F-35, 2015, cost per flight hour, sortie generation

1. ) Newly released cost per flying hour figures (USD) for 2015 released by USAF.Comments by Winslow Wheeler: USAF F-35As: "Ownership" CPFH, which is supposed to include hardware modifications, is $44K per hour; this is a decrease from 2014, which was $67K per hour. Note, however, that the TAI (total available inventory) increased from 37 to 60 (67%) from last year and the hours flown increased from 3.8K to 9.2K (144%). (I am quite suspicious that, among other things, the cost for mods per aircraft ($17M for the entire fleet) is suppressed. The amount budgeted for mods and depot costs attributable to the F-35A for 2017 are more than an order of magnitude above that.) F-35A flying per month remains pathetic, if improved. Assuming the TAI numbers pertain to the entire year (which is incorrect and biases toward a lower number), F-35As flew, on average, 12.9 hours per month; in 2014 it was 8.6 hours/month. The new, improved tempo would mean 2.5 90 minute sorties per week, according to my calculation (but please check my math). That's per aircraft, not per pilot which will be lower. Might we be at one training sortie per week for pilots? As they have been boasting, most F-35 training is by simulator; they would seem to have no choice." Additional comments on the above by Pierre Sprey: Because an airplane's ability to generate sorties is such a basic component of projecting air power over enemy territory, I reran your 2015 SAF/FM hours for the F-35 through my trusty pocket calculator: 9294 flying hours per year /60 =154.9 hours/yr per bird 154.9/1.5 hours per sortie = 103.27 sorties/year 103.27/365 = .283 sorties/day 1/.283 = 3.53 days/sortie 7/3.53 = 1.98 sorties per week In other words, in 2015 the F-35A fleet couldn't quite manage flying twice a week. Analysis. In today's Australian dollars, that is $61,620 per flying hour for the model of the F-35 Australia wants to acquire.  This aircraft system, as already noted, has significant technical faults, to include: maintenance management: prognostic health systems and on-going engineering fixes. As a comparison, cost per flying hour on RAAF's old classic F-18 Hornet is $20,250. Cost per flying hour for RAAF's Super Hornet is $35,615. F-35 sortie rates have no core value to a team leading an air campaign. All this for an aircraft that had first-flight in 2006.