The price tag of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the military’s largest weapons program, has jumped once again and is now projected to cost $382 billion, 65 percent higher than the original estimate in 2002, according to the Pentagon’s own independent cost analysis group.
The per plane cost, including development and production, now sits at $112 million; nearly 85 percent higher than the original estimate of $62 million for an “inexpensive” replacement for the ageing F-16 fleet
