RAF Retirements To Bring Fighter Numbers To All-Time Low

The British Royal Air Force fighter fleet is expected to decline to its smallest size ever as aging aircraft are retired by the end of the decade, according to a new analysis cited by London's Daily Telegraph.

The RAF will have only about 127 front line combat aircraft under current plans to retire Tornado GR4 and early model Eurofighter Typhoons in 2019, as the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter starts to enter service, said the IHS Jane's report.

The service's 87 Tornados and 53...