Wow! $120 million vs $219 million per unit, that’s a heck of a spread in cost estimates.
Just for perspective, a Boeing 787-8 costs $218.7 million a copy. http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/prices/
Here’s a link to what you would get for the money:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Boeing/Boeing-787-8-Dreamliner/1240280/
An apples to oranges comparison to be sure but, at some level, you’ve got to wonder just exactly what is in the F-35 that makes it so pricey?
According to information at this link, the F-35 airframe is the major cost component of the aircraft and ranges in cost between $77 and $101 million a copy depending on variant:
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?121667-F35-News-only-thread-for-2013/page18
(Note: This table has the unit cost for an F-35 falling toward the lower end of that estimated $120-$219 million unit cost range mentioned at the beginning of this post.)