The F-35 is the Air Force’s top-of-the-line fighter jet, but how many do they need and how many can they afford?
- Valerie Insinna, Air Warfare Reporter at Defense News, said the Air Force would buy all of the approximately 1,700 F-35s in the program of record if it had unlimited funds but that other weapons priorities, including a new stealth bomber, will require tradeoffs.
- Insinna said the Defense Department is conducting studies on the optimal mix of fighters to beat a near-peer competitor like China or Russia.
- Insinna said she thinks affording all of the F-35s will be “a real struggle” and that some “drastic moves” may need to happen to reduce operation and sustainment costs.
