In many countries, they are now a key part of the military, allowing for their military aircraft to be staged much nearer the area of conflict. Aircraft carriers were vital to the United States during World War II, Korea and the Vietnam War, and to the United Kingdom in the 1982 Falklands War.

The United States Armed Forces uses a wide variety of military aircraft across the respective aviation arms of its various service branches. The numbers of specific aircraft listed in the following entries are estimates from published sources and may not be exhaustive.

The following is a list of currently active military aircraft in the United States Air Force.

5 days ago · Two F-35A Lightning II aircraft fly over the Alaska Range en route to their new home at the 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, April 21, 2020. (Adam Keele/U.S. Air National Guard)

Jan 23, 2025 · A total of four C-17 and C-130 aircraft will be involved in the deportation flights, and other aircraft are on call in case they are needed, a senior military official said.

The E-4B is a militarized version of the Boeing 747-200, consisting of four engines, a swept-wing design, and capable of long-range, high-altitude operations and in-flight air refueling. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Codie Trimble)

The C-5M Super Galaxy is a strategic transport aircraft and is the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Its primary mission is to transport cargo and personnel for the Department of Defense. The C-5M is a modernized version of the legacy C-5 …

The mission of the VC-25 aircraft — Air Force One — is to provide air transport for the president of the United States. The presidential air transport fleet consists of two specially configured Boeing 747-200B's — tail numbers 28000 and 29000 — with the Air Force designation VC-25.

5 days ago · The plane crashed during the landing phase of the flight at Eielson Air Force Base, he said. The pilot had declared an inflight emergency prior to the crash and was in stable condition and being ...

5 days ago · A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II, a fifth-generation fighter jet from Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, performed during the Arctic Thunder Open House at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on ...