The Hill quotes Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who supports buying additional F-22s (see above), that he is concerned that the F-22 costs about $50,000 per hour to fly, which makes it much more expensive than the F-15 it’s intended to replace. However, that dollar figure includes base standup and other one-time costs no longer applicable to the F-15, according to the Air Force. It also includes other costs solely related to a stealth aircraft. To get a more credible comparison between the F-22 and the F-15, the Air Force says to look at the variable cost per flying hour, which in 2008 for the F-15 was $17,000 per flying hour and for the F-22 was $19,000.
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…