

This reduction would result in the Air Force acquiring only 45 new fighters in 2026, falling short of its annual target of 72 fighters necessary for modernization. The Pentagon plans to redirect funds originally earmarked for additional F-35s towards jet maintenance and ensuring a robust supply chain to support ongoing operations. Additionally, funds are allocated to keep the jet’s Block 4 upgrades on schedule.

The Air Force’s budget also includes $807 million for its drone wingmen initiative, known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft, aimed at hastening the development of autonomous platforms.

Moreover, the service requests a $73.2 billion discretionary budget and a $4.5 billion mandatory budget for operations and maintenance, and $44.3 billion in discretionary spending with about $200 million in mandatory funds for personnel. The budget for research, development, testing, and evaluation totals $46.4 billion, which includes $36.2 billion in discretionary funds and $10.2 billion in mandatory funds.

The F-47 fighter, also known as Next Generation Air Dominance, is set for a research and development budget increase from $2.4 billion in 2025 to nearly $2.6 billion in 2026. If additional funding of $900 million requested through the reconciliation bill is approved, the budget for the Boeing-made F-47 would rise to almost $3.5 billion.

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The total procurement budget request for the service would reach $36.2 billion, consisting of $26.5 billion in discretionary spending and $9.7 billion in reconciliation bill funding.

Including reconciliation spending, the Air Force’s procurement budget would allocate $24.8 billion for aircraft, $6.1 billion for missiles, and $784 million for ammunition.

The Air Force plans to purchase 14 Boeing-made T-7A Red Hawk trainer aircraft for $362 million in 2026. However, there will be no new funding for the E-7 airborne battle management aircraft, also manufactured by Boeing, amid ongoing debates between the service and top Pentagon officials over the superiority of space-based targeting over airborne platforms.

Proposed budgetary adjustments would also restore $387 million in funding for Lockheed’s hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, potentially reviving a program that seemed uncertain after several unsuccessful tests in recent years.

Funding for the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which was recently used to target multiple Iranian nuclear sites, is set to decrease slightly in 2026. The Air Force has allocated nearly $8.6 million for the MOP in 2025, which would be reduced to $6.8 million in 2026.