Despite being the most significant increase in military spending ever requested, the Biden administration’s proposed 2023 military budget requests an unexpectedly low number of F-35 fighter jets.
The administration is moving forward with the budget in the face of new priorities. In part due to the threat posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising Chinese military power in the Pacific, $813 billion has been requested to continue improvements within the U.S. military.
However, the military budget includes ordering fewer F-35 aircraft than had been anticipated.
According to Forbes, officials in the U.S. had expected to purchase 94 of the F-35 fighter aircraft; however, the latest defense budget provides funding for the purchase of only 61 F-35 jets across three military branches.
Reports from the Pentagon had proposed the purchase of 48 F-35s for the Air Force, 26 for the Navy, and 20 for the Marines, yet data released by the Department of Defense shows the three branches of the military greatly reduced their requests. The Air Force has asked for 33 F-35s, while the Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps sought just 13 and 15, respectively.
The request for an underwhelming amount of new jets comes as the U.S. military has been working towards retiring outdated aircraft. The U.S. Space Force has begun to accelerate its program of launching satellites for observation purposes.
Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the timing of reducing the number of F-35s may not be ideal.
Described as the Free World’s Fighter, the F-35 is key to the U.S. military’s modernization strategy, as it has been shown to outperform its rivals and offers a low-cost military upgrade option.
Requests for the F-35 in its three forms have been forthcoming from Western nations, with the major powers of NATO and all the major allies of the U.S. placing orders.
According to CNN, Germany announced the F-35 would form the basis of its revamped air force. Even neutral nations such as Finland have made the F-35 a priority purchase in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.