The 5th generation fighter Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a very popular thing. Australia received 50 of the 72 ordered aircraft of this type; Denmark only 6 out of 27 planned; Norway 31 out of 52; Netherlands 24 out of 37; Italy 15 out of 90; Israel 33 out of 50; Japan 23 out of 147; South Korea 40 out of 80; Great Britain 27 out of 42; even Singapore has already received 4 of the 12 ordered 5th generation fighters. And then Finland ordered 64 fighters; Poland – 32 F-35A; Belgium – 34 aircraft. Even the eternally neutral Switzerland hastened to order 36 planes.

The most ambitious plans are from the Pentagon, which plans to purchase 2,456 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, of which 1,763 will go to the Air Force; 420 to the Marine Corps, and 273 to the Navy.

It is within the framework of this rearmament program that the Pentagon is trying to negotiate with Lockheed Martin on the price of the next batch of 275 fighters, which the army will receive within 3 years. The price is $30 billion, and the final cost of each aircraft depends on the size of the lot, so negotiations will continue for at least a few more months. That is, the preliminary agreement already exists, it remains to agree on the amount of the contract.

It is known that the first copies of the F-35A, which came off the assembly line in 2007, cost $221 million each. With the start of mass production, the cost per unit dropped to $79 million, but this was in 2019 in a batch of 478 aircraft. A decrease in the volume of purchases, inflation, and shortages of some components can affect the final price.

On the other hand, as we already wrote, the US military budget for 2023 has been significantly increased, so probably the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin will somehow come to an agreement.

We will remind you that Russia has only 3 (three) 5th generation Su-57 fighters, which do not dare to enter the airspace controlled by the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine.