My granddad still loves sharing with us, each time we vist, tales of all his aviation stories from his days as a young man in the Army Air Corp (prior to the inception of the Air Force) so it is easy to take pride in these program when you are in a country steeped with such history and presence.
Of course his stories were also fostered at a time of World War! How is it exactly that we still find it thrilling to spend money this way?
None the less, not only is the technology surrounding this program amazing, it comes with the most amazing statistics by already being the most expensive defense acquisition program in U.S. history!
Each plane is now estimated to cost tax payers between $80 and $95 million dollars EACH, just to build! This does not include, pilot training, fuel, weaponry, nor maintenance and upkeep. When you start combining those figures you get closer to $154,000,000 (million) per plane.
The GAO estimates U.S. taxpayers will invest a total of $385 billion (1/3 of a TRILLION) to develop and maintain 2,457 planes through 2035.
While the joint fighter program features some of the most secret and state-of-the-art tech we can muster; surprisingly enough 730 of the aircraft are also committed to Eight US allies.
Refer to the following articles for more amazing recent details on the programs expenses and schedule:
- F-35 Fighter: Price Goes Up $771 Million on Most Expensive Defense Program
- Another $450 Million For Fighter Engine The Military Doesn't Want?
- F-35 Fighters Now Double the Cost
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