The U.S. government’s estimated cost to acquire, operate and sustain the F-35 exceeds $2 trillion over the program’s long life. That is not a new 2026 estimate, nor money that Lockheed Martin alone will receive: it combines a $485.2 billion acquisition estimate based on a December 2023 Defense Department report with a separate lifetime sustainment projection of at least $1.58 trillion. Newer 2026 reporting updates sustainment needs and readiness, rather than replacing the acquisition estimate.
What does the $2 trillion figure include?
It combines two different U.S. government program cost categories: acquisition and long-term sustainment. The acquisition figure covers development, aircraft procurement and military construction. Sustainment covers the projected costs of operating and maintaining the aircraft over decades. The estimates have different dates and scopes, so the combined figure is a useful indication of scale—not a single, newly calculated 2026 total.
| Cost category | Estimate | What it covers and when it was estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | $485.2 billion | Development, procurement and military construction, in then-year dollars. The estimate is from the December 2023 Modernized Selected Acquisition Report, cited by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in September 2025. |
| Lifetime sustainment | At least $1.58 trillion | Projected costs over a 77-year lifecycle, as reported by GAO in September 2025. GAO’s June 2026 report describes the U.S.-only lifetime sustainment estimate as $1.6 trillion as of 2024. |
| Combined scale | More than $2 trillion | Acquisition plus projected lifetime sustainment; the underlying figures do not share one estimate date or a newly harmonized dollar basis. |
GAO’s September 2025 report gives the acquisition breakdown as $87.4 billion for development, $393.8 billion for procurement and $4.0 billion for military construction. Those components are a Defense Department program estimate, not a Lockheed Martin contract total. Lockheed Martin is the prime aircraft contractor, while Pratt & Whitney is the prime engine contractor. GAO-25-107632
Why “in 2026” needs a date qualification
The $485.2 billion acquisition estimate is not a fresh 2026 calculation. GAO called the December 2023 estimate the most recent Defense Department acquisition estimate available in its September 2025 review. The newer June 2026 GAO report focuses on sustainment funding, projected sustainment costs and readiness. It does not turn the acquisition figure into a new 2026 estimate.
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The dollar bases also matter. GAO describes the acquisition estimate in then-year dollars, while its 2026 report says the lifetime sustainment estimate increased by $18.8 billion from the 2024 estimate in constant 2012 dollars. These figures cannot be added or compared as though they were all measured in the same year’s dollars. The reports do not establish a consolidated worldwide lifetime cost comparable to the U.S. estimates.
What changed in the 2026 sustainment picture?
Funding need exceeds approved funding
For fiscal year 2026, the F-35 Joint Program Office estimated a sustainment requirement of about $9.8 billion. Approved U.S. service funding was about $6.7 billion, leaving a shortfall of more than $2 billion. An additional Air Force allocation of about $1 billion for spare parts was available for use during calendar 2026, but GAO said it did not close the gap. These are annual funding figures, not additional amounts to add on top of the lifetime $1.58 trillion projection. GAO-26-108113
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Plans call for more spending through FY2031
The program office estimated that sustainment spending through FY2031 would need to be $13.7 billion higher than previously planned. About $2.2 billion of that amount is formally identified as GSS Reset; the remainder addresses sustainment funding shortfalls relative to plans. Separately, U.S. services estimated a $50.8 billion sustainment need for FY2027–FY2031, about $12.7 billion above what they had previously planned. These planning increases and the lifetime estimate describe different views of costs; the $13.7 billion is not a separate bill to add to the lifetime total.
The lifetime projection also rose
GAO reported that the 2025 lifetime sustainment estimate rose by $18.8 billion over the 2024 estimate, measured in constant 2012 dollars. The largest factors were service plans to extend Air Force and Navy fleet lives and increased Navy flight hours; GAO said GSS Reset was not the primary driver. The 2026 report describes the U.S.-only lifetime estimate as $1.6 trillion as of 2024, while GAO’s 2025 report gives the figure as at least $1.58 trillion over the 77-year lifecycle. The figures are close but reflect different reporting and rounding, not a precise new combined program total.
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How modernization contributes to cost and schedule pressure
Block 4
Block 4 is a major modernization effort intended to add capabilities to the aircraft. GAO reported that its cost estimate had grown from $10.6 billion to $16.5 billion as of 2021. In its 2025 review, GAO said Block 4 costs were more than $6 billion above original estimates and completion was at least five years later than first planned. A reduced subprogram was expected to finish no earlier than 2031, with its cost still unknown pending a new estimate. GAO-25-107632
TR-3 and engine changes
The Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware and software upgrade is intended to enable many Block 4 capabilities. GAO described TR-3 as a $1.9 billion upgrade and reported that Lockheed Martin expected to begin delivering combat-capable aircraft with TR-3 in 2026. That was the company’s expectation reported in 2025, not confirmation in the cited material that deliveries began on schedule.
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Future capabilities also require more power and cooling. GAO reported that program officials estimated increased engine wear had added $38 billion to lifecycle cost. This is an attributed program estimate about lifecycle effects, not a separately stated 2026 appropriation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What readiness figures say—and what they do not
GAO reported that from FY2021 to FY2025, the fleet’s mission-capable rate fell from 67% to 44%, while its full-mission-capable rate fell from 38% to 25%. These measures are not interchangeable: mission-capable indicates an aircraft can perform at least one assigned mission, while full-mission-capable indicates it can perform all assigned missions. The trend gives context to the sustainment challenge, but it does not by itself establish why each aircraft was unavailable or quantify a dollar cost attributable to the decline. GAO also flagged parts-supply capacity and reliance on private-sector delivery as risks to the updated sustainment strategy. GAO-26-108113
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Does the entire amount go to Lockheed Martin?
No. The more-than-$2-trillion figure is a government estimate of program costs across acquisition and decades of operation and sustainment. It is not a single award, a company revenue forecast, or the amount Lockheed Martin is guaranteed to receive. Acquisition includes multiple cost categories, and sustainment costs accrue over the program’s lifecycle; the cited reports do not assign the combined total to one contractor.
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