Air Force, Navy Aircraft Availability and Flight Hours Decline

The U.S. Navy's fighter attack fleet availability 'fell considerably more' than that of the Air Force, according to the government report.

Kimberly Johnson

Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 06:29 PM ET

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A U.S. Navy E/A-18G Growler flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Sept. 25, 2020. [U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Parsons]

Key Takeaways:

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports a two-decade decline in U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft availability and flying hours, using a stricter "fit to fly" metric that counts aircraft in maintenance or storage as unavailable.
This decline is more pronounced in the Navy (including Marine Corps), with fighter and attack aircraft and trainers experiencing significant availability drops, largely due to prolonged maintenance delays, especially for older F/A-18 Hornets.
Despite lower overall availability rates, Navy attack aircraft consistently flew more annual hours compared to the Air Force, underscoring the maintenance burden.

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U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft flying hours and availability have declined over the past two decades, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The trend, which is more pronounced than U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) assessments due to how aircraft are accounted for, was heavier in the Navy, which also flew more hours per aircraft, the nonpartisan government agency tasked with supplying economic analysis to Congress said in a recent report.