How Much Does The F-22 Raptor Actually Cost?

Fighter jets are some of the most advanced pieces of combat equipment on the planet, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that they cost a bit more than your average sedan. The amount of money spent on design and engineering alone is enough to justify their incredibly high price tags, and many fighter jets have proven themselves in combat for the better part of a century. One of the most impressive fighter jets of the 21st century is the F-22 Raptor, operated by the United States Air Force. 

The F-22 isn't an inexpensive plane, and the cost of developing the nascent technology that went into its design was staggeringly high. All told, the U.S. government spent $67.3 billion on the program, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. Because fewer than 200 were ever produced, each aircraft cost taxpayers $369.5 million. This is the main reason that the F-22 Raptor was ultimately discontinued. 

It doesn't perform poorly, nor is the F-22 outclassed by other fighters — it's simply too expensive to produce and maintain, and many of its features helped to inspire the design of the fighter jets that followed. Despite its cost, the F-22 is an incredibly useful fighter, and while the Air Force is more interested in pursuing the F-35 Lightning II and Gen 6 technology, its pilots continue to fly the F-22. They will continue to do so for the life of the program, which is expected to run through 2030 and beyond as a bridge for the Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter that's currently in development.

Fighter jets aren't inexpensive pieces of military hardware, and they never have been, but the F-22 is unique among the world's many models. Typically, a fighter jet costs between $20 and $40 million for fourth-generation aircraft, while the newer, more agile options can cost more. For comparison, the F-35 will set U.S. taxpayers back between $110 million and $135.8 million, which isn't cheap, but the F-22 costs considerably more. 

Comparing post-procurement costs, an F-35 costs just under $42,000 per flight hour, while the F-22 costs more than twice as much at $85,325 per flight hour, according to a report by the GAO (PDF). These costs cover fuel, maintenance, and personnel. That's a lot of money, and that's long after the U.S. government shells out $350 million for a single jet. One of the main reasons they cost so much to produce has to do with the fact that F-22s are the first fifth-generation fighters, and their development cost, which almost doubled through the life of the program, was significant.

As a result, the Air Force, which still flies F-22s, is focusing more on the F-35 and the development of a sixth-generation fighter, which is on the horizon. The F-22 was built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing in a joint partnership, but both companies ceased development, with the final aircraft delivered in 2012. Of course, while the F-22 is no longer built, it's also not on the table for export, nor can civilians buy them, as they're limited to the 195 aircraft built throughout the program.

Spending $67 billion on a single fighter jet program is incredible, but it's not surprising, given how much work went into making the F-22 what it is today. The Government Accountability Office and Congressional Research Service track the figures, and the breakdown is telling. Air Force procurement kicked off in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999, and of the 195 produced F-22s, 177 were production aircraft, 16 were designated for testing, and two were for development. As the costs soared by the FY2010 budget, the administration opted to kill further procurement.

When the program began, the cost estimates were set at around $34 billion, but these increased exponentially. The government spent an estimated $32.4 billion in R&D alone, nearly reaching the total planned expenditure. Procurement cost an additional $34.2 billion, and another $676.6 million went to military construction. When production ended in FY2010, the total cost amounted to $67.3 billion, and the average unit procurement cost was $185.7 million.

That said, the cost per unit for operational aircraft is significantly higher at $369.5 million, not adjusted for inflation. Because the Air Force has 195 aircraft designated for various tasks, they require further maintenance costs, which is why it will cost the Air Force an additional $9 billion to keep them operational through 2030. That money covers maintenance as well as software and hardware modernization upgrades needed to keep the F-22 relevant for future combat operations.