Congress repeatedly blocks Air Force efforts to retire fighter jets

The United States Air Force has attempted several times since fiscal year 2023 to retire specific combat aircraft, only to be blocked or slowed by Congress, according to an analysis of defense policy actions.

Lawmakers have used National Defense Authorization Act language and statutory minimum-fleet requirements to preserve five different jet types the service wanted to phase out, the analysis said. In one case, Congress required the Air Force to keep 32 F-22 Raptors flying through at least fiscal year 2028, despite the service's push to send them to storage. In another, lawmakers set a floor of 103 A-10 Warthogs, even though the Air Force had wanted to retire the type entirely by fiscal year 2026.

Each instance cited a specific NDAA provision or fleet-minimum mandate that forced the Air Force to retain the aircraft rather than divest them as planned. The service has said in the past that it wanted to redirect funding toward newer programs instead of maintaining older airframes.

The pattern reflects a recurring tension between the Pentagon's efforts to modernize its fighter and attack fleets and congressional oversight, which often prioritizes maintaining existing squadron numbers, basing arrangements, and industrial-base considerations over the service's own retirement plans.

No new legislative action was described beyond the historical pattern of NDAA-driven fleet preservation.