Pentagon announces significant price increase for F-35 jet program

The Pentagon has announced that the cost of the United States' F-35 fighter jet program, already the world's most expensive weapons program, has risen further.

The program's total cost, encompassing development and procurement, now stands at $438 billion. This represents a $26 billion increase from the previous estimate made just a year ago, according to Bloomberg.

Despite the significant increase, the 6.5% rise is considered relatively modest within the context of the F-35 program. Originally valued at $233 billion when Lockheed Martin Corp. was awarded the contract in 2001, the program's costs have consistently grown over the years.

The program office explained that the cost increase was influenced by factors like accounting for inflation and adjustments to production plans for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, which now extend from 2044 to 2049. Importantly, this updated estimate does not alter the total number of planned F-35 aircraft, which includes 14 development jets and 2,456 production models for the United States.

When assessing the "program acquisition unit cost" per jet, which encompasses both development and production expenses in inflation-adjusted "then year" dollars, it has risen from $166 million to $179 million over the past year, as per the Selected Acquisition Report (SAR).

To put the $26 billion increase in perspective, it is roughly equivalent to the funding Congress has allocated for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Additionally, it is approximately the same as NASA's budget request for the current year.