AFA to Congress: Fully Fund Air Force and Space Force Modernization

ARLINGTON, Va., August 18, 2026 — Congress should complete the fiscal 2027 funding bills and fully fund urgent airpower and spacepower needs to ensure U.S. military readiness and national security, the Air & Space Forces Association urges in a new letter to top leaders of the House and Senate.

Chair of the Board Kathleen Ferguson and AFA President & CEO Lt. Gen. Burt Field, USAF (Ret.), made the appeal in a letter to congressional leaders just six weeks before the end of fiscal 2026. The letter details key priorities lawmakers should fully fund to ensure the United States’ national security and defense.

The President’s budget request submitted in April seeks $1.5 trillion in total defense investment, split between “discretionary” spending in the standard 2027 appropriations bill and “mandatory” spending in a planned measure using a congressional process known as reconciliation.

Both the House and Senate have begun the authorization and appropriations processes, but neither chamber has addressed the full extent of funding originally requested through reconciliation.

“Without full funding of the President’s request, neither the Air Force nor the Space Force can fully advance the administration’s goals to improve readiness and modernize these vital military forces,” said Ferguson. “The funding mechanism is ultimately for Congress to determine. What matters to AFA is that the resources identified as necessary to build and sustain Air Force combat capacity, Space Force warfighting capability, and support for our Airmen, Guardians, and their families are provided.”

AFA’s letter details three priorities:

• Support multiyear procurement of the F-35A fighter aircraft and fund the production of the jet at no less than a rate of 60 aircraft annually. Increased production and procurement of the F-35 will help close a widening capability gap with China, which produces approximately 120 J-20 stealth fighters per year, with a goal of fielding 1,000 fifth-generation aircraft by 2030. Previous measures passed by Congress approved only 24 F-35As per year.
• Full funding of the $71.1 billion requested for the Space Force, which must rapidly expand to deter mounting threats in the space domain, where China and others see U.S. dependence on space as an exploitable Achilles’ heel. “Space is now a warfighting domain, with new and growing threats to space systems,” the letter states.
• Quality-of-life investments for service members and their families, including an updated Basic Allowance for Housing, remediation of housing and dormitory shortfalls at several Air Force installations, and full funding for construction of Child Development Centers to expand access to affordable childcare.

Field and Ferguson thanked congressional defense committees for working to improve quality of life for service members and their families but said more must be done to counteract rising housing, food, and childcare costs.

“Congress cannot allow the uncertainty of the appropriations and reconciliation process to become a reason to underfund the capabilities and resources our Airmen, Guardians, and military families need,” said Field. “These investments in our Air Force and Space Force are too critical to let slip. Congress must act to ensure our military can meet the pace of threats we face.”

Ferguson said combat in the Middle East has ratcheted up the need for increased defense funding.

“Investments in our Space Force, Air Force procurement, and our service members and their families are critical aspects of the Department of War’s budget request,” Ferguson said. “It is essential Congress delivers on that responsibility to protect America’s national security regardless of funding mechanism.”

About AFA 

The Air & Space Forces Association is an independent, non-profit 501(c)3 association dedicated to advocating for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Space Force, Airmen, Guardians, and their Families. Founded in 1946, AFA is the single largest entity of its kind focused on air and space power. With more than 350,000 members and 200 chapters spread around the world, our mission is to promote dominant U.S. Air Force and Space Force as the foundation of a strong National Defense; to honor and support Airmen, Guardians, and their Families; and to remember and respect the enduring heritage of the Air Force and Space Force.