America’s Most Powerful Stealth Fighters Are Getting A Massive Boost, But At What Cost?

The Pentagon struck a massive agreement Thursday to procure at least 850 F-35 stealth fighters over the next decade.

The preliminary agreement with Lockheed Martin would establish a decade-long production framework for the advanced fighters, which military experts say are essential to penetrating enemy air defenses and confronting increasingly capable Chinese and Russian aircraft. However, the Pentagon has not publicly disclosed a price tag for the ambitious procurement effort, which includes billions in private investment and remains subject to congressional funding, according to the Department of War.

The massive F-35 agreement arrives as Lockheed Martin is enjoying record-breaking business, with its order backlog soaring 27% in the third quarter to an all-time high of nearly $292 billion. The defense contractor also reported an 11% increase in quarterly sales to $20.7 billion and a 14% jump in net earnings to approximately $1.8 billion, according to its Oct. 22 earnings report.

A single F-35A stealth fighter costs approximately $82.5 million, while the Marine Corps’ F-35B costs roughly $109 million and the carrier-capable vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) F-35C costs approximately $102.1 million, according to Lockheed Martin. Congress authorized approximately $12.32 billion for the F-35 program in the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), supporting the procurement of 47 aircraft and related program expenses, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Based on those figures, purchasing 850 F-35 fighters could cost approximately $70.1 billion on the low end if every aircraft were an F-35A, or $86.8 billion on the high end if every aircraft were a VTOL F-35C, using previously reported unit prices from Lockheed Martin.

Those estimates cover the aircraft alone, excluding spare parts, modifications, maintenance and other expenses, meaning the ultimate price tag could be substantially higher. The agreement covers additional international orders, spare parts, modifications and maintenance services, according to the company, which referred to its most recent press release when reached for comment.

The U.S. Air Force and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

“The F-35 is the most advanced and capable fⁱghter in the world,” Steven Bucci, a former senior Pentagon official and visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Both the Russians and the Chinese know it is much more capable than their best fighters.”

“F-35s are able to penetrate environments with advanced air defense systems at lower relative risk, expanding commanders’ freedom of action and the target sets they can strike relative to earlier-generation fighters,” Jim Fein, a senior research associate for national security and the defense industrial base at the Heritage Foundation, told the DCNF. “From a functional perspective, two key differentiators are that stealthier aircraft reduce the risk aircraft (and their pilots) are shot down and enable them to strike targets further inside contested airspace at lower relative risk.”