how many fighter jets does the uk have

The UK currently operates around 150–160 frontline fighter and multirole combat jets, mainly Eurofighter Typhoons and F‑35B Lightning IIs, as of early 2026.

Quick Scoop: UK Fighter Jet Count

• The Royal Air Force has about 151 combat aircraft (fighters, multirole and attack jets) in active service in 2026.

• These are primarily:
  • Eurofighter Typhoon (about 110–115 in service).

* F‑35B Lightning II (about 40 in service, with more on order).

• Some analyses describing the “fighter jet fleet” round this to roughly 160 frontline combat aircraft when talking broadly about jets available for combat missions.

In practical terms, if you ask “how many fighter jets does the UK have?”, a realistic current answer is about 150–160 combat jets in RAF service, depending on whether you count only fully active aircraft or the broader frontline fleet.

Small illustration

Think of the RAF’s fighters as two main spears:

• Typhoon : the workhorse, 4th‑generation multirole fighter, forms the bulk of numbers.

• F‑35B : the newer 5th‑generation stealth jet, smaller in number but steadily increasing as deliveries continue.

Note: Exact figures change with maintenance status, upgrades, and new deliveries, so most public sources give rounded or category-based counts rather than a precise day‑by‑day total.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.