Show Me the Money

Aircraft Program Value

Major governments around the planet want a slice of the swelling F-35 pie, and they’re putting their money where their mouths are. 

The stealth fighter’s global market reached an all-time high in 2017: Militaries around the world paid a combined $5.73 billion for F-35 deliveries. In the last 20 years, few aircraft programs could boast an annual market even close to $5 billion. The F-16 pushed ahead of that mark in the late nineties, its worth hitting $5.4 billion in 1999. 

That’s according to data from the DC-based Teal Group, a think tank with expertise in the market impact of military programs. The data breaks down total market values of major fixed-wing aircraft programs, ranging from the F-15 to the B-21­—from 1994 through today—and projects those values into the future through 2026. All amounts are adjusted to 2017 dollars.

The 2018 market for F-35s is projected to reach $8.15 billion worth of deliveries. No single aircraft has surpassed the $6 billion mark since 1994, when the F-16’s market hit $7.03 billion in today’s dollars.

Looking to the future, the F-35’s production value will peak in 2024, when its worldwide market reaches $16.3 billion.

Below is a visualization of Teal’s data and projections.