Estimating which air force bases have the most fighter jets present is difficult for a range of reasons. One factor is that units, especially in the United States, are rotated and deployed around the world. This means that numbers are constantly fluctuating. Another factor is that there just isn’t a good open-source dataset available for many of the world’s air force bases, such as those of North Korea, China, and Russia.

Indeed, a country like North Korea may have a load of fighter jets parked at a base visible from satellite imagery, but these are mostly obsolete aircraft that belong in a museum. Furthermore, most of these in-service museum pieces are likely not operational. North Korea, Syria (before 2024), and Iran (before 2026) are examples of countries with fighter jet air forces that mostly exist on paper

Russia’s air force is something of a hybrid, with reported numbers often suggesting Russia has around 1,300 fighter jets, although in practice, its effective modern(ish) fighter jet fleet numbers around 500–600. It is now rare to see other fighter jet types, such as Su-27s, MiG-29s, and Su-24s, used in combat. Let’s examine four of the largest air force bases by number of fighter jets. This list will focus on the US (including the US Navy) and will exclude countries like China due to uncertainty.

4

Nellis Air Force Base

100-150 fighter jets

Credit: US Air Force

Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada is an important center of advanced air combat training and the famous Red Flag exercises. Here, one can find a mix of F-35, F-22, F-16, and F-15 fighter jets along with aggressor squadrons and visiting units. At any one time, the base has around 100 to 150 fighter jets based there, but these numbers can swell when the base hosts large exercises. These exercises not only attract fighter jets from across the US military, but also from leading allies and private aggressor training companies.

Units based at Nellis include the 99th Air Base Wing, the 53rd Wing, the 57th Wing, the 57th Operations Group, the 505th Command and Control Wing, the 355th Wing, the 98th Test Wing, and much more. Overall, Nellis does not have a massive permanent squadron like Luke Air Force Base. Its numbers tend to fluctuate massively, and it is noteworthy for integrating fourth/fifth-generation fighter jets in realistic, high-end combat scenarios.

Among other things, the base is also preparing its infrastructure for the upcoming F-47 sixth-generation air dominance fighter jet. The F-47 is set to be the most advanced air dominance fighter jet, although it is not expected to be produced in large numbers, with the Air Force mulling a buy of around 185 or so jets.

During Red Flag exercises, the 64th Aggressor Squadron pretends to be enemy air forces with aircraft even painted in Russian or Chinese-style camouflage. Their job is to fight like the enemy, allowing US pilots to learn Chinese and Russian tactics and learn how to defeat them. The base is also close to the secretive Area 51, where various classified programs operate.

3

Luke Air Force Base

Around 150 fighter jets

Credit: US Air Force

Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, is sometimes credited as having the most active fighter jets in the world. It is home to the world’s largest fighter training wing and was previously the hub for training on the F-16 Fighting Falcons. It has since transitioned to being the training base for F-35s, including for foreign air forces. The F-16 remains the world’s most common fighter jet in service, with in the order of 2,000 examples still in service. However, the future of Western air forces belongs to the F-35.

The F-35 is now being produced at a rate greater than all other US, European, and Russian fighter jets combined, with 191 delivered in 2025. The stable production capacity is 156+ a year and only rivaled by China’s impressive J-20 production numbers. With more than 1,300 F-35s delivered, it is now likely the second-most common serviceable fighter jet and is overtaking or has overtaken the number of remaining serviceable F/A-18/EA-18 and Su-27/30/34/35 family fighter jets.

Most air forces in the world have fewer than 150 fighter jets in total, and those that have more often have large numbers of essentially obsolete or lower-grade aircraft making up the numbers. The Israeli Air Force is uncommonly large, with 287 modern frontline fighter jets.

Luke Air Force Base says the 56th Wing is based there, and it is the largest fighter wing in the United States Air Force. The base trains 75% of the world’s F-35 pilots, with 260 pilots trained annually. Foreign partners in training include Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Denmark, and Belgium. These air forces often keep a significant share of their F-35s at Luke for training as they transition to the new jet. It is estimated that the base has around 150 or more fighter jets based there.

2

NAS Oceana

Around 150-200 fighter jets

Credit: Department of Defense

It is tricky to determine which bases have the most fighter jets based, although one candidate is Virginia Beach’s Naval Air Station Oceana, with over 190 fighter jets based, mostly Super Hornets. Naval Air Station Lemoore in California also has around 150 fighter jets, while Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego may have around 100. However, these are not strictly speaking air force bases, although it’s listed here as the US Navy/Marine Corps is arguably the world’s second largest/most powerful air force.

Fighter jets concentrate at these bases when they are not deployed on carriers, amphibious assault ships, or forward bases. NAS Oceana is the Navy’s East Coast Master Jet Base and is home to the F/A-18 Super Hornets. The base’s primary mission is that of a Shore-Based Readiness Integrator. The base, which includes Neck Annex and Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress, has approximately 10,500 active Navy personnel, about 10,000 family members, and 4,500 civilian personnel.

Its Apollo Soucek Field is home to 17 aviation squadrons, of which 16 are F/A-18 Super Hornets. Two of these, the largest fleet replacement squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106, and the adversary training squadron, Fighter Squadron Composite (VFC) 12, are permanently based at NAS Oceana. NAS Oceana says on its website that “routinely, two-thirds of this complement is ‘working up’ on aircraft carriers off the coast or deployed at NAS Fallon, Nevada, for live air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons training.”

The number of jets at NAS Oceana varies significantly. The base has 14 deployable squadrons, and these have a standard squadron size of 10-12 aircraft; the training squadron is larger, at over 20 aircraft, while the aggressor squadron will add 10-15 more. As such, the total assigned Super Hornets are between 200 and over 250. However, many of these (around half or so) are deployed at sea on their carriers or at training sites like NAS Fallon.

1

Davis–Monthan Air Force Base

Around 1,000 fighter jets

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The United States Air Force is different from most air forces in the world in that all of its retired, stored, or mothballed aircraft are relocated to one place, namely Arizona’s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. By contrast, a country like Russia keeps its retired, stored, or mothballed aircraft scattered across its many air force bases. This likely leads many analysts to overcount the number of fighter jets Russia has in service, as rotting hulks parked at bases may be counted in satellite imagery.

This isn’t an issue with the United States, as it pools all of its fighter jets at Davis-Monthan, a facility that is also known as ‘the boneyard.’ The number of aircraft parked at the boneyard rivals the number of aircraft in active service with the Air Force. Not only does the boneyard include former Air Force aircraft, but also those of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

According to Amarc Experience, the boneyard includes 31 Harrier jump jets, 208 A-10 Thunderbolts, 350 F-16 Fighting Falcons, 36 EA-6 Prowlers, eight F-14 Tomcats, 295 F-15 Eagles, 55 F-4 Phantom IIs, and 197 F/A-18 Hornets. While these are mostly dead aircraft, it’s worth noting that the count of a Russian or North Korean air force base would likely include a significant share of dead aircraft.

This gives the boneyard a total of around 1,180 fighter jets, including EA-6 Prowler electronic warfare aircraft and A-10 ground attack aircraft. The boneyard also has a few more combat aircraft, including single examples of heritage aircraft on display.

In addition, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is also an active airbase home to the 355th Wing, which flies A-10 Warthogs. These are being phased out, but dozens are still operated there. The vast majority of the fighter jets stored at the boneyard will never fly again, although some may. Aircraft like the F-16s sometimes get a final life as QF-16 Full-Sized Aerial Targets.