Maj. Gen. Stephen Lorenz, a top Air Force budget official, says USAF is in the hole by about $800 million this year—all due to fuel increases. The big gas guzzler is Operation Noble Eagle, the domestic air defense activity now ending its fourth year. Noble Eagle now has a total annual price tag of $1.2 billion—or about $100 million per month.
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.