Unit Cost for a Potentially Operationally Useable F-35 in 2018
Based on F-35 Appropriations Costs Identified in 2018 DOD, USAF and USN Budget Request Materials located at
DOD Comptroller Website at http://comptroller.defense.gov/Budget-Materials/Budget2018/
(Includes all hardware, modification/upgrade, and basing appropriation accounts specifically labelled to be for F35s.)
FY 2018 Dollars, Millions
Appropriation Account

USAF F-35A
(46
Requested)

USMC F-35B
(20
Requested)

USN F-35C
(4
Requested)

4,544.7
404.5

2,398.1
233.6

582.3
80.9

780.3

413.5

263.1

Modification of Aircraft

68.3

35.0

31.7

Initial & Replenishment
Spares
O&M
Beddown, Spares, Depot
Maintenance, Contractor
Logistics Support,
Aviation Logistics.

320.8

144.8

77.2

701.9

435.7

87.1

Procurement
Aircraft Procurement
Long Lead from Previous
Year
Long Lead for Future
Years

Comments

FYI only: Intended for future year purchases,
this money is not counted here as a
2018 F-35 unit price expense.
Intended for software and “concurrency”
modifications (i.e. fixes for discovered design
flaws) for previous aircraft, this money is a
surrogate for likely future fixes and upgrades
for the F-35s purchased in 2018. See also
O&M Depot Maintenance and Aviation
Logistics and R&D Follow-on Modernization
below.

Funds identified to be for F-35 flight
operations, such as training, are not included.
Funds for F-35 hardware, “beddown,” depot
maintenance (elsewhere identified as a
“concurrency” cost), etc. are included. Navy
budget materials identified $522.9 million for
both Navy and Marine Corps F-35 “Aviation

 Military Construction

305.5

15.7

None
Identified

Research &
Development
Engineering,
Manufacturing &
Development

292.9

152.9

108.9

“Squadrons” and
“Follow On
Modernization”

334.5

144.9

143.8

Total Amount for
Potentially
Operationally
Useable F-35 Variant
Potentially
Operationally
Useable F-35 Unit
Cost (See Comments
sections for what costs
are not included.)

6680.2

3407.8

1003.0

145.2

170.4

250.7

Caveats:

Logistics,” not otherwise broken down. That
amount is distributed here commensurate
with the ratio of Navy and Marine Corps
aircraft requested.
Locations specifically identified for F-35
MilCon expenses in 2018 were Eielson, Eglin,
Lakenheath and Cherry Point. F-35 MilCon
amounts vary significantly by amount,
location and military service from year to
year.
FYI-only: These amounts are for the SDD
phase, including developmental and
operational testing and are not included in
the calculation of unit acquisition cost
for hardware and upgrades.
These amounts mostly are for panned
upgrades and fixes for discovered
deficiencies and are included in the
calculation of unit acquisition cost.
The total for the three variants is $11,091.1
million.
The weighted average cost of a generic 2018
F-35 is $158.4 million.

 Funds not explicitly identified for the F-35 program, such as operational flying hour costs, squadron level
maintenance unit repairs and upgrades, civilian and military personnel costs and munitions developed for the F-35
fleet, are not included.
The cost over time of these 2018 F-35s may be higher, as the cost to fix problems discovered in final developmental
and initial operational testing may likely increase over the surrogate values used here for “concurrency costs:” i.e.
Modification of Aircraft, Follow-on Modernization, and O&M Depot Maintenance.
Because past contract announcements for F-35 contractors show that DOD uses appropriations from multiple fiscal
years, both before and after the fiscal year of the purchase in question, the unit expenses for the 2018 aircraft
purchase will also change, most likely upwards.