Ranking The Most Expensive Fighter Jets Ever Used By The Military - HotCars

The U.S. military spends titanic amounts of money on its air force. It requested $165 billion for 2020 alone, and the rates are going up. That figure for 2020 was about $4 billion more than what was requested for 2019. Air force procurement, that is aircraft purchased by the military, added up to just over $17 billion in 2020, including facility maintenance and repair parts.

The different schools of thought protest the amount as too much, while others believe it's necessary in order to maintain a proper working defense. Either way, the U.S. military's air combat capabilities are propped up on some impressive, and very expensive machinery. If looking to buy a military jet, it's best to buy used.

10 F-16 Fighting Falcon - $18 Million (In 1988)

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was bred of the inadequacies found in the F-4 during the Vietnam war, namely its radar's inability to identify aircraft, thus requiring the F-4 to close in on its targets.

F-16 Fighting Falcon flying over Bahrain — GSA Business

The F-4 was expensive, too big, had bad maneuverability, poor pilot visibility, and wasn't equipped with a gun for close combat. The F-16 was a cost-effective solution that came about in the late 1980s and was revolutionary. It used to fly by wire controls and was the first aircraft to be aerodynamically unstable by design.

9 F-5 Freedom Fighter - $2.1 Million (1962); $18.4 Million (2021)

Die-hard fans of Top Gun may recognize the MiG-28s as repainted F-5s. The Department of Defense selected the F-5A for its Military Assistance Program (MAP), and in 1965 the air force sent 12 of them to Vietnam as part of operational service trials.

f-5-freedom-fighter-lineup — Via: Pinterest

The F-5 is powered by twin General Electric J85 turbojets exerting 3,100 pounds of force. Its top speed comes out to march 1.4 at 36,000 feet. The F5 is now used by the Navy for air to air combat training, at one third of the cost of the FA-18.

8 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter - $28 Million

The Defense Department's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program's goal was to create an air to ground multi role fighter, with air to air as a secondary purpose. The F-35 was more affordable because it used a lot of the same technology found on the F-22.

Each division of the military got its own version of the F-35, including the Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps. The variant that went to the Royal Navy and Air Force was similar to the model that went to the Marine Corps.

7 Grumman F-14 Tomcat - $38 Million

If the MiG-28 in Top Gun was an F-5 in disguise, the F-14 is what chased it down. Introduced in 1970, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat was designed to attack multiple targets at once under cover of night and under any weather condition.

The F-14A uses twin Pratt & Whitney TF-30P-414A turbofan engines to reach Mach 1.9. It replaced the extremely expensive (for its time) F-4 Phantom II, and was phased out by 2010. The F-14 uses AWG-9, a radar designed to track up to 24 targets simultaneously and fire on six.

6 F/A-18 Hornet - $80 Million

Where Naval planes are designed to be carrier based, the F/A-18 satisfies both carrier and base take offs and landings. It served as another replacement for the F-4 Phantom II. The Hornet uses a fly-by-wire control system that responds quickly to pilot inputs, making it relatively easy for new pilots to learn.

An F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" was later developed to make up for the range inadequacies found with the Hornet. It used twin F414-GE-400 engines, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.6.

5 Boeing EA-18G Growler - $100 Million

As a relatively new vehicle, the Boeing EA-18G Growler was developed in 2007 and deployed by the Navy in 2009. The Growler slots in as the most advanced electronic attack aircraft in the skies. Its primary function is to jam enemy radar.

It's secondary purpose is to suppress enemy air defenses. Its active electronically scanned array radar provides detection, targeting, tracking and protection for air to air and air to ground applications. Despite its advanced technology, the Growler is relatively modestly priced.

4 F-15E Strike Eagle - $138 Million

An F-15E Strike Eagle flies over Afghanistan. — via USAF Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon

The F-15E Strike Eagle is the fastest jet on this list so far. Powered by twin Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 turbofan engines, the Strike Eagle can reach Mach 2.5 at sea level. The Strike Eagle is a two seater that was developed out of the F-15 in 1987, and is especially adept at air to ground applications, namely bombing.

Two F-15E fire AIM-7M — U.S. Air Force photo by Major Gary

It can be operated day or night, in any weather condition, and uses a radar jammer, warning receiver and flare dispenser to identify and counter any enemy threats, even at high frequencies.

3 F-22 Raptor - $150 Million

The F-22 Raptor has been dubbed the world's preeminent air dominance fighter. Some of its abilities include stealth, supercruising speed of Mach 1.5 and superior agility. Production ceased in 2009 in favor of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but there are still 183 F-22 jets in service today.

Lockheed's $7 billion F-22 maintenance contract will run out in 2024. The F-22 Raptor uses a radar warning receiver, and a missile launch detector. 39-percent of the Raptor is made of titanium, the rest is made up of carbon fiber, aluminum and thermoplastic.

2 F-4 Phantom II - $18.4 Million (1960); $164.65 Million (2021)

The F-4 Phantom II was a twin engine, all weather fighter bomber, that was in service from the early 1960s until 1979. It flew missions primarily in Vietnam at first for the Navy and then for the Air Force. Accounting for inflation, the F-4 is one of the most expensive jet fighters that has ever served the US military, and over 5,000 were built over its lifetime.

It used twin General Electric turbojet engines and could carry the F-4 past Mach 2. Early 1970s F-4s were equipped with long range targeting systems that could detect ground and air targets.

1 F-35 Lightning II - $400 Million

Lockheed Martin Lightning II — Via Lockheed Martin

Deemed too expensive by the military, the F-35 Lightning II is quite a jump in price compared to the Phantom II. In 2020 the Air Force spent almost $6 billion on the Lightning II alone, yet production numbers land somewhere past 645.

Facts About the F-35 Lightning — via Ars Technica

In 2019, the Department of Defense agreed to purchase 478 F-35s for $34 billion from Lockheed Martin, but over 570 were delivered by October 2020. It's the GT-R of the skies, with enough computers to gather and distribute data to other fighters.

NEXT: Here Are The 10 Worst Fighter Jets Ever Made

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Brian Grabianowski (64 Articles Published)

Brian has been writing about cars for almost 15 years for various publications across multiple mediums. He has reported on motorsports events and attended press conferences for vehicle releases. Brian has owned and worked on Japanese sports cars and motorcycles, German executive sedans, as well as American trucks and Mustangs. His goal is to build a classic car with modern power.