Note on operating cost figures: Operating costs are based on third-party data. Since neither the calculation methodology, the exact time of data collection, nor the full scope of costs are known, the informative value is limited accordingly.
Note on cost basis: All USD amounts from US government sources (GAO, CBO, DoD) in this article are expressed in Base Year 2012 Dollars (BY2012$). Adjusted for inflation to 2026, actual values are approximately 40–50% higher.
The operating costs of the F-35A vary depending on the calculation method used. The authoritative GAO report GAO-24-106703 cites USD 33,600 to 34,000 per flight hour in constant 2012 dollars for the year 2022 [3]. The annual costs per aircraft amounted to USD 7.5 million -- significantly above the original target of USD 4.1 million [3].
Lockheed Martin has repeatedly promised to reduce costs to USD 25,000 per flight hour (BY2012$). This target has not yet been achieved [4].
The estimated sustainment costs over the programme's lifetime rose from USD 1.1 trillion (2018) to USD 1.58 trillion (2023, BY2012$) -- an increase of 44% in five years [3][5]. The total costs of the F-35 programme (procurement plus operations for 2,470 aircraft through 2088) exceed USD 2 trillion [3][6].
Armasuisse estimated in 2021 that annual operating costs would amount to CHF 9.66 million per aircraft, or CHF 347 million for the entire fleet [7]. Total costs over 30 years were projected at CHF 15.5 billion (procurement and operations) [7][8].
The armasuisse estimate exceeds the US average values. This is plausible: smaller fleets bear disproportionate logistics costs, and Swiss wage and infrastructure costs are higher. Given the continuously rising US costs (+44% in five years), however, it is unclear whether even this estimate is sufficient.
Critical: The US Air Force reduced annual flight hours from 230 (2020) to 187 (2023). This lowers the cost per hour mathematically but obscures the actual cost trajectory [4].
Translated from the German version. See the German version for complete references.
→ See also: Procurement Costs and Cost Overruns