PROHIBITION ON RETIREMENT OF F–15E AIRCRAFT AND REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT FIGHTER AIRCRAFT CAPABILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS STUDY.

SEC. 150. PROHIBITION ON RETIREMENT OF F–15E AIRCRAFT AND REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT FIGHTER AIRCRAFT CAPABILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS STUDY.(a) Prohibition on Retirement of F–15E Aircraft.—(1) Effective date.In general.—The Secretary of the Air Force may not retire, prepare to retire, or place in storage or on backup aircraft inventory status any F–15E aircraft until September 30, 2027. (2) Determination.Exception.—The prohibition under paragraph (1) of shall not apply to individual F–15E aircraft that the Secretary of the Air Force determines, on a case by case basis, to be no longer mission capable and uneconomical to repair because of aircraft accidents, mishaps, or excessive material degradation and non-airworthiness status of certain aircraft. (3) Relationship to other law.—The prohibition under paragraph (1) supercedes any provision of section 9062(l) of title 10, United States Code, that is inconsistent with such prohibition. (b) Fighter Aircraft Capabilities and Requirements Study.—(1) Contracts.Study.—The Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into a contract or other agreement with a federally funded research and development center pursuant to which the center shall carry out—(A) Analysis.an analysis of the fighter aircraft procurement, fielding, and divestment plan of the Department of the Air Force, as submitted to Congress in accordance with section 148 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31; 137 Stat. 178); and (B) Estimate.a fighter aircraft capability and requirements study that estimates the number of fighter aircraft needed by the Air Force to meet the requirements of combatant commanders. (2) Report to secretary.—The federally funded research and development center that carries out the study and analysis under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report on the results of such study and analysis. (3) Reports and briefing to congress.—Not later than March 15, 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall—(A) Records.submit to the congressional defense committees an unaltered copy of the report received by the Secretary under paragraph (2); (B) submit to such committees a separate report on the views of the Secretary with respect to the results of the study and analysis carried out under paragraph (1), which shall include—(i) a detailed explanation of the strategy and methodology used to conduct the study and analysis, including any force sizing and shaping constructs, scenarios, and assumptions used as part of such study and analysis; and (ii) Assessment.assessed operational risk based on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff risk management classifications set forth the most recent version of the 138 STAT. 1813 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual 3105.01A, titled “Joint Risk Analysis Methodology”; and (C) provide a briefing to the committees on such results. (c) Definitions.—In this section, the term “fighter aircraft” means—(1) F–15, F–16, F–22, and F–35 aircraft; and (2) the Next Generation Air Dominance piloted combat aircraft.