The U.S. Air Force’s unbroken commitment to buy 1,763 F-35As through the mid-2040s appears threatened by new interest in low-cost UAS and fourth-generation fighters.

The Navy and Marine Corps, the second- and third-largest buyers of the combat aircraft, respectively, downsized their planned F-35 fleet by 400 aircraft in 2004. But the Air Force’s quantity never budged.

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