All military aircraft designed in the U.S. are designed to an “ultimate” load
factor which is 1.5 times the operational maximum load factor. This is sometimes
referred to as a “safety factor” of 1.5. So to get a 9g aircraft all the
structure is designed to survive to 13.5g (9 X 1.5) without suffering
catastrophic failure. You may bend the wings but they should stay attached.
Technically that is correct. However the life is a little bit more complicated.
The 1.5 safety factor refers to a brand new aircraft. Nowadays aircraft are allowed to fly with progressing cracks. If mechanics miss a crack in a structural component, strength drops. The design allows you to fly to the next inspection assuming you do not exceed the limit load. Thus, your real safety factor can be as low as 1.0 . The F-15C disintegrated in 2007 because of a missed crack at 7g only.