F-35 Price Drops below $90M for First Time
US Department of Defense officials signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the production and delivery of 141 F-35 aircraft for $11.5 billion
Dan Arkin
| 02/10/2018
Image: Lockheed Martin
The US Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin have finalized an $11.5 billion contract for the production and delivery of 141 F-35 aircraft at the lowest per aircraft price in program history.
For the eleventh consecutive year, the cost of an F-35A was lowered. The F-35A unit price including aircraft, engine and fee, is $89.2 million. This represents a 5.4 percent reduction from the $94.3 million it cost for an F-35A in Low-Rate Initial Production Lot 10 (LRIP 10).
In LRIP 11, the F-35B unit cost was lowered to $115.5 million. This represents a 5.7 percent reduction from the $122.4 million it cost for the short-takeoff and landing variant in LRIP 10. The F-35C unit cost was lowered to $107.7 million. This represents an 11.1 percent reduction from the $121.2 million it cost for the carrier variant in LRIP 10.
The LRIP 11 agreement funds 91 aircraft for the US Services, 28 for F-35 International Partners and 22 for F-35 Foreign Military Sales customers. Deliveries will begin in 2019.
The US military's F-35B joint strike fighter conducted its first-ever airstrike on Thursday, the US Marine Corps announced. According to CNN, the strike took place in Afghanistan against a fixed Taliban target. The aircraft involved were the US Marine Corps' variant of the aircraft flying from the USS Essex amphibious assault ship.
In May, Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin revealed that F-35 fighter jets conducted airstrikes on two occasions, which he said made Israel the first country to use the stealth aircraft operationally.
US Department of Defense officials signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the production and delivery of 141 F-35 aircraft for $11.5 billion
Image: Lockheed Martin
The US Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin have finalized an $11.5 billion contract for the production and delivery of 141 F-35 aircraft at the lowest per aircraft price in program history.
For the eleventh consecutive year, the cost of an F-35A was lowered. The F-35A unit price including aircraft, engine and fee, is $89.2 million. This represents a 5.4 percent reduction from the $94.3 million it cost for an F-35A in Low-Rate Initial Production Lot 10 (LRIP 10).
In LRIP 11, the F-35B unit cost was lowered to $115.5 million. This represents a 5.7 percent reduction from the $122.4 million it cost for the short-takeoff and landing variant in LRIP 10. The F-35C unit cost was lowered to $107.7 million. This represents an 11.1 percent reduction from the $121.2 million it cost for the carrier variant in LRIP 10.
The LRIP 11 agreement funds 91 aircraft for the US Services, 28 for F-35 International Partners and 22 for F-35 Foreign Military Sales customers. Deliveries will begin in 2019.
The US military's F-35B joint strike fighter conducted its first-ever airstrike on Thursday, the US Marine Corps announced. According to CNN, the strike took place in Afghanistan against a fixed Taliban target. The aircraft involved were the US Marine Corps' variant of the aircraft flying from the USS Essex amphibious assault ship.
In May, Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin revealed that F-35 fighter jets conducted airstrikes on two occasions, which he said made Israel the first country to use the stealth aircraft operationally.
