The Pentagon has raised its estimate for acquiring the US F-35 fleet by about $51 billion to $536.2 billion, reflecting higher production costs and additional research and development spending for the Lockheed Martin programme. The revised figure covers planned purchases of 2,456 F-35A, F-35B and F-35C aircraft, with unit flyaway costs also moving higher across all three variants.
The updated acquisition cost is more than 10% above the previous 2023 estimate of $485.2 billion. Reported flyaway costs in 2012 dollars now stand at about $78 million for the F-35A, $110.3 million for the F-35B and $93.4 million for the F-35C.
Modernisation and thermal-management work are among the main drivers of the increase, alongside the costs of newer production lots. The broader lifecycle estimate for the programme has also fallen below $2 trillion after previously moving above that threshold, even as the acquisition bill continues to rise.