>My main point was that overall USAF expenses are pretty high, whatever aircraft are in use. So we shouldn't be scared by high per-airframe costs, if F-35 is sa

>My main point was that overall USAF expenses are pretty high, whatever aircraft are in use. So we shouldn't be scared by high per-airframe costs, if F-35 is say 40% better than some 'average' aircraft of comparable role, I see that and agree. I just don't see how the F35 is ever going to do all of the thing that its supporters want us to believe it will do. They want to kill the ~300 A10 fleet that costs ~18000/hr to operate in exchange for about a half-dozen F35's that cost who knows what /hr in that same role. That is not a good proposition. There is no way that a half-dozen F35's can replace 300 A10's at any operating cost.