Jana Chernochova’s “Best” Fighter: You Need Four to Get a Job Done

DX Hammesem, an extern in the Forward Defense Program at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and a distinguished researcher at the Center for Strategic Research at the US National Office’s National Security Studies Institute, calculated for Defense Journal. Server How much does it cost to operate the F-35 fighter we ordered 24 from the US?

He started with the purchase price of the machine. “Each F-35 costs about $140 million,” he noted, a well-known fact. But he also pointed to the machine’s lifespan and operating costs. “With an expected operational life of 8000 hours at US$30,000 per flight hour, lifetime operation and maintenance costs could exceed US$360 million for the F-35,” converted to Czech crowns, which amounts to US$7.2 billion over the lifetime of an F-fighter. -35. One flight hour costs 600 thousand crowns. At this price, F-35 fighters typically operate in pairs, Hammes said.

And he predicted further cost growth in the F-35 fighter jet’s operation. “Also, with the current fleet-wide mission efficiency rate of over 50%, you need two aircraft ($720 million) to deliver one mission-capable aircraft. Current F-35 rates are 28%, so four to ensure one aircraft is fully operational. You’re basically spending $1.4 billion for each fully operational F-35.” Showed the total cost of operating the fighter jetsThis, with a total of 24 machines, will touch almost half a trillion in their lifetime.

Is this the final price? No way. “Remember, these numbers only cover the cost of the F-35. They don’t cover the costs of pilots, maintenance personnel and training centers. They don’t even cover the cost of large static air bases and Air Defense for the equipment needed to operate the F-35,” Hammers said.

He pointed out that the military could have hundreds of drones for that kind of money. “You could have hundreds of XQ58As for this price.”

At the same time, he showed where development was heading in the arms industry. “The Turks are likely to develop an export version of their drone, so we could see a world where small, high-speed, deep-penetrating drones with various on-board weapons and sensors are available to almost everyone. Such drones can operate up to 1,500 miles from launch sites. Also, some advanced weapons launched by the F-35 , doing them at a cost of $3 million per missile like the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM,” Hammers noted.

He warns that the world will know where the F-35s are. “The world will know where the F-35s are. There are many operating in the world with ubiquitous surveillance,” he pointed out, noting that such bases would become the first targets of an enemy attack.

“We see adaptation beginning across silos, but procurement and advanced planning remain a major challenge. Instead of $360 million per plane, we should consider buying 360 cruise missiles in containers for one million dollars. These systems require a greater degree of autonomy and smaller teams. In the current environment, “We need to focus on weapons, not delivery platforms. Low-cost and expendable, primarily unmanned weapons will defeat larger weapons like the F-35,” he said. We can see a change in the war in Ukraine, where both Ukraine and Russia are competing to develop the most effective military drone, because its loss is not as financially painful as losing a large fighter jet.

Czech Defense Minister Jana Chernochová, who signed the deal to buy 24 F-35 fighter jets in January 2024, hailed the purchase. “With this intergovernmental agreement, our country and our military are entering a new era. Not only soldiers, but also modern technology, we are placed in the first league of European NATO members. The 5th generation engines are the backbone aircraft of the North Atlantic Alliance. In addition, their acquisition will increase the combat capability of the Czech army,” Minister Jana Chernochova announced after signing the purchase of F-35 fighter jets. Černochová dismisses the pointless criticism.

“Only the F-35 system will ensure that we can stand up on the battlefields of the future and, if necessary, defend ourselves effectively against external aggression with our allies,” he said. Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic, Lt. Gen. Karel Řehka, while confirming the purchase.