[USNBandit]

The fly away costs for the last F-22s (no R&D costs) was $167 million. Not fair to the F-22 to count R&D on such a short run. That is well above current fly away for F-35.

[diogenes ghost]

R&D on F-35 is currently at $100Billion.....and rising. At a projected buy of 2,500 (we both know that will NEVER happen), the F-22 becomes a veritable bargain.

The F-35 is being built under "concurrent development" procedures, meaning the aircraft built and flying ALL have to have massive rebuilds before they are at final status. Some of the capabilities planned have never been built, never been tested, and nobody is certain they can EVER WORK AS ENVISIONED.

I urge you to read the POGO article. It is written from a neutral perspective by a very good organization.