F-35 Faces The Accountants

[Valin]

Strategy Page

Sept. 22 2018

Over the last decade the increasing costs of the new American F-35 fighter, and delays in delivering it have been scaring off foreign buyers and causing the largest customer, the U.S. Department of Defense to examine more carefully how much it really costs to operate current warplanes. Many foreign buyers developed doubts about the cost and effectiveness of the F-35 versus their current jet fighters (often F-16s). The F-35A costs more (than the F-16, per flight hour) to operate. In 2013 it was 60 percent more, now that is down to 40 percent but it is still a bad sign. For European nations, with static or shrinking defense budgets and growing demands to help with peacekeeping operations, more expensive (to buy and operate) jet fighters just don’t fit in.

Initially, the F-35 operating costs were supposed to be the same or lower than other fighters (like the F-16, F-15 or F-18). But then it was noted that F-35 operating costs were creeping upwards. In 2011, after months of contentious disagreement, the U.S. Air Force came around to agreeing with U.S. Navy claims that the F-35 will cost much more to maintain, rather than (as the F-35 promoters assert) less. In 2010 the U.S. Navy, after nervously watching the manufacturing costs of the new F-35C and F-35B (for carrier use) increase, concluded that these aircraft would also be a lot more expensive to maintain. It comes down to this. In 2013, it cost the navy, on average, $19,000 an hour to operate its AV-8 vertical takeoff or F-18C fighter aircraft. The navy calculated that it would cost 63 percent more to operate the F-35C (which will replace the F-18C) and the F-35B (which will replace the AV-8). These costs include buying the aircraft, training and maintaining the pilots, the aircraft, and purchasing expendable items (fuel, spare parts, munitions). The Navy concluded that maintenance alone would be about a third more.

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The F-35 was designed to have “affordable stealth” and much more effective sensors and electronics. The F-35 stealth is much less expensive than that in the F-22 and initial combat experience over Lebanon and Syria indicates that the stealth and internal electronic countermeasures are effective. The passive sensors and “sensor fusion” software of the F-35 also appear to be working as advertised. In the cockpit, the pilot has one large (20 inch diagonal) LCD showing all needed aircraft data with more showing on the pilots JHMDS helmet visor. That is all very well, but as with the very capable F-22 it wasn’t performance that limited procurement but excessive cost.