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The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.[14] Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces[e] and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
The United States Air Force is a military service branch organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force through the Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense and is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. The highest-ranking military officer in the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who exercises supervision over Air Force units and serves as one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As directed by the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force, certain Air Force components are assigned to unified combatant commands. Combatant commanders are delegated operational authority of the forces assigned to them, while the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force retain administrative authority over their members.
Along with conducting independent air operations, the United States Air Force provides air support for land and naval forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2020[update], the service operates approximately 5,500 military aircraft[15] and approximately 400 ICBMs.[16] The world's largest air force, it has a $179.7 billion budget[17][18][19] and is the second largest service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, with 321,848 active duty airmen,[f][3] 147,879 civilian personnel,[g] 68,927 reserve airmen,[h][3] 105,104 Air National Guard airmen,[i][3] and approximately 65,000 Civil Air Patrol auxiliarists.[5]
- ^ "AF Branding & Trademark Licensing". trademark.af.mil. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "National Security Act Sections 207-209". National Museum of the United States Air Force. U.S. Air Force. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023.
The USAF began operating as a separate service...on Sept. 18, 1947.
- ^ a b c d e f "United States Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request" (PDF). Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Civilian Demographics December 2023" (PDF). Air Force Personnel Center. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ a b "2023 Report to Congress". Civil Air Patrol. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ Cancian, Mark (3 December 2020). "U.S. Military Forces in FY 2021: Air Force". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "Air Force Arsenal of Land-Based Nukes Shrinking as Planned". Associated Press. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Aim High ... Fly-Fight-Win to be Air Force motto USAF". United States Air Force. 12 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
- ^ "Ventura" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "The Air Force Flag" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Agency. United States Air Force. 24 March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Lindsay, James (16 September 2022). "Happy 75th Birthday to the United States Air Force". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Air Force Instruction 34-1201" (PDF). 9 June 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ "Army Air Corps symbol". www.trademark.af.mil. U.S. Air Force. Archived from the original on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Air Force". United States Air Force. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Cancian, Mark (3 December 2020). "U.S. Military Forces in FY 2021: Air Force". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "America's Nuclear Triad". U.S. Department of Defense. 30 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "Department of the Air Force President's Budget". SAF/FM. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ Baker, Sinead (15 July 2023). "The world's most powerful air forces in 2023, ranked". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ Suciu, Peter (17 December 2021). "World's largest Air Force: U.S. Military Has More Aircraft Than Next 5 Nations Combined". 19fortyfive.com. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
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