F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft assigned to the 175th Fighter Squadron, South Dakota Air National Guard, sit on the flight line of the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center in Georgia during exercise Sentry South 26.1 on Jan. 20, 2026. (Josiah Meece/U.S. Air National Guard)
Congress should appropriate funds for 72 new fighter jets in 2027 to ensure the modernization of the U.S. Air Force, according to a letter to lawmakers sent last week from 20 state National Guard adjutants general.
The letter says that the optimal procurement level would be 108 new fighters per year for the entire Air Force.
“The United States Air Force is the oldest, the smallest, and the least ready in its 78-year history,” the letter states, according to Air & Space magazine, which obtained a copy.
While the letter advocates accelerated procurement for the Air Force, it notes that Air National Guard squadrons often receive older aircraft when active-duty units are upgraded to newer designs.
“Cascading legacy fighters from the active component to the reserve component is NOT recapitalization,” the letter said.
A detailed Pentagon budget is expected to be released next week. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget said last week that it will propose a record $1.5 trillion in military spending, spread across the defense budget and other spending legislation, that it will send to Congress.
In their letter to Congress, the adjutants general cite aging aircraft in the active-duty Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard as undermining readiness. They call for Congress to procure 48 F-35A Lightning II and 24 F-15EX Eagle II fighters in the upcoming budget and increase the total number to 72 F-35As and 36 F-15EXs in future years.
The fighter jets would replace older models of the F-15C Eagle, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and F-16 Fighting Falcon jets.
Brig. Gen. Shannon Smith, head of the Idaho Air National Guard, told Air & Space that without modernization, many Air National Guard units across the nation will be left with older aircraft that require more maintenance, undercutting combat mission readiness.
“If we don’t procure at a higher rate, all of these fighter squadrons will remain with ’70s-era fighters,” Smith said.
The letter says 13 of the Air National Guard’s 24 fighter squadrons do not have a firm schedule for when their older aircraft will be replaced.
The adjutants general signing the letter to Congress are from Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
The letter comes amid Air National Guard participation in Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon’s name for the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
In a message to troops in early March, Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak, the acting director of the Air National Guard, and Chief Master Sgt. Joshua Moore, command chief for the Air National Guard, underscored the role of guard units in the conflict.
“We have already demonstrated our formidable wartime readiness,” the message said. “Our people are both leading the fight and preparing reinforcements for the battles ahead.”
