Question Marks Remain Over F-35 Availability, Support
Can fifth-gen operating costs ever match fourth-gen fighters?
RAF and USAF servicemen review F-35maintenance data. (Photo: USAF)
RAF and USAF servicemen review F-35maintenance data. (Photo: USAF)

With some 400 Lockheed Martin F-35s now delivered to nine countries, and unit costs for the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A version decreasing towards $80 million as forecast, attention is switching to operating cost and support issues for the stealthy jet. It’s a mixed picture. Operating cost looks promising. Support issues less so.

According to the Joint Program Office (JPO), the cost per flying hour of the F-35A in the fiscal year ending last September was $44,000 per hour. The JPO’s goal is to reduce that to $25,000 by 2025. That number is slightly lower than today’s F-16C/D, which costs $25,500. But another office in the Pentagon—Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation (CAPE)—doubts that $25,000 can be achieved. And other top Pentagon officials say the reducing trend is too slow.