These Are the Aircraft the US Military Is Adding to Its Fleet

The US Air Force currently has a wide range of aircraft at its disposal. From fighters, like the F-15 Eagle, to tankers, such as the KC-10 Extender, these aircraft are used for a variety of different missions. As the US military is continuously upgrading its resources, we wanted to take a look at which aircraft the military has on order today. (Also see the top 3 combat aircraft flown by the US Air Force.)

24/7 Wall St. has identified every aircraft on order for the U.S. military using data from the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry publication. We ranked these aircraft by how many are on order while including supplemental data on the type of aircraft, military branches with aircraft in service, and how many aircraft are in active service.

Here is a look at every aircraft on order by the U.S. military:

Why Are We Covering This?

Understanding the combat aircraft used by the U.S. Army provides insight into joint military capabilities and defense strategies. Also knowing what the U.S. has in its arsenal further explains its military capabilities.

24. Citation Encore/Sovereign/Ultra

• Type: Transport aircraft
• Year: 2004
• Manufacturer: Cessna
• Top speed: 490 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 2
• Active aircraft: 10
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Marine Corps

23. Bombardier Express E-11

• Type: Transport aircraft
• Year: 1997
• Manufacturer: Bombardier Aerospace
• Top speed: 684 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 4
• Active aircraft: 7
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

22. EC-37B Compass Call

• Type: Electronic warfare aircraft
• Year: 2023
• Manufacturer: BAe Systems
• Top speed: 652 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 9
• Active aircraft: 1
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

21. AH-64 Apache

• Type: Two-seat attack helicopter
• Year: 1986
• Manufacturer: Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Hughes
• Top speed: 183 mph
• Armament: 30mm automatic cannon, Hellfire missiles, Hydra rocket pods, Stinger missiles, Sidewinder missiles, Sidearm missiles
• Aircraft on order: 15
• Active aircraft: 824
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army

20. E-2 Hawkeye

• Type: Early warning and control aircraft
• Year: 2014
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
• Top speed: 404 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 25
• Active aircraft: 83
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy

19. T-6 Texan

• Type: Trainer aircraft
• Year: 1936
• Manufacturer: North American Aviation
• Top speed: 209 mph
• Armament: 7.62mm machine guns
• Aircraft on order: 29
• Active aircraft: 294
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy

18. UH-72 Lakota

• Type: Light utility helicopter
• Year: 2007
• Manufacturer: Eurocopter / Airbus Helicopters
• Top speed: 167 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 30
• Active aircraft: 391
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army

17. E-7 Wedgetail

• Type: Airborne early warning and control aircraft
• Year: 2009
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Top speed: 593 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 36
• Active aircraft: 118
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Navy

16. C-130J Super Hercules

• Type: Aerial tanker / transport aircraft
• Year: 1962
• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
• Top speed: 416 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 51
• Active aircraft: 338
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps

15. CH-47 Chinook

• Type: Medium-lift, tandem rotor transport helicopter
• Year: 1962
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Top speed: 180 mph
• Armament: 7.62mm machine guns
• Aircraft on order: 57
• Active aircraft: 510
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army

14. C-12 Huron

• Type: Special mission aircraft
• Year: 1974
• Manufacturer: Beechcraft
• Top speed: 332 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 66
• Active aircraft: 71
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy, United States Marine Corps

13. MV-22 Osprey

• Type: Tiltrotor VTOL aircraft
• Year: 2007
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Top speed: 316 mph
• Armament: 7.62mm machine guns, 12.7mm machine guns
• Aircraft on order: 69
• Active aircraft: 367
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps

12. TH-73 AHTS

• Type: Trainer helicopter
• Year: 2020
• Manufacturer: Leonardo
• Top speed: 175 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 71
• Active aircraft: 59
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy

11. AT-802U Sky Warden

• Type: Multirole light aircraft
• Year: 1990
• Manufacturer: Air Tractor
• Top speed: 221 mph
• Armament: Gun pods, cannon pods, conventional drop bombs
• Aircraft on order: 73
• Active aircraft: 0
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

10. AH/MH-6 Little Bird

• Type: Light attack helicopter
• Year: 1980
• Manufacturer: Hughes / McDonnell Douglas / Boeing
• Top speed: 175 mph
• Armament: 30mm M230 chaingun, 12.7mm GAU-19 gatling guns, 7.62mm miniguns, M261 rocket pods, Hellfire missiles, TOW anti-tank missiles, Stinger missiles
• Aircraft on order: 74
• Active aircraft: 47
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army

9. F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

• Type: Carrier-based strike fighter aircraft
• Year: 1999
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Top speed: 1187 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61A1 Vulcan automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Harpoon missiles, HARM missiles, Maverick missiles, joint direct att munitions, Rockeye II bombs, general purpose bombs
• Aircraft on order: 76
• Active aircraft: 421
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Navy

8. MH-139 Grey Wolf

• Type: Medium-lift helicopter
• Year: 2021
• Manufacturer: Boeing / Leonardo
• Top speed: 202 mph
• Armament: Pintle-mounted machine guns as needed
• Aircraft on order: 78
• Active aircraft: 4
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

7. KC-46 Pegasus

• Type: Aerial tanker aircraft
• Year: 2019
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Top speed: 569 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 99
• Active aircraft: 72
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

6. B-21 Raider

• Type: Long range strategic stealth bomber
• Year: Expected 2028
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
• Top speed: 621 mph
• Armament: Conventional drop bombs, precision-guided bombs, nuclear-tipped bombs/missiles
• Aircraft on order: 100
• Active aircraft: 0
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

5. F-15 C/E/EX Eagle II

• Type: Air superiority fighter aircraft
• Year: 1976
• Manufacturer: Boeing
• Top speed: 1875 mph
• Armament: 20mm M61A1 automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, Sparrow missiles, Maverick missiles, HARM missiles, laser-guided bombs, joint direct attack munitions, cluster bombs, nuclear bombs
• Aircraft on order: 102
• Active aircraft: 377
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

4. CH-53K King Stallion

• Type: Heavy-lift transport helicopter
• Year: 2018
• Manufacturer: Sikorsky
• Top speed: 196 mph
• Armament: 12.7mm heavy machine guns, 12.7mm GAU-21 miniguns
• Aircraft on order: 193
• Active aircraft: 11
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Marine Corps

3. T-7 Red Hawk

• Type: Trainer aircraft
• Year: 2023
• Manufacturer: Boeing / Saab
• Top speed: 808 mph
• Armament: N/A
• Aircraft on order: 350
• Active aircraft: 1
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force

2. S-70 Black Hawk

• Type: Medium-lift multi-mission helicopter
• Year: 1979
• Manufacturer: Sikorsky
• Top speed: 183 mph
• Armament: 7.62mm machine guns, Hellfire missiles, 12.7mm gatling guns, M134 gatling guns, rocket pods, 30mm chain gun
• Aircraft on order: 455
• Active aircraft: 2849
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Army, United States Air Force, United States Navy

1. F-35 Lightning II

• Type: Multirole fifth generation strike fighter aircraft
• Year: 2016
• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin / Northrop Grumman
• Top speed: 1,199 mph
• Armament: 25mm GAU-12/U cannon in external pod, Sidewinder missiles, Paveway guided bombs, Rockeye II bombs, Brimstone missiles, Storm Shadow missiles, drop bombs
• Aircraft on order: 1855
• Active aircraft: 376
• Military branches with aircraft in service: United States Air Force, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps

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