1) Glad pilot is alive.
2)
From: IG.space website
Interestingly, the original $6.4 million per plane price in 1975 works out to about $33 million in 2022 dollars, so despite the improvements, the F-16 is still a relative bargain and the price hasn’t really risen in 47 years from a dollar-value perspective.
How Much an F-16 Costs Per Flight Hour, to Fuel, and Maintain
The F-16C Viper costs $22,514 to operate per hour.
Assuming a gallon of gas costs $5.5, it costs $5,700 on average to fuel an F-16.
F-16 maintenance costs are not publicly disclosed, but defense analysts speculate it costs $10 million to maintain an F-16 every year.
IG space website is wrong. Price is $29 million in 1979 dollars (when the first orders by the AF were being filled). The YF-16 and YF-17 were $38 million each in 1974.
The 66 Block 70 F-16s for Taiwan cost $8 billion, which is $121 million each, making a new F-16 more expensive than an F-35. The F-35 also costs less than a new F-15 EX or Strike Eagle. That’s just one more reason that the complaints about how expensive the F-35 is is just total crap.