>Cost for operating F35 is astronomical. It's high but considering the expected number of flight hours the airframe can take, it's on par or not significantly

>Cost for operating F35 is astronomical. It's high but considering the expected number of flight hours the airframe can take, it's on par or not significantly worse than others. For example the Eurofighter is a $120 million plane with an airframe lifespan of 6,000 flight hours, whereas the F-35 is an $85 million plane with an airframe lifespan of 8,000 hours. Even with higher maintenance costs the tradeoff is still pretty favorable. Compare that to the Gripen E which is cheap to operate, but still costs $85 million, isn't stealth, and is less capable in many respects.