NGAD double the price of F-35?

[Corsair1963]

NGAD Price Per Tail Will More Than Double That of F-35
April 27, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The manned fighter aircraft that will form the centerpiece of the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program will cost hundreds of millions of dollars per plane, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told members of Congress on April 27—but the service can reduce costs in development and sustainment.

Speaking before the House Armed Services Committee on the fiscal 2023 budget request, Kendall specified that the main NGAD fighter would cost “multiple hundreds of millions of dollars … on an individual basis,” acknowledging that such a price tag “is a number that’s going to get your attention.”

By comparison, the F-22 cost roughly $135 million per tail, making it the most expensive fighter the U.S. Air Force has ever developed. The F-35A, meanwhile, costs around $80 million per jet, but that number could rise.

NGAD, according to Kendall’s estimate, will dwarf those costs, at least when it comes to price per plane. But the sixth-generation platform will fulfill a key air dominance role, Kendall noted...

Full story: https://www.airforcemag.com/ngad-price- ... t-of-f-35/

[Scorpion82]

Not surprising considering that NGAD will most likely not be built in significant numbers and as costs grew with every fighter generation as the aircraft became more complex as well. Comparing the lowest unit fly away cost figures of aircraft that have been in ptoduction for a while and where the economies of scales effect has kicked in and ignoring infllation at the same time is somewhat mood though.

[sferrin]

By raise of hands, who here is stupid enough not to realize that a fighter more capable than the F-22 will cost more than an F-35? Anybody? Anybody? It's like being shocked the F-22 cost more than the F-16.

[ricnunes]

IMO, there's no better answer/comment to this than this one:

"Really, Sherlock!"

Anyway, it's clear and obvious than a fighter aircraft which will have more range than any other fighter aircraft ever developed before, will be at least as stealth if not stealthier than the best stealth aircraft (F-22 and F-35) and at the same time have a performance similar to existing fighter aircraft that...
...it will be more expensive than a F-35 or even more expensive than a F-22 (or even than most/all other fighter aircraft in existence)

[afjag]

It is not a coincidence that this information is released nearly simultaneously with the announcement that the F-15EX total purchase is being reduced to 80.

Saving money for NGAD is also one major reason why the Air Force is slashing the F-15EX program.

[jessmo112]

https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/new-us-fig ... -the-f-35/

I'd like to save quotes from this article. Ten years from now I'm going to crack up at the sticker shock from NGAD and this thread belongs in the F-35 pot.

[weasel1962]

If its only "double" the F-35 cost, it'd be a success. Few years back CBO estimated the PCA program would cost $124b for 414 units at a unit cost of $300m (incl development cost). Don't forget fighter budget will need to fund F-35s as well. Protecting the F-35 budget when NGAD is up will be difficult.

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

I'd like to save quotes from this article.

Somewhere I have the newspaper from 1995 or 1996 when the CALF and JAST were merged into JSF. The article said that it would be 10 years before the planes would fly and that the whole program costs would likely be over a trillion dollars.

[mixelflick]

If its only "double" the F-35 cost, it'd be a success. Few years back CBO estimated the PCA program would cost $124b for 414 units at a unit cost of $300m (incl development cost). Don't forget fighter budget will need to fund F-35s as well. Protecting the F-35 budget when NGAD is up will be difficult.

What he said... double the F-35's cost will probably be considered a rousing success. The new engines alone will be astronomically expensive, nevermind the newer (presumably better) stealth that's baked in, plus avionics and sensors etc.

Someone (I forget who) once illustrated the increasing size, complexity etc. and cost of new fighters through the years. He was making the point that if things continued like this, USAF would ultimately have production runs of future fighters in the single digits. Extreme example, but I honestly don't think we're going to see any F-35 like, 3,000 plus produced like numbers ever again. The only thing I can see being built en masse are drones, ala loyal wingman.

Which just may be where the real money is, at least further down the road..?

[doge]

As far as I know, NGAD plans to repeat disposable and new model replacements every Approx 10 years. (If there have been no changes to Roper's plan to date and it's proceeding.) According to Roper, the total number of these aircraft is limited to 50 to 100.

I'm not good at math, but I tried to challenge myself to do the calculation. It took me a few minutes.

Results.....
NGAD costs seems inexpensive, cheap, affordable, and economical, sustainable !!!!!!!!!!! DOT&E, GAO, CBO, and POGO do not have to do their jobs !!!!!!!!!

On the other hand, if we look at the F-35, we see that its cost is prohibitively high. Absolutely MUST Cutting it !!

[disconnectedradical]

The NGAD will be a successor to the F-22 and will be far more capable at air-to-air than an F-35. Not much point comparing the two.

[Corsair1963]

The NGAD will be a successor to the F-22 and will be far more capable at air-to-air than an F-35. Not much point comparing the two.

His point was the critics claim the F-35 costs too much. Yet, somehow the NGAD doesn't at twice the price.........

[mixelflick]

At some point the F-35 will be fully mature, it already has what... an 80 something % availability rate?

80% of your fighters getting off the ground and into combat is going to look mighty good/cheap, especially if the rest of your inventory is comprised of "50%" jets (or worse!). If USAF bungles NGAD (and there's a pretty decent chance they will IMO, after the F-22/35), the only thing that'll get us out of that mess is a bunch of F-35's. They might not be "optimal" in filling NGAD's shoes or for other missions, but some stealth fighters is better than no stealth fighters.

If USAF keeps botching things, the next step will be to raid the boneyard to re-activate all the legacy airframes stored there!

[edpop]

https://www.airforcemag.com/article/pie ... ad-puzzle/

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

If USAF keeps botching things, the next step will be to raid the boneyard to re-activate all the legacy airframes stored there!

Bring back the B-1R idea, LOL