The United States is by far the largest exporter of military aircraft in the world (especially after the collapse of Russia's fighter jet exports since 2017 ). The United States has the luxury of producing aircraft for its unique needs and often doesn't have export as a focus during development. For example, the F-35 program was part of a larger effort to produce a fifth-generation fighter for the US and its allies, while the F-22 Raptor was built as an air dominance fighter only for the United States Air Force .
Here are some of the notable aircraft only operated by the United States military. Combat aircraft only flown by the US The United States Air Force has three categories of combat aircraft - fighter jets (F), bombers (B), and attack aircraft (A). The United States operates unique combat aircraft in all three categories.
Unique fighter jets Regarding fighter jets, the USAF's only unique active aircraft is the F-22 Raptor—the world's first fifth-generation fighter (it also has an export ban). The USAF had planned to acquire 750 F-22s, but a lack of adversaries and the high cost of the program saw it canceled. Only 187 serial production Raptors were built.
United States fighter jets (+ Ghostrider): Only operated by US?: Role: Operators: F-22 Raptor: Yes Air dominance fighter USAF F-35A/B: No Multirole stealth fighter USAF, Marines, export markets F-35C: Yes Multirole carrier-based stealth fighter Navy, Marines F-16: No Multirole fighter USAF, export markets F-15: No Mu.
