HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF A FIGHTER PROGRAM?
Alex Hollings | October 20, 2022
As the United States once again finds itself focused on deterring near-peer opponents, it means returning to a time of assessing the efficacy of defense programs that may never actually see combat — and that means taking a long hard look at what makes these high-profile fighter programs truly successful in the eyes of the American and global public.
Right now, the United States has at least two next-generation fighter programs in development — the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance and the Navy’s F/A-XX fighters — and although we’re still years away from these jets entering service, Defense officials have already begun preparing the American people for a bit of sticker shock. In April of 2022, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall hinted that the Air Force’s next fighter may be the most expensive aircraft program in history, with a per-unit price tallied in the “multiple” hundreds of millions of dollars.
“This is a number that’s going to get your attention,” Kendall said. “It’s going to be an expensive airplane.”
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is currently the most expensive defense program in history, and its high costs and developmental setbacks have led many to consider the fighter itself to be a failure, despite it being the most technologically advanced fighter ever to fly.
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