How The Mass Production Of This Fighter Jet Keeps Its Price Down

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is the most advanced fighter jet flying today. It boasts the world’s greatest production numbers, with the asterisk that there are high levels of uncertainty around those of Chinese jets. This high level of production has kept the per-unit flyaway costs low compared with other fourth-generation fighter jets currently in production.

The F-35 is the most heavily reported jet in the media, which leads to an information bias where the public is informed about its delays, cost overruns, and crashes, but not informed to the same degree about similar issues in other families of jets. The F-35 program is famously expensive, but that is expected of such a high-end fighter. While the per-unit costs of the F-35 are reasonable, the higher expenses relative to fourth-generation jets are in sustainment after those aircraft have been purchased.

The F-35’s Impressive Production Numbers

Credit: Shutterstock

While France’s Dassault struggles to deliver two dozen jets a year and Russian industry delivers low dozens of all fighter jet types, Lockheed Martin has a targeted sustained output of 156+ F-35s annually. Recent issues (now resolved) with the TR-3 have impacted deliveries, but not production.

In 2024, Lockheed delivered 110 F-35s, a number that includes new builds and previously stored F-35s from TR-3 issues. In 2025, Lockheed is planning to deliver between 170 and 190 Lightning IIs. That number also includes F-35s parked that needed TR-3 fixes before delivery. In 2025, Lockheed passed the milestone of delivering over 1,200 F-35s.

These numbers include all three variants (the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C) and include a limited number assembled in Japan and Italy. With the potential exception of Chinese fighters, no other fighter jet comes remotely close to matching F-35 production numbers. Lockheed Martin delivered F-35s in 2024 at a rate that exceeded all other non-Chinese frontline fighter jets (including Eurofighters, Rafale, Su-34s, Su-57s, F/A-18s, and others) combined.

Delivery Rates Of Other Fighter Jets

Credit: Shutterstock

Three other fighter jet types are currently in production in the United States: the F-15, F/A-18, and F-16. In 2024, Boeing delivered 14 F-15s and 11 F/A-18 Super Hornets. By mid-year 2025, it had delivered four F-15s and nine F/A-18s. The Navy has placed what is expected to be the final order for Super Hornets, and no more export orders are expected. The Super Hornet production line is scheduled to shut down in 2027.

Lockheed Martin continues to produce new-build F-16 Fighting Falcons for export only. In 2024, it delivered 16 F-16s, with that number expected to grow to between 23 and 26 in 2025. Meanwhile in Europe, Dassault ramped its Rafale deliveries up from 13 in 2023 to 21 in 2024. The Eurofighter is produced in multiple European countries, although the British production line fell idle in 2025 as it waited for fresh Turkish and Qatari orders.

Russia does not release numbers for its fighter jet deliveries, but its air force is estimated to have received between 20–30 new aircraft (Su-30/34/35 & Su-57) each year between 2022 and 2024. This may not include a limited number exported. The Swedish Gripen fighter jet is also only produced in modest numbers.

The F-35’s Low Fly Away Cost

Credit: Shutterstock

Lockheed Martin has finalized the deal with the US for production Lots 18 and 19 for $24.29 billion. These Lots include 296 jets, at 148 aircraft per lot. That is an impressively low number for such a high-end stealth fighter jet and works out at just $82.4 million per aircraft. This potentially makes the fly-away cost of the jet lower than the F-15EX, Rafale, and Eurofighter Typhoon.

The much smaller F-16 has one of the lowest costs of Western fourth-generation fighter jets, and is a favorite of air forces that can’t afford or don’t need higher-end jets (like Bulgaria and Argentina). The low F-35 production cost can be attributed in large part to the benefits of mass production, and the per-unit cost is even more impressive given the fact that it includes all three variants.

Most numerous and least expensive among the three types is the conventional F-35A, while the more complex STOVL F-35B has a higher per-unit price tag. According to F-35.com, the average fly-away costs for Lots 15 to 17 were $82.5 million for the F-35A, $109 million for the F-35B, and $102.1 million for the F-35C.

Lot 19 has 69 jets for the US, including 40 F-35s for the Air Force, 12 F-35Bs, and eight F-35Cs for the Marines, and nine F-35Cs for the Navy. Exports are for 79 jets. These include 13 F-35As and two F-35Bs for Joint Strike Fighter program partners, and 52 F-35As and 12 F-35Bs for other customers under the US’s Foreign Military Sales program. The UK, Italy, and the Netherlands are examples of program partners, while Israel and Germany are examples of Foreign Military Sales.

Costs Rise With Sustainment & Add-Ons

Credit: Shutterstock

Of course, flyaway costs alone do not result in a not a combat-capable aircraft. They do not include things like spare parts, munitions, certain advanced systems needed for combat, maintenance, needed infrastructure, training, and other necessities to make it into an effective fighter jet, and it costs considerably more to make the jet combat-ready. For example, Defense Express points out that the Czech Republic paid $208.3 billion for its aircraft, while Romania paid $225 million each.

As the Czech Republic and Romania are export customers, they generally have to pay higher prices than those paid by the US or the JSF partners that contributed to the aircraft’s development and production. The UK produces around 15% of each F-35, and benefits from spending some of the money in-house and getting a better price. Export versions of the Typhoon typically come with a flyaway cost north of $100 million, but the UK and other partner nations pay less.

Defense Express notes France’s Rafales cost the French military almost $131 million once extra expenses are added in. The aircraft is also much less capable than the F-35. Even so, the F-35’s lifetime costs are high due to the costs of maintenance, infrastructure requirements, and other expenses. The high sustainment costs are part of the reason why many air forces, such as the USAF, RAF, and Israeli Air Force, choose to have a high-low mix of fifth and fourth-generation fighters.

High Export Levels

Credit: Shutterstock

The F-35 is currently the only fifth-generation fighter jet exported to foreign customers, although this is changing as Russia exports Su-57s to Algeria and China may be open to exporting its new J-35. Only the US and China have the domestic demand sufficient to feasibly develop a high-end fighter and not export it. Russia, European countries, and others are reliant on exports to make their fighter jet programs feasible. The F-35 benefits from high US demand as well as high export demand.

Almost every eligible US ally or partner that has a requirement to purchase a high-end fighter jet and the money to do so has chosen to purchase it. Exceptions include Sweden and France, which focus on their own programs, and Portugal and Spain, which have taken issue with the second Trump Administration. While Portugal and Spain were in the news for announcing they would not purchase the jet, others, like Belgium, have ordered more F-35s in 2025.

Other countries, like Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan, Qatar, and the UAE have asked to purchase the jet, but have been denied by the US for geopolitical and safeguarding sensitive technology reasons. Other fighter jets, like the Eurofighter and Typhoon, have benefited from some of these countries being locked out of the F-35 program. Currently, it seems that Morocco may be the next country cleared to purchase the F-35 as it competes with its rival, Algeria.

The US’s Crushing Advantage With Fighter Jets

Credit: Shutterstock

The first French Rafale entered service in 2001, and in October 2025, Dassault celebrated delivering its 300th airframe. The F-35 entered service in 2015, and in 2025, Lockheed celebrated delivering its 1,200th airframe, so Lockheed Martin has delivered four times more jets in less than half the time. One of the Rafale’s key advantages is geopolitics, as some countries may feel more comfortable buying from France than the US, while, as stated, many don’t have the option to purchase the F-35.

Dassault has 233 examples on order, while Lockheed has thousands of F-35s on order. For the F-35, this is a virtuous feedback loop, as the more units that are ordered, the greater the benefits of low-cost mass production, the lower the cost, and the more attractive the jet is. Additionally, the more units are ordered, the more investment in the platform, the more capable it is, the more interoperability it has with other allies, and so forth.

This advantage the US has with fighter jets is termed “overbearing” and “crushing” by Professor Justin Bronk of the think tank RUSI. A similar dynamic is playing out between China and Russia. Whereas China historically trailed Russia/Soviet Union, having to content itself with second-class license-built fighter jets, it is now racing ahead with production and investment far outstripping Russia.