US Air Force gains up to $25B from ‘big beautiful bill’ for F-15EX, B-21, but A-10 and E-7 Wedgetail lose out
July 11, 2025
The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ has passed, and with it comes $150 billion in extra funding for the US military.
Of this, the US Air Force can expect to receive up to $25 billion in extra funds, some of which is to help plug funding gaps for many of its programs, from the F-15EX to the F-22 Raptor.
An extra $25 billion for key Air Force programs
The headline figure of $150 billion for the US military is provided under the One Big Beautiful Bill. This funding is earmarked for specific programs, only a part of which is for new equipment acquisition.
For example, $2 billion is for “improving US stockpile of critical minerals” and $2.9 billion for “supplementing basic allowance for housing for service members.
Section 20007: Enhancement of DOD Resources for Air Superiority allocates an extra $9 billion to “maintain and enhance U.S. air dominance through a mix of legacy platform sustainment, next-generation aircraft development, and unmanned systems.”
Most of this $9 billion in funding is for the Air Force, but it also includes Navy and Marine programs. More Air Force aircraft funding is found in Section 20008: Enhancement of Resources for Nuclear Forces, which includes substantial funding for the B-21 Raider.
Among other things, the section includes $2.5 in funding for the Sentinel ICBM, which should help ease the Air Force’s tight funding budget and help relieve pressure on other systems.
The big beautiful bill’s fighter jet funding
The largest funding for tactical fighters is for the 4.5th Boeing F-15EX fighter jet to accelerate production and replace aging F-15C/D Eagles. The fleet is now to grow from 98 planned aircraft to 129. Boeing is scheduled to produce 18 F-15EXs per year, but has the facilities to produce 24 annually.
$7.2 billion for aircraft procurement; highlights incl:
— Colby Badhwar 🇨🇦🇬🇧 (@ColbyBadhwar) April 28, 2025
$3.15 billion to increase F-15EX production (Boeing is scheduled to produce 18/y & has facilitization for 24/y)
$361.2m to prevent F-22 retirements
$127.5m to prevent F-15E retirements
$50m for F-16 EW
15/20 pic.twitter.com/K4X4HAoX5W
The F-15EX gets another $50 million for conformal fuel tanks to extend its range. A further $187 million is given to enhance the Air Force’s F-16s’ electronic warfare capabilities.
Funding accelerates a number of other Air Force aircraft programs. It allocates another $678 million to the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft loyal wingman program, $474 to increase EA-37B electronic warfare production, $440 to increase C-130J Super Hercules production, $400 to accelerate F-47 6th gen fighter production.
When it comes to funding to prevent retirements, the bill provides $270 million to stop the retirement of 32 Block 20 training variants of the F-22 Raptor. It also gives $127 million to prevent the retirement of F-15E Strike Eagles.
The biggest winner is the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, which is getting an extra $4.5 billion in funding. The B-21 had already secured $10 billion in funding in the 2026 Fiscal Year budget.
The B-21 program is progressing well with the bomber now in low-rate initial production and expected to enter service around 2027.s
Which USAF projects lose out?
The bill lacks funding for a number of Air Force programs. The A-10 Thunderbolt “Warthog” has no extra funding to prevent retirement.
Instead, the Air Force is currently asking to retire its remaining 162 Warthogs over the next 12 months, sending them to the boneyard 2-3 years early.
Additionally, there are no new funds for the Air Force’s planned E-7 Wedgetail AWACS aircraft. The Air Force’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request is instead requesting to cancel the program, as delays and costs have seen each aircraft rise from $588 million to $724 million.
The Air Force is also concerned with the Wedgetail’s ability to survive in a contested environment.
Separately, the Navy’s 6th-gen F/A-XX program gets another $750 million in funding. However, the program is being maintained with minimal development funding to “preserve the ability to leverage F-47 work while preventing oversubscription of qualified defense industrial base engineers.”
The Navy’s F/A-XX program has funding for now, but its future is currently uncertain.
