Forget The Critics: The F-35 Is NOT Too Expensive

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Is It Worth the Cost?

Since 2020, high inflation has become a critical economic issue in the post-COVID-19 era. Rising costs of supplies have impacted almost all sectors across the country, including the aircraft industry. Last month, the Pentagon’s F-35 program revealed that the cost of producing the next round of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets will likely be higher than the last due to the rising cost of supplies.

While some may consider the F-35 to be an exorbitantly expensive jet, the fighter’s capabilities make up for its hefty price tag. In short, when it comes to the F-35, you get what you pay for.

Introducing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

The F-35 is a product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which aimed to develop a cohesive Advanced Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) for the Marine Corps and the Air Force. The platform’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, pointed to the rising cost of supplies as the reason behind the price hike for the airframe’s materials and parts.

Replace It All

The joint platform was meant to replace a variety of multi-role and strike fighters in the country’s aerial arsenal, including the F-16 Fighting Falcons and the A-10 Thunderbolt IIs. International partners also joined the JSF program, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Australia, and Turkey.

Is the F-35 Really That Special? Heck Yes

The F-35 is often referred to as the “quarterbacks of the sky” due to its formidable capabilities. The fighter can fly at speeds as high as Mach 1.6 and provides unparalleled situational awareness. Its Multi-Function Data Link (MADL) is unique to this fifth-generation fighter and allows for high-speed, continuous, and secure data transmission between all F-35 jets – even those that fly for foreign militaries.

As outlined in an earlier 19FortyFive piece, “Wargames using the F-35 as well as live fire exercises such as the Air Force’s Red Flag have shown that an F-35 can see and destroy large formations of enemy fighters from standoff distances where it cannot be ‘seen’ or detected by an enemy.”

The F-35 may be the most expensive fighter globally, but it is also the most advanced. Perhaps the platform’s value can be reflected by the fact that 17 nations are currently flying or have decided to procure the aircraft down the line. While the rising costs to produce each F-35 jet are not preferred, it does not necessarily mean the fighter is becoming too expensive to rely on. In fact, all military hardware across the board is pricier today due to post-COVID economic woes.

The F-35 is arguably worth every additional penny required to produce and maintain the powerful platform.

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Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.