The cost of operating the F-35 strike fighter will be “slightly higher” than the cost of operating the F-16, said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley. However, that fact won’t change the Air Force’s plans to acquire 1,763 of the fighters, he told reporters on April 23 during a meeting in Washington, D.C. “I don’t think there’s a link between projected operational costs and how many we’re going to buy. That discussion has not occurred in the [Defense] Department,” said Donley. The F-35 program manager, Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, “has been working to normalize F-35 projected costs” against the F-16 and F/A-18 across “six different methodologies” used in the Pentagon to count operation and support costs, said Donley. “I think you’ll see some of that reflected in the [selected acquisition report] that comes out in May,” he said. (See also Protect the Bombers, more coverage of Donley’s media event.)
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
