In the light of the recent $2 billion purchase of 24 Russian SU-35 by China, we decided to investigate which are the 11 most expensive military planes in the world.
When you’re trying to protect your country in the best way possible you have to shell out quite a few bucks to do it, as we’ve all learned over the years. Of course, the makers of these aircraft are taking advantage of this knowledge and have inflated the prices accordingly, which is obvious when you see the prices paid for some of these planes. Either way, it’s the sum you have to pay if you actually want the product they’re selling, which is what they’re betting on. Even with the second-hand market out there, where countries sell these planes to one another, there’s still going to be a market for brand new ones.
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The military planes currently on the market are lean, mean killing machines; they’re geared with high tech equipment, top notch radars, and super speedy engines. Some of them come with stealth technology so they cannot be traced by the enemy. Others aren’t intended for fighting, but have a role in any modern conflict, being transporting troops and equipment or engaging in electronic warfare.
This type of technologies have been around for decades and they’ve only been improved upon in recent years. While the improvements made to these technologies don’t exactly fit in the list of the 11 most expensive science experiments in the world, they’re sure to have cost quite a pretty penny.
Let’s go on and discover the 11 most expensive military planes in the world. We’re going to rank them based on the price of purchase per unit according to governmental sources.
11. EA-18G Growler
Price – $67 million
The EA-18G Growler is an American airplane that had its first flight in 2006 and was officially introduced three years later. It’s a carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft that’s actually based on the F/A-18F Super Hornet.
The Growler is known for its tactical jamming and electronic protection and has been commissioned by the US military forces for the past several years. In 2014, the Navy reported that it wants to modify the contract it has with Boeing to slow production to two aircraft per month, down from three, which is the lowest Boeing is willing to go sustaining production.
10. Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
Price – $78 million
The V-22 Osprey comes from the United States and is a tiltrotor military aircraft. That means it’s one of those cool looking aircraft that combines the vertical lift you see in helicopters and the speed and range of traditional airplanes.
Its first flight took place in 1989, but it was only officially introduced in 2007. The large gap between the two moments in time can be explained by the many tests the aircraft had to endure, as well as the design alterations necessary to make the tiltrotor perfect for flight, as well as safe and efficient.
The V-22 Osprey has replaced the Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights in the US Marine Corps arsenal and has since been deployed in various missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and more.
9. Sukhoi Su-35
Price – $83 million
The aforementioned Su-35 is a development of an older model, the iconic Su-27, although there’s not much these two have in common. Developed by the Sukhoi bureau, Su-35 is classified as the 4++ generation airplane and incorporates some of the most modern weapons and equipment available to the Russian Air Force. In a somewhat surprising move, in a deal that took years to finalize, China agreed to purchase 24 of these planes for the total sum of $2 billion.
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8. F-35 Lightning II
Price – $98 million – $116 million, depending on variant
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning is a new addition to the US military. The stealth fighter carries a single pilot and can fly in all weather conditions. It looks like it belongs in a Sci-Fi movie and can act like one. There are three models to the F-35 – for conventional takeoff and landing, VSTOL for short take-off and vertical landing and a carrier variant that is suitable for catapult launches.
The F-35 are used by the US Air Force, Navy and the Marines and they’re going to be in use for decades from here on out. The aircraft’s first flight took place in 2006 and the first deliveries took place earlier this year. Over 160 planes were built up until October 2015 and more are expected to be delivered until 2037 based on the current contract.
7. Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
Price – $112 million
The Nighthawk F-117 is one of the original stealth planes, taking its maiden flight back in 1981, only to be officially introduced a couple of years later. There were 64 built over the years, but the planes were retired in 2008 after serving more than enough years in the US Air Force.
The F-117 played a key role in the Gulf War, but it also took part of the Yugoslavian war in the 90s, when one was actually taken down, despite being called invincible until then. The average cost for one of these planes is north of $111 million, which is a pretty impressive sum considering the era this was built in and the fact that it has already been retired.
6. F-22 Raptor Stealth Jet
Price – $138 million
The F-22 Raptor is a pretty deadly aircraft. It’s built for a single pilot, can fly under all weather conditions and is completely stealthy. It was developed for the US Air Force and had its first flight in 1997 and it was introduced in 2005 after many tweaks. The Raptors are still in service and have seen quite a few war theaters including in Syria against the Islamic State. 195 of these bad boys were built so far for and they’re going to be around for quite some time as they’re designed to work for about 30 years and 8,000 flight hours.
5. E-2D Advanced Hawkeye
Price – $157 million
The Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye looks pretty weird, but it seems like it’s a pretty good addition for the military. The company behind the aircraft calls it the “digital quarterback” that sweeps the ground before a strike, manages the mission and keeps others from harm.
The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye had its first flight in 2007 and had since entered the operational list of the US Navy. It features a radar capable of mechanical and electronic scanning, comes with electronic support measures enhancements compared to its predecessors and more.
4. C-17A Globemaster III
Price – $218 million
This massive plane is created to transport troops and more. In fact, it can carry soldiers, vehicles, military equipment and anything else that might be necessary, like providing medical evacuations. The aircraft was developed for the US Air Force and had its first flight in 1991, only to be formally introduced four years later.
The United States Air Force, the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and the Indian Air Force are the primary users of the 279 C-17A Globemasters built by the beginning of 2015.
3. Boeing P-8A Poseidon
Price – $256 million
The P-8 had its first flight in 2009 and was introduced to the military world in late 2013. There are three variants of the P8 – the P-8A Poseidon which was created for the US Navy, the P-8I Neptune for the Indian Navy and the P-8 AGS for the US Air Force.
There are multiple countries that fly this particular aircraft and the US is set to acquire 122 of them. They’re developed for anti-submarine warfare, naval anti-surface warfare and also plays an electronic signals intelligence role.
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2. B-1B Lancer Strategic Bomber
Price – $283 million
This old bomber is still around even though it took its first flight back in 1974 only to be introduced formally in 1986. Originally built by Rockwell, now a part of Boeing, the B-1 Lancer is a supersonic aircraft with four engines that acts as a strategic bomber. It’s also one of the 11 most expensive military planes in the world.
The plane was used for various missions, including Operation Desert Fox, the Gulf War, as well as various NATO actions.
1. B-2 Spirit Bomber
Price – $2.1 billion
This may be extremely expensive, but it’s one impressive aircraft. The Northrop B-2 Spirit might as well belong in an alien-fighting movie thanks to its design, but there’s more to it than looks. Also known as the Stealth Bomber, the B-2 Spirit is a heavy strategic bomber that’s extremely stealthy. It is designed to fly a crew of two and can carry conventional and thermonuclear weapons.
Its first flight took place in 1989 and was officially introduced in 1997. The procurement cost was estimated at $929 million per aircraft back in 1997, although the development, engineering and testing rose the price to $2.1 billion.
The Stealth Bomber saw numerous combat situations, including during the Kosovo War, the Afghan War, the Iraq War and more.
The extreme price has limited the number of aircraft to 21. The B-2 Spirit Bomber wraps up the list of the 11 most expensive military planes in the world.
