One Explanation On Why F-35 Fighter Costs Have Risen

F35A Prototyp. Wikimedia

Super-Weapon: Why Have F-35 Fighter Costs Increased? -- Forbes

Nearly a decade ago, I was one of several pundits invited to discuss troubled weapon programs with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He was concerned in particular about a new Army helicopter and Air Force fighter. It quickly became apparent that Rumsfeld knew next to nothing about either program. The one thing he did understand was their astronomical price-tags.

Rumsfeld canceled the helicopter before it ever reached production, and his successor terminated production of the fighter — the F-22 Raptor — at about half of the Air Force’s warfighting requirement. But what stuck in my mind from the meeting was the cost of the fighter Rumsfeld cited. It was way out of whack with reality. In fact, the year the F-22 was terminated, each new plane was only costing about half of what Rumsfeld said it would.

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My Comment: Let us say that I am skeptical of Loren Thompson's claims in this analysis .... government has a long history of not being very good at spending and keeping budgets.