Good news: F-35 program decreased by $11.5 billion due to efficiency gains with no reduction in quantities.
GAO: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/662184.pdf
Bad news: F-35 program is still $107 billion more costly than it was in 2001 and includes 409 fewer aircraft.
GAO: http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/662184.pdf
An article on DoD Buzz about the Air Force's next-generation aircraft states:
Meantime, the operational costs of the F-35 are unlikely to affect how many of the aircraft the service intends to buy, Donley said.
The cost of flying the F-35 “will be slightly higher than the F-16, there’s no doubt about that in my mind,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a link there between projected operational costs and how many we’re going to buy.”
How can there not be a link between what an aircraft costs to operate and the quantity that the Air Force will purchase? Isn't the cost of ownership a key component of fleet composition and size?