A Marine signals to an F-35B Lightning II pilot at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, March 10, 2026. (US Marine Corps photo)
WASHINGTON — The estimated cost of buying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has risen in recent years, but the Defense Department now expects to spend less money overall on the stealth jet compared to earlier projections, according to a recent Pentagon report.
In all, the Pentagon anticipates it will cost about $536.3 billion to acquire all planned copies of the tri-variant F-35, according to what’s known as a modernized selected acquisition report (MSAR) released by the Pentagon [PDF] that covers the year 2025. That’s up from $485.2 billion in a previous MSAR published in 2024. The estimates encompass development and procurement costs.
But when calculating the price of operating the jet over its lifespan, the Pentagon expects to spend a total of roughly $1.93 trillion. While an eye-popping sum, the projection is slightly lower than a total expected cost of $2.06 trillion listed in the MSAR published in 2024. (The valuations account for inflation to estimate costs in the year of purchase.)
The overall lifecycle estimate is essentially an educated guess for what prices might look like over the next six decades. The figure accounts for most conceivable costs associated with operating the jet, like the price of fuel and staffing, as well as more complex technical estimates, such as sustainment and future upgrades. Costs fluctuate for a number of factors, such as “affordability initiatives” that the document says have helped lower anticipated spending and changes to the cost of materials and projected manpower.
