Cost figures on which I based my statements.
USAF budget documents indicate that an F-15EX will have a "flyaway" cost of $87.7 million. An F-35A delivered in 2022 will have a "flyaway" cost of $77.9 million. But you've always got to be careful when aircraft prices are listed, because the definitions are, shall we say, "fluid". To the "flyaway" cost of a F-15EX must be added the cost of major systems such as the radar and the electronic warfare suite which aren't covered in that number, whereas the "flyaway" cost of the F-35A includes those systems. So, the difference is even greater.
Where the money is to be made is in operating costs. Using 2019 figures (latest available) obtained by Aviation Week via a Freedom Of Information Act request, the operational cost per flying hour for an F-35A was $43,123, while an F-15E cost $26,733 per hour. As you can see, the lower operating costs makes up the difference relatively early in the -EX's career even adding in the radar, EW and other systems.
The spanner in the works is Lockheed and the Joint Project Office's claim that the F-35A operating costs will drop to $25K per hour by 2025 a number that is being met with some skepticism.
Last edited by Commando Cody; 20th Mar 2021 at 19:21.