Aircraft
F-35 Unit Costs Coming Down, But Still Well Over $100 Million
Engine costs are excluded from totals given by program officials.
The F-35A will still cost well over $100 million in 2016, and the F-35B and F-35C versions even more. This is the first F-35A for the Royal Australian Air Force, making its maiden flight last September. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
The F-35A will still cost well over $100 million in 2016, and the F-35B and F-35C versions even more. This is the first F-35A for the Royal Australian Air Force, making its maiden flight last September. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

The unit price of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter has fallen again in the latest production lot to be agreed, but is still well above $100 million. Lockheed Martin announced this week an agreement signed with the Pentagon for 43 airframes in the eighth low-rate initial production lot (LRIP-8). The company said that the average cost for the airframes is 3.5 percent lower than in the LRIP-7 contract signed last year, and 57 percent lower than the first LRIP-1 airframes.