F-35 vs F-15EX: The Annual Cost Reality (Plus F-16 & Gripen) — Not a Spec Sheet Fight

Описание: Everyone loves arguing fighters by headline price and spec sheets. But real air forces don’t live on spec sheets—they live on annual budgets.

So here’s the question that kicked off this episode: if we compare the F-15EX and the F-35—and then bring in the F-16 and the Gripen E/F—can we turn “cost per flight hour” into a clean, apples-to-apples estimate of what a 12-jet squadron costs per year?

In this video, I break down a standardized way to think about operating costs (O&M), and why people get wildly different answers when they throw around “cost per flight hour.”

The problem is definition. Some numbers count only fuel and light maintenance. Others include parts, labor, heavy maintenance, support equipment, and more. If you don’t align definitions, you’re not comparing aircraft—you’re comparing accounting styles.

So I use one consistent frame: O&M cost per flight hour (standardized comparison), then convert it into annual cost per aircraft and annual cost per squadron using two simple assumptions.

We’re looking at a 12-aircraft squadron, flying 180 hours per aircraft per year—plus a quick look at what happens when the tempo goes higher.

But cost is only half the story. The other half is capability and design philosophy.

The F-15EX often shows up in “missile truck” discussions—basically, how much air-to-air firepower you can carry into a fight in a single sortie.

The F-35 is the opposite philosophy: carry less internally in stealth mode, but get closer, survive longer, and act as a forward sensor node that enables other shooters.

That’s why the real debate isn’t “which jet is best.” It’s what kind of team you’re building—and what kind of budget you can sustain for the next 10–20 years.

If you like defense content that stays grounded in real-world trade-offs—budgets, readiness, sustainment, and force design—hit like, subscribe, and drop your take in the comments.

If you had an annual O&M budget for a new 12-jet squadron, what would you prioritize: lower operating cost, missile-truck sortie power, or stealth-and-sensors survivability?

Thanks for watching—see you in the next episode.

Credit B-roll video
• 33rd Fighter Wing executes 20-front B-roll, by SrA Christian Corley
• Kadena Maintainers train on 142nd Wing's F-15 Eagles and EXs, by Steven Conklin, TSgt Alexander Frank and MSgt Steph Sawyer
• Naming and unveiling ceremony for the new F-15EX Eagle II, by Jennifer Vollmer
• B-ROLL 1 of 2: ICTs demonstrated during WSEP 25.02, by SrA Zachary Nordheim
• 388th Fighter Wing participates in William Tell 2023 F-35A Lightning II weapons load competition, by SrA J. Michael Pena
• Combat Raider 21 -Day Two Exercise B Roll Package, by 2nd Lt. Jorrie Hart
• B-Roll: F-15 Takeoffs and Maintenance, by SSgt Brooke Keisler
• F-16 launch at Osan Air Base B-roll, by TSgt Rachel Maxwell
• Swedish Gripen jets practise landing on highways
• Gripen and F-16 Formation Flight B-roll, by TSgt Warren Spearman