According to the latest GAO report, the program acquisition unit cost (PAUC) of the F-35 will be $161 million. That figure includes amortization of the development cost across the expected production run. But how much should acquisition officials reckon to pay for their F-35s, going forward? Of course, that will depend what F-35 variant they buy, in what quantity and when.
The GAO report also gives a forecast for the average production unit cost (APUC): $137 million. This includes the amortized cost of support equipment, plus initial spares and training, and various other costs that a customer will incur before its shiny new jets are ready to fly in operations. Again, the APUC assumes that very large production run.
But Lockheed Martin maintains that the unit recurring flyaway cost (URFC) is the best yardstick. The company told AIN: “Each customer has a unique set of requirements and options for their aircraft and the way they intend to support and use them. Since not all customers want the same options, the best place to begin and compare to other aircraft is the basic cost of the aircraft, which is established through the URFC.”
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The GAO report also gives a forecast for the average production unit cost (APUC): $137 million. This includes the amortized cost of support equipment, plus initial spares and training, and various other costs that a customer will incur before its shiny new jets are ready to fly in operations. Again, the APUC assumes that very large production run.
But Lockheed Martin maintains that the unit recurring flyaway cost (URFC) is the best yardstick. The company told AIN: “Each customer has a unique set of requirements and options for their aircraft and the way they intend to support and use them. Since not all customers want the same options, the best place to begin and compare to other aircraft is the basic cost of the aircraft, which is established through the URFC.”
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