A Look At The Salaries Of Fighter Jet Pilots In The US Air Force In 2026

Conventional wisdom might suggest that a fighter pilot’s salary could be cleanly reduced to a single number. However, in the United States Air Force, it is really a stack of pay lines that change with rank, years of service, location, and flying status. In 2026, every fighter pilot starts with standard active-duty officer base pay, set on the same published pay tables as any other commissioned officer. This then layers on aviation-specific incentives and allowances. A brand-new Second Lieutenant earns a basic monthly salary of somewhere in the low $4,000s, while Captains and Majors, the ranks where most pilots spend the largest majority of their careers, see higher pay rates as they amass experience.