How Much Does an F-16 Cost?
The F-16 has been a long-running and very successful military jet development. It first entered military service in 1978 and remains in production today. Over 4,500 aircraft have been built, and it has been used by around 25 military forces. It was originally designed as a lower-cost alternative to the F-15, and this has appealed to many users.
The F-16 was launched in 1978
The F-16 was first developed by General Dynamics in the early 1970s. It was envisioned as a lightweight fighter to replace the aging F-4 Phantom II. It was developed as a jet fighter (but has now evolved more into a multi-role aircraft). The F-16 was intended to be a smaller, less equipped, and lower-cost development than the F-15.
The first aircraft flew in 1974, and it entered service with the US Air Force in 1978. It has remained in development since, with several upgrades and modifications to later variants. General Dynamics sold the division to Lockheed in 1993, and today, it is manufactured by the merged Lockheed Martin. Over 4,500 aircraft have now been delivered – used by the US Air Force as well as at least 25 other nations.
New aircraft today cost around $70 million
Having been in production for so long, F-16 prices have, of course, changed a lot over the years. According to analysis from Executive Flyers, the early F-16A and F-16B variants (single and dual seat, respectively) sold in the early 1980s for around $13 million. The later improved F-16C and F-16D variants sold for just under $20 million.
Coming to more recent variants, the F-16E and F-16F have a starting price of around $25 to $30 million, but improvements and equipment can take this up to $60 to $70 million.
Of course, military sale prices and configurations are not always publicly disclosed, so pricing any jet of this type can be difficult. One major deal that has been published is the development of the F16IN by Lockheed Martin. This was a major deal from the Indian Air Force for 200 jets, with a contract value of between $13 and $15 billion. At the highest end, this would be around $75 million per aircraft.
One of the newest variants is the F-16V, with extensive warfare, radar, and collision avoidance systems. This is funded and intended for use by the US Air Force and Taiwan’s Republic of China Air Force. We were given an idea of the pricing of this latest development from reporting in Taiwan News. It was reported that the full deal from Taiwan (for 66 F-16V aircraft plus support and other equipment) was worth $8 billion. This could well support the often quoted price of around $70 million base cost per aircraft.
An ‘affordable’ military jet
Of course, numbers as high as over $60 million make the F-16 sound expensive. In fact, it is well-priced compared to other military jets. The Lockheed Martin F-35 – at the top of the scale – sell for over $170 million.
Economic pricing was one of the design considerations of the F-16. Compared to the twin-engine F-15 (pictured below), it was designed to be lower cost, both to purchase and to operate.
As a result, it has a lower speed (Mach 2 instead of 2.5), a lower operating ceiling, a shorter range, and reduced onboard equipment. It suits a different purpose, though, and has been very popular with many nations.
