Pentagon bill waives cost-control rules for $100B+ fighter-jet deals
S. 4374 — Airpower Acceleration Act of 2026 · Filed by Ted Budd (R-NC) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Defense to enter into multiyear contracts to buy F-35 and F-15EX fighter jets without meeting certain statutory requirements that normally apply to such large procurements. It also requires the Air Force to maintain a minimum inventory of 1,800 fighter aircraft through 2035 and allows the Air Force to expand its F-15EX fleet from 129 to 329 aircraft, with new purchases replacing older F-15E jets.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to authorize multiyear fighter-jet contracts while explicitly exempting them from section 3501 statutory requirements (cost-control, competitive review, and agency-head findings). This is a targeted deregulation of procurement oversight, not a routine authorization.
What the text implies
- Waiving section 3501 requirements removes statutory cost-control mechanisms and competitive-review safeguards that normally apply to multiyear defense contracts, potentially enabling cost overruns and reduced competition without explicit congressional approval of each waiver.
- The 90-day reporting requirement (preliminary findings post-enactment) is a weak substitute for pre-contract statutory review; it allows contracts to proceed while findings are still being compiled, inverting the normal sequence of review-then-contract.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Lockheed Martin (F-35 prime contractor); Boeing (F-15EX prime contractor); Defense subcontractors and component suppliers across the aerospace and defense industrial base