<p>Aluminum alloys are extensively employed in aerospace and automotive industries owing to their high strength-to-weight ratio; however, machining-induced distortion remains a critical challenge. Milling operations inherently generate residual stresses and cutting forces, which may result in undesirable deformations, adversely affecting dimensional accuracy and component performance. Effective understanding and control of such distortions are therefore essential to enhance machining precision and product reliability. This study investigates the influence of ultrasonic assisted milling (UAM) on distortion and residual stresses in aluminum alloy 7075. A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed in ABAQUS to simulate cutting forces, residual stress distribution, workpiece distortion, and chip formation, and the obtained results were compared with the results of conventional milling (CM). The results demonstrated that UAM significantly reduced cutting forces by up to 35%, thereby lowering mechanical stresses and improving machinability. Workpiece distortion was reduced by approximately 33%, resulting in enhanced dimensional stability, while residual tensile stresses decreased by as much as 15%, contributing to improved fatigue life and structural integrity. Furthermore, chip formation analysis revealed that UAM produced finer and more fragmented chips, with superior surface quality and fewer defects. The developed FE model predicted the process behavior with reasonable accuracy, with maximum deviations confined within 10–15% relative to experimental data. Overall, the findings confirm that UAM provides a reliable approach for improving machining precision, minimizing distortions, and enhancing the performance of manufactured components, making it a promising technique for advanced engineering applications.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>