F-15EX Planned Fleet Size Grows To 129 Jets
The F-15EX has gotten a substantial boost from the Trump administration's Pentagon budget request, going from a 98 to 129 aircraft fleet.
Tyler Rogoway
Updated Jun 26, 2025 6:36 PM EDT
F-15EX will have 129 aircraft in its fleet under trump.
Tech. Sgt. Andrew Schumann
With the DoD finally delivering its Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal to the public, we are getting hard details as to the Trump administration’s military procurement plans. There have already been major shifts in air combat programs. Boeing’s E-7 radar jet is in real trouble, but the company’s F-15EX Eagle II fighter that is being delivered now to the USAF is seeing a significant boost. The program, which has seen drastic fluctuations in planned fleet size, will grow from 98 aircraft to 129.
In all, the proposed FY26 budget has $3B set aside for the latest iteration of the iconic 4th generation fighter, according to a senior U.S. Air Force official who answered TWZ‘s question as to the Pentagon’s latest F-15EX’s plans at a press event today. They added that the program of record would become 129 aircraft under the new budget request. The growth in fleet size comes nearly two months after Trump made the surprise announcement that the Michigan Air National Guard, which is losing its A-10 Warthogs, will be reequipped with the F-15EX.
F-15EX flying in support of ongoing testing of the type. (USAF)
Still, that number doesn’t quite add up with what we know about the projected force structure, as 98 aircraft plus 21 would be 119. We reached out to the Air Force for clarification, and the response we received was as follows:
“The FY26 PB requests 21 F-15EX aircraft. The currently planned total for F-15EX is 129 aircraft. The total includes F-15EX funding within the draft Reconciliation bill.“
https://www.twz.com/air/f-15ex-planned-fleet-size-grows-to-129-jets-from-98
