Please correct me if I'm wrong but 1 trillion dollars is 1x10^12 dollars or 1,000,000,000,000.00.

That would mean that each of those 2,500 planes costs 400 million dollars!!!

Honestly if I had to spend all that money on war planes, I would go with F-15 or F/A-18. Assuming they cost 100 millions I could get 10,000 planes!

This disgusts me. I won't criticize any further, everything that needed to be said about the U.S. government has been said multiple times.

The military estimates buying and flying the full fleet of roughly 2,500 F-35s could cost $1 trillion over 50 years.

I think you guys read it wrong.

What the fuck!! They could pay off the UK's total debt with that doe!

yes, still stupid, just not as stupid.

50 years from now, laser planes will be available.

The F-35 has been a disaster. It was meant to be introduced into NATO and other Western allied air forces years ago and it was also meant to decrease costs due to being a one size fits all type of design. The opposite has happened and has in fact ended up being more expensive then the now no longer manufactured and superior Air Superiority Fighter (and more stealthy) the F-22.

The RAND Corporation carried out simulation tests against Russian Su-35 (which is a 4th++ Gen air superiority fighter) where the supposedly 5th Gen F-35 was soundly beaten.

I think it's a case of where there has been so much money and faith put into the F-35 that to cancel it now would be a major political embarrassment, so many heads would roll, military aircraft procurement would be set back by at least a decade and US worldwide prestige would be badly damaged.

What's even worse is Russia will in a few years time start manufacturing their version of the F-22 and will make it available for export (India being the first to sign up- China making their own version). Being solely an air superiority fighter, it's likely to be able to defeat the F-35 in air to air combat so the US may have to restart their F-22 production and perhaps even lift the export ban on it.

So they're about $14-15 trillion in debt but they can afford another trillion on new planes? Holy shit that's messed up dude.

No biggie, the gov't will just print more money :)

LOLOL, go America!

it will cost $1 trillion to buy 2,500 jets, fly them, maintain them, etc over 50 years.

really not that much when you think about it, these planes will be viable for 50 years, before they need a major successor.

each Jet costs roughly 122million to make currently.

also the F-35, is set to replace the F-16, A-10, and the F/A-18, and others so again we will be decomishoning many of our older fleets (which saves money), and started this program in its place.

and if you think about it, these are a hell of a lot cheaper than our B-2 bombers, which cost like $800million to make each (we only have like 20 of these).

of course this is a completely different type of plane. with completely different objectives.