Key Points and Summary – The F-35 Lightning II program comes with a staggering $2 trillion lifetime price tag, but this analysis argues it’s worth every penny.
-The cost covers continuous modernization needed to stay ahead of threats from China and ensures vital interoperability among U.S. allies.
A U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II from the 48th Fighter Wing approaches a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing during an aerial refueling mission as part of combat readiness inspection Skyway Chariot over the North Sea, May 8, 2025. Skyway Chariot was designed to assess how effectively the 100th ARW could operate under constrained conditions in the face of a potential threat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aidan Martínez)
-Most importantly, the F-35 has proven its unique capabilities in real-world combat, from destroying ISIS tunnels in Iraq to bombing Taliban targets through thick clouds in Afghanistan—a feat other jets couldn’t accomplish.
-These combat successes demonstrate the “literal bang for the buck” that the advanced stealth fighter provides.
Is the F-35 Worth the $2 Trillion Lifetime Cost?
The F-35 Lightning II is the second-ever fifth-generation stealth fighter jet to achieve operational status, following in the footsteps of the F-22 Raptor.
During its decade of operational service, the F-35 has generated quite a bit of controversy, thanks in no small part to its $2 trillion lifetime cost, as calculated by the General Accounting Office (GAO). That price tag quite naturally prompts the question of whether the Lightning II is worth it. What sort of bang is the American taxpayer getting for his or her buck?
F-35 MODERNIZATION AND UPGRADE PROGRAM
A lot of the F-35’s expenditures have been directed to cover continual improvements and upgrades to the platform. In light of China’s ever-expanding stealth fighter fleet and its growing capabilities – as manifested in both the Chengdu J-20 and the Shenyang J-35 – the importance of continuing to improve the F-35 cannot be overstated.
According to a statement from the F-35 Joint Program Office, “This figure accounts for all costs associated with the development, production, and sustainment of the F-35 air system …The program’s 40 years of development and modernization, along with simultaneous efforts in development, production, and sustainment, contribute to its increased complexity and cost.”
J.R. McDonald, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of business development for the F-35 program, furthered the case at the Paris Air Show: “Number one, all of the sensors [are] being improved dramatically. Number two, the ability to carry more and different types of weapons. And number three, and I think this will become the ultimate game-changer, is the additional interoperability features that will allow us to communicate across the domains and be that central node in the battlespace.”
INTEROPERABILITY
If a war with China were to indeed break out, a multinational effort by the U.S. and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region would be needed to fight it – hence the urgent need for interoperability. (NATO fighter pilots would also need to be on the same sheet of music in the case of a full-scale war with Russia.)
U.S. Air Force Maj. Kristen “Beo” Wolfe, F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team Commander with the 388th Fighter Wing, flies over the crowd during the Warriors Over the Wasatch Air and Space Show on June 25, 2022 at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Erica Webster)
The money spent on the F-35 helps ensure that interoperability. In April 2024, Royal Australian Air Force Air Commodore Angus Porter, then the air attaché at the Australian Embassy in Washington, praised the Joint Strike Fighter’s interoperability – including the ability to communicate among the Joint Strike Fighters of non-English-speaking countries such as Japan and South Korea.
THE LITERAL BANG FOR THE BUCK
The F-35 has proven its worth in combat multiple times over. To cite just two examples, courtesy of Simple Flying:
-On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Air Force used the F-35A in combat for the first time. ‘
The action came during Operation Inherent Resolve, the aerial bombing campaign against ISIS, in Wadi Asahi, Iraq. According to the official Air Force press release, “The F-35As conducted the airstrike using a Joint Direct Attack Munition to strike an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache deep in the Hamrin Mountains, a location able to threaten friendly forces.”
-The U.S. Marine Corps first used the F-35B over Afghanistan to carry out strikes against the Taliban. Afghan Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat recounted one particularly impressive F-35B strike in the country’s mountainous southwest: “At the time, the cloud cover and temperatures plunging below zero made it impossible to conduct air strikes against the Taliban using U.S.-supplied A-10s.”
Sadat recalled being amazed by the strike. While an attacking A-10 would be seen or heard, the stealthy F-35Bs were not – but the bombs landed on target through the clouds.
Sadat gave the F-35s on that mission the catchy codename of “Cool Birds.” He added that, “The impact [the F-35] left on my soldiers was amazing. Like, whoa, you know, we have this technology. But also the impact on the Taliban was quite crippling, because they have never seen Afghan forces move in the winter, and they have never seen planes that could bomb through the clouds.”
Long story short: Yes, the F-35 is worth the money.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU).
Military Affairs
China’s Stealth Air Force Has 1 Mission
Krystal cane
August 23, 2025 at 6:31 pm
Don’t worry what Donald dumpster fire in charge nobody else in the free world’s going to want to buy this thing because they don’t want it to just freeze up and flight because Donald Trump doesn’t like them anymore That’s why no one wants to do business with the United States of America because of this idiot in charge of the United States and the idiots that voted him in
Manta
August 23, 2025 at 9:40 pm
Out with the old, and in with the new
Ghost_Tomahawk
August 23, 2025 at 11:19 pm
3 F35s were lost in 1 weekend going into Iran. That’s 300 million dollars lost.
The F35 is GARBAGE. You can’t build enough of them to make an impact and by the time you do… you’re either into something better OR are spending hundreds of billions upgrading them because they’ve become antiquated.
The future is unmanned 4th gen non stealth planes with electronic warfare leading the way. Not unstealth planes like the F35 at 100 million a pop being escorted by E/A18s…