Pentagon Tops $2 Trillion in Costs to Field Major Arms Programs

A new Pentagon report projects the F-35 fighter jet program’s lifetime costs will be $73 billion more than previously estimated.

That also explains why Lockheed Martin Corp.‘s F-35 jet, the world’s costliest weapons program, has become even more expensive.

The estimated total price for F-35 research and procurement has risen by $22 billion, according to the report, and the estimate for operating and supporting the fleet of fighters over more than six decades grew by almost $73 billion to $1.196 trillion. The increase reflects for the first time the current cost estimates for a major set of upgrades planned in forthcoming “Block 4” modifications, according to the report. Bloomberg News first reported the projected cost increase in April.

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