5 Key Western Fighter Jets & Their Annual Production Rates

The United States and Europe have long been leaders in fighter jet production. With the collapse of Russia’s fighter jet export industry in recent years, they are facing burgeoning orders. One notable Western jet not on the list but in production and often competing for the same export orders is the Swedish Saab Gripen. Some other Western fighter jets, like the F-22 Raptor, are out of production.

5

Typhoon Eurofighter

Around 10 Eurofighters are produced annually

The multi-nation Eurofighter is one of the top fighter jets on the continent and the combat backbone of the Royal Air Force. The program was initially developed with the French, but the French ended up going their own way and developed the Rafale. Today, the Eurofighter remains in production and is produced at a rate of around 10 per year.

Photo: sam-whitfield1 | Shutterstock

More orders are likely to be placed for the Eurofighter, and the Consortium stated in mid-2023 that it foresees market opportunities for 150 to 200 jets over the next two years (including for the Spanish Air Force and the German Air Force). Eurofighters have only seen limited export success outside of the European continent – particularly in the Arab Gulf States.

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4

Dassault Rafale

Dassault plans to produce 20 Rafales in 2024

Dassault markets its Rafale fighter jet as the world’s only ‘omnirole’ fighter, built as the Swiss knife of fighter jets. France has seen its order book for Rafales balloon in recent years as no one wants to buy from Russia anymore while the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered countries to rearm (among other reasons).

Photo: Dassault

Dassault only produced 13 Rafales in 2023 (it had planned 15). It is currently building around 2 per month but plans to increase that to 3 per month by the end of 2024. However, Dassault has been hit by supply chain snags and it is unclear just how many they will be able to produce in 2024 and 2025.

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3

Boeing F-15EX Strike Eagle II

Boeing produces between 24 and 48 F-15EXs per year

The F-15EX is the latest iteration of the F-15 family of fighter jets and is a vast improvement over early F-15 Eagle models. While the F-22 Raptor had been intended to replace the F-15, the early cancelation of the F-22 forced the Air Force to purchase more F-15s and continue to rely on them. While the F-15EX is no stealth fighter, it has a number of advantages when operated alongside the F-35 (including long range, the ability to fire at long distances, and a large payload).

Graphic: Joel Guay/Shodanphotos | Boeing

The F-15EX has only recently gone into production and the first jets have only just been delivered to the Air Force. The current production rate is around 1.5 jets per month, although this may increase to two per month by 2025. Some 104 or so F-15EX are expected to be produced by 2028 (orders had previously been capped at 98). They are being produced at Boeing St. Louis facilities in Missouri.

2

F-16 Block 70/72

Lockheed produces 36-48 F-16s annually

The F-16 is the world’s most popular fighter jet and the most numerous fighter jet in US Air Force service (around 1,000 jets). While some air forces (such as Denmark and Norway) are now retiring their aging F-16s in favor of fifth-generation F-35s, others like Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia are only now upgrading to them. Some, like Romania, Ukraine, and Argentina, are upgrading their air forces with old retired F-16s.

Photo: USAF

Block 70/72 is the last iteration of the F-16 family and is a massive improvement on earlier production models. While F-16s are still produced, they are only produced for export (the US Air Force no longer buys them). In July 2024, Lockheed Martin was reported as saying it foresees some 300 potential export orders and has a backlog of 128 jets. Production for 2024 is expected to be 36 planes.

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1

Lockheed Martin F-35

Lockheed produces around 156 F-35s per year

The fifth-generation F-35 fifth-generation fighter is easily the star of the show. It is the only Western fifth-generation fighter jet in production and boasts by far the largest production volume and order books. The F-35 is actually three jets as its three variants (F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C) are actually substantially different from each other.

The F-35 is in full-rate production, and while there are notable snags in production, Lockheed has now delivered its 1,000th F-35. The F-35 is produced at a rate of around 150 per year and is expected to have a stable production rate goal of around 156 per year over the next five years.

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