Included in the Department of Defense’s enormous proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget is a procurement request for an additional 85 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

The US military’s appetite for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet remains insatiable.  

In the mammoth $1.5 trillion proposed 2027 fiscal year budget, the Department of Defense is seeking funds to buy 85 F-35 Lightning IIs of all variants. This is almost double the number it requested under the 2026 budget—highlighting the importance of the stealth fighter jet to the US air strategy.

Pentagon Requests 85 New F-35 Lightning IIs in FY2027

The Pentagon wants 85 additional F-35s for next year, according to its Fiscal Year 2027 (FY2027) budget figures. The request is part of the White House’s proposed $1.15 trillion base and $350 billion as part of a reconciliation bill—nearly double the defense spending from the approximately $890 billion in 2026.

Out of the 85 F-35s requested by the Pentagon in FY2027, 38 are of the base model “A” variant and intended for the Air Force. The “C” version, optimized for use on aircraft carriers, is a close second with 37 requests; both the Navy and Marine Corps operate this variant of the stealth fighter. The final 10 requests are for the vertical landing “B” version, operated solely by the Marine Corps.

By way of comparison, the Pentagon requested 47 new F-35s in its FY2026 budget.

However, there are some analysts who assess that purchasing 85 F-35s is not enough to fill the gap created by retiring fighter jets and aircraft lost in war or training.  

“If the budget does fund 85 F-35s overall, with only 38 going to the Air Force, my reaction is that this is a mixed signal—on one hand, 85 aircraft is still a meaningful production number for the military and it helps preserve industrial-base stability, but on the other hand, 38 for the Air Force is not a serious rebuild rate for a service operating the oldest and smallest fighter force in its history,” Air Force Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David A. Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said to Air & Space Forces.

“It may keep the line warm, but it does not reverse the fighter inventory shortfall,” Deptula said.

About the F-35 Lightning II

• Year Introduced: 2016 
• Number Built: ~1000 (F-35A only) 
• Length: 51.4 ft (15.67 m)  
• Wingspan: 35 ft (10.67 m) 
• Weight (MTOW): 70,000 lbs (31,750 kg) 
• Engines: One Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 afterburning turbofan (40,000 lbf thrust) 
• Top Speed: ~1,200 mph (1,930 km/h) / Mach 1.6 
• Range: 1,350+ mi (2,170 km) with internal fuel 
• Service Ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,240 m) 
• Loadout: Internal 25 mm GAU-22/A cannon, two AIM-120 AMRAAMs, and two GBU-31 JDAMs (in a flexible air and ground operations loadout setting) 
• Aircrew: 1

The F-35 is a unique aircraft in the sense that the same platform includes three related but different variants: the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C. Indeed, one of the reasons behind the stealth fighter jet’s exorbitant costs—over $2 trillion over the course of its lifetime—is that the design and production process sought to create an aircraft that would accomplish the mission of three different fighter jets. 

Although the same aircraft, each version of the fifth-generation fighter jet has slightly different characteristics designed for its specific mission profile. As the Pentagon’s request underlines, the F-35A is by far the most popular version for both the US military and the international partners in the F-35 program.

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou  

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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