Air Force’s top general: Supplemental funding needed to replace US aircraft lost in Iran

Air Force Chief Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach testifies before a House Subcommittee on Defense hearing on Capitol Hill on April 30, 2026. Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images Replacing the dozens of U.S. aircraft that have been damaged or destroyed in the Iran war will require more money than the staggering $1.5 trillion defense budget, the Air Force’s top general said. Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the service’s top uniformed leader, told House lawmakers Thursday that the historic defense budget is focused on buying more fighters, bombers, and tankers for the service’s fleet. Those losses in Iran have made additional funding from Congress outside the 13-figure budget request necessary, he said during a defense appropriations subcommittee hearing.“We hope to be able to address this in a supplemental, for the aircraft that we’ve lost, and the procurement, going forward, is meant to increase the number of tails we have, especially in the fighter force, but it also includes bombers and tankers as well,” Wilsbach said. “Both supplemental and the budget, the ‘27 budget, is supposed to address those losses.” Key U.S. Air Force assets, including a $500 million E-3 Sentry and four F-15E fighter jets, have been lost since Operation Epic