The United States Air Force is by far the largest operator of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. The aircraft has been combat-capable for almost ten years, and it plans to continue procuring the jet through the rest of the decade and into the 2030s. According to an estimate in 2023, the Air Force had 408 examples in inventory, although that is likely grown by several dozen by mid-2025 and could be closer to 500.