How Much Does F35 Cost? The Real Numbers

No one pays a sticker price for an F-35. The Lockheed Martin fighter is bought by governments through multiyear production contracts, and the number you see quoted depends on which cost is being counted. Flyaway cost, program acquisition cost, and operating cost are three separate figures, and mixing them up is the main reason published F-35 numbers seem to disagree.

This page lays them out one at a time. It covers what each variant costs to buy, what the whole program is estimated to cost, and what it costs to keep a jet in the air.

Flyaway cost is the price to build and deliver one aircraft, including the airframe, engine, and mission systems. It generally leaves out spare parts, support equipment, training, and the development program that came before production. It covers the jet itself, not the cost of fielding it.

There are three variants. The F-35A is the conventional takeoff version flown by the Air Force. The F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing version used by the Marine Corps. The F-35C is the carrier version flown by the Navy and Marine Corps, with larger wings and a stronger landing gear for carrier operations.

Costs are set by production lot. Each lot is a batch of aircraft ordered under a contract, and prices change from lot to lot.

The F-35B costs the most of the three, and the A costs the least. The B's lift fan and other hardware for vertical landing add to the price, and the C's larger wing and carrier-specific features may account for its higher cost compared with the A.

Earlier lots

Prices for the earlier production lots, 15 through 17, were lower for every variant.

Comparing the two tables shows the cost of a single airframe rising from one set of lots to the next. The F-35A went from $82,500,000 each in Lots 15-17 to $92,000,000 each in Lots 18-19. Changes in contract terms, upgrades, and inflation may contribute, but the sources used here do not break down the cause.

The number most often in the news is not the flyaway price. It is the total estimated acquisition cost of the whole program, which covers development, procurement of the aircraft, and the associated spending, across all three variants and all of the U.S. services.

This figure is an estimate for the full planned fleet, not the price of a single aircraft, and it is expressed in dollars across many years. Dividing it by the number of jets would give a different answer from the flyaway cost, because it includes development and support spending.

The cost of flying the jet is a separate matter. Cost per flying hour captures fuel, maintenance, spare parts, and personnel for each hour in the air. For military aircraft it is often the number that drives the long-term bill, because a fighter is flown and maintained for decades.

Compare these two rows with care. They do not come from the same year or the same source. The first is the Joint Program Office's figure for 2022, stated in constant 2012 dollars, which strips out inflation. The second is an estimate for 2026 from an aviation publication, given as a range for the F-35A. A constant-dollar figure and a current-year estimate are not directly comparable, and the definition of what is included in the hourly rate may also differ. The rows are two views of the same question, so do not read them as one trend.

Several definitions are in use, and the right one depends on the question:

• Flyaway cost: The price of one aircraft as delivered. Best for comparing variants.
• Unit procurement cost: Includes spares, support gear, and other items bought along with the aircraft.
• Program acquisition cost: Includes development and procurement for the whole program.
• Sustainment and operating cost: The cost to maintain, fuel, and operate the fleet over its lifetime.

A foreign buyer may also pay a different price from the U.S. services because their package can include training, weapons, support, and local requirements. A published average flyaway cost is a U.S. contract figure and does not tell you what another country paid.

• Variant: The B and C carry extra hardware that the A does not.
• Production lot: Each lot is negotiated separately, and later lots may include upgrades.
• Quantity: Larger orders can lower the unit price, and smaller ones may raise it.
• Configuration: Software and hardware upgrades add to the cost of newer jets.
• Inflation: Costs published in constant dollars and in then-year dollars cannot be compared directly.

The flyaway figures come from Air & Space Forces Magazine, which reports the lot prices and the program total. The Joint Program Office and the Government Accountability Office also publish cost data and reviews of the program. Check the date and the dollar basis on any figure you find elsewhere.