America's 21st Century Fighter Gap

Golden Dome has captured headlines as America's next-generation missile defense shield in the debates around the FY 2026 defense budget's trillion-dollar price tag. But danger lurks between the headlines. America's fighter fleet – the smallest in modern Air Force history – lacks the numbers needed to both protect the homeland and secure the skies abroad. While no one questions that fighters have a vital role in homeland defense, the trouble is that we simply don't have enough of them. Neither the defense budget nor the $150 billion reconciliation package include plans for multi-year aircraft procurement.

Fighters, by contrast, are highly mobile. They can visually confirm targets, ensuring that no civilian aircraft is accidentally attacked. Fighters can reposition quickly, cover vast areas heedless of terrain, and be aerially refueled to extend their range. A single F-35A can carry over 22,000 lbs of ordnance using its external hardpoints — providing a flying magazine capable of confronting dozens of threats in a single sortie. Future technologies promise even greater effectiveness. Directed-energy weapons could provide a virtually unlimited magazine to counter drone swarms at minimal cost per shot.

With the rise of small and cheap drones the need for fighter-based defense at home is more urgent than ever. These weapons can be launched from mobile platforms, fly low and evade radar, and slip past static systems with their small radar cross-section.

Yet just as this threat materializes, the Air Force finds itself with the smallest fighter fleet in its history. Only one-third of our fighters are 5th generation aircraft — F-22s and F-35s — with the stealth and advanced sensor suites essential for detecting and engaging modern threats. The remaining two-thirds are aging 4th generation platforms.

The math becomes alarming when we consider new homeland defense requirements. Maintaining continuous combat air patrols around critical infrastructure and population centers would strain our already overtaxed fighter squadrons. The Air Force needs to produce 72 new fighters annually just to maintain its current inadequate numbers. Yet actual procurement is barely half of that, with the Air Force only receiving 42 new F-35As in its 2025 budget request.

This production shortfall isn't just a procurement hiccup. It's a strategic vulnerability that adversaries are watching closely. In any high-intensity conflict, combat losses would quickly deplete our limited inventory. America lost 3,744 fixed-wing aircraft in nine years during the Vietnam War. The Air Force currently has around 1,300 fighters. Against peer competitors with advanced air defenses, loss rates would likely be higher, and – with no industrial surge capacity to replace downed aircraft – disastrous.

The solution requires a fundamental shift in how America approaches fighter procurement. Just as we're revitalizing missile and shipbuilding capacity through multi-year procurements, we need similar stability for aircraft production. Long-term contracts would enable manufacturers to invest in expanded production lines, automation, and workforce development. American industrial capacity isn't just about peacetime fleet size; it's about wartime resilience.

Golden Dome will be multi-domain, integrating ground, sea, air, and space-based assets into a seamless web. The ground layer — Patriot, THAAD, and GBI — provides point and area defense. The sea layer extends this umbrella with Aegis destroyers and cruisers. The space layer, with new infrared sensor satellites already in development, provides crucial early warning and targeting data.

But it's the air layer – fighters on combat air patrol – that gives the system its flexibility and forward reach. Fifth generation fighters, with their advanced sensors and stealth characteristics, can operate in contested environments where fourth generation aircraft cannot survive. They can serve as flying command posts, data fusion centers, and interceptors, extending the defensive perimeter hundreds of miles beyond American shores.

Lawmakers face the choice to invest in proven capabilities or to continue in our current vulnerability. The failed Iranian attacks have demonstrated that we need more fighters and the industrial capacity to sustain them through conflict. This is not extravagance but strategic necessity.

The ongoing modernization of our ground- and sea-based defenses is essential but insufficient. Only 5th generation fighters – and their eventual 6th generation successors – can meet this requirement. Without such a robust fighter force, our air superiority on offense and defense will be able to be exploited by adversaries. 

Securing American skies demands industrial commitment and technological innovation. Multi-year procurement contracts for fighter aircraft, similar to those revitalizing our missile and shipbuilding industries, would provide the stability needed to expand production capacity.

Golden Dome's success will ultimately be measured not by the sophistication of its technology but by its ability to prevent attacks. Without a recommitment to America’s air fleet and the industrial capacity to sustain it, that mission remains in jeopardy. When it comes to building America’s future, the cost of not investing in our air fleet could be catastrophic.

Peter Mitchell is a strategist and air defense expert. You can follow him on X @peternmitchell.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Department of the Army or Department of Defense.