The ten most expensive warplanes in history, one 2.4 billion dollars, two top a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Hello, I am Zi Ding, we introduce today the ten most expensive warplanes in history.
- F35 80 million dollars
The tenth place on the list is very surprising, not because of how expensive he is, but because he is too cheap. It is the famous F35. as a fifth-generation fighter, the F35 price can reach an incredible $80 million.
The price of the F35 is constantly changing with production lots and models. In 2019 the Pentagon reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin to produce the next three batches of F-35s. The unit price is set at less than $80 million. The price of the USAF’s F-35A conventional takeoff and landing model will drop from $89 million for Lot 11 to $79.2 million for Lot 13, and to just $77.9 million for Lot 14.
At $80 million, you can buy the F35, which is simply too cheap, such a DEAL, how much I want to come. Many of the fourth-generation fighters on our list are not as good as the F35, but the price is much more expensive.
Briefly introduce the performance of the F35, F-35 “Lightning” is a medium-sized fighter, and the F-22 shared a lot of technology, it is a low-cost version of the F-22 fighter, its air combat capabilities second only to the F-22 fighter, no doubt become the world’s most wanted fifth-generation fighter.
Their relationship is like iPhone 13 and iphone 13 mini. because it is a smaller version of the F22, the F35 is reduced in all data, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and a cruise speed of Mach 1.2. And the F22 can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.25.
F35 in addition to excellent performance, but also equipped with advanced helmet display system, simply put, is all the information is displayed in the helmet to the pilot, such as we usually drive all the information on the dashboard, now there is a display at the forefront of the helmet, all the information is played on the display for the pilot to see clearly, so that the pilot does not have to look down and distracted, want to see what to see what, follow The eyes go, not only that, the pilot can twist his head and other specific movements, the helmet to command. It is actually the best application of virtual reality technology in the military field.
The F35 entered service in 2015, and Israel has purchased it and participated in several real-world battles, with stealthy performance that leaves the Russian S300 air defense missiles introduced by Syria clueless.
The F35 is equipped with vectoring engines for vertical takeoff and landing, and is a regular feature on U.S. as well as allied aircraft carriers. The vectoring engine is actually the engine nozzle can be turned at will, for adjusting the aircraft’s air attitude, or vertical takeoff and landing and short-distance takeoff and landing are very helpful.
The United States has 12 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, but also has a large number of amphibious assault ships, amphibious assault ships equipped with F35 can become light carriers, such as the United States of America amphibious assault ship can carry more than twenty F35. so from this perspective, the United States is actually a country with more than twenty aircraft carriers.
At present, the only countries equipped with F35 are the United States and its allies, such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel and Italy. If Taiwan can introduce the F35 that is undoubtedly the most cost-effective deal, but I estimate that the United States will not sell the F35 to Taiwan in the short term.
There are three reasons, Taiwan’s military situation is complex, if a pilot driving the F35 defected to the mainland, will bring serious consequences, originally F35 is stealth, up in the sky who can not find, fly to the other side of how to do? Second, Taiwan has no money and space to buy F35 after purchasing F16V. third, after US President Biden takes office, US-Taiwan relations will be farther than during the Trump (Trump) period, and Biden will not sell more advanced weapons to Taiwan.
- Rafale $90 million
Ninth on the list, France’s Rafale fighter. The price of Rafale fighters is also a mystery, for example, in 2015 India bought 36 Rafale M models from France, a total of $8.8 billion, an average calculation, the price of a single machine more than $240 million. It looks very expensive, but in fact the deal includes the cost of pilot training, related weapons and equipment, so this price is actually the price of the package, just like we go to McDonald’s, buy a package, and not a burger price, the package is more expensive than the burger this is normal.
The F35 we mentioned before is only $80 million, which is also the price of the bare aircraft, that is, not counting the engine, any on-board weapons, not counting the price of any missiles. For example, the first 40 F-35s purchased by South Korea cost $7 billion, almost $175 million per unit, but the price of a bare aircraft is $115 million. Japan, on the other hand, bought the F-35 for $150 million for a bare aircraft, and counting various expenses, the unit price is more than $200 million.
But the F35, no matter what, is still cheaper by more than $70 million compared to the Rafale, which costs $240 million per unit. This shows the high cost performance of the F35 in today’s arms market.
Our comparison here is based on the price of the bare aircraft, the Rafale’s bare aircraft price is about 100 million dollars. Let’s briefly introduce the Rafale, the Rafale first test flight in 1986, after several improvements, now sold as the M model, able to take off and land on aircraft carriers. The Rafale is 5.3 meters high, 15.3 meters long and has a wingspan of 10.9 meters; it has a combat radius of 3,700 kilometers and a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 per hour.
- Typhoon $90 million
Typhoon is a joint development of European countries four and a half generations of warplanes, Typhoon and F35 compared to what is more than F35, is more expensive than you. The third batch of Typhoon fighter aircraft production price is about 100 million dollars.
The EJ200 turbofan engine has a thrust-to-weight ratio of 10, and combined with a good aerodynamic layout, it has good maneuverability and can perform supersonic cruise. The EJ200 has 13 external mount points, with a maximum capacity of 7.5 tons, and can mount major air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons from Europe and the United States, such as the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, the Meteor air-to-air missile, the Jewel Road laser-guided bombs, etc. The Typhoon is also a very good aircraft in terms of combat performance.
- F15.1 billion (2010)
The seventh most expensive warplane is the F15, a four-generation warplane that first flew in 1972, but has been continuously improved over the decades.
Take the F15 for example, the early F15 was only $30 million, mainly because of Inflation, the price was low at that Time. And now as the F15 continues to improve, adding new avionics, engines and accessories, the price is naturally going up. By 2017, Saudi Arabia was introducing the F15QA at a unit price of $180 million. We’ve picked the 2010 selling price here, which is roughly $100 million.
The F15 is a twin-engine heavy-lift fighter that can carry up to 16 AIM-120 missiles at a time. The F15 is a twin-engine heavy fighter that can carry up to 16 AIM-120 missiles at a time. It has a combat radius of over 2,000 km.
According to Boeing, the F15EX has 12 air-to-air missile mounts under its fuselage and 15 mount points in ground attack mode. When using the composite mount can mount up to 20 missiles, simply an aerial arsenal!
Interestingly, after the U.S. was heavily equipped with fifth-generation warplanes F35 and F22, in July 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the purchase of eight of the latest F15EX, with the possibility of up to 144 planned purchases after that. Why should the U.S. buy the fourth-generation F15? Welcome to subscribe to our channel, and we will discuss this topic later.
- C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft $150 million
The sixth place is the famous C-17 transport aircraft, the U.S. Army ordered its own price is 150 million U.S. dollars, Australia bought is 190 million, the United Kingdom is 220 million.
The C-17 name is Global Fighter, a veritable king of the air. the maximum takeoff weight of the C17 transport aircraft is about 285 tons, but such a behemoth, but even in the 1,000-meter-long field runway to complete takeoff and landing. why is the C-17 so expensive? There is a reason why it is expensive, so let me give you some examples.
The C-17 can take off and land on civilian runways, land on sandy runways in the field, and take off and land in Antarctica! It is really not a joke, on October 8, 2020, a C17 flew to Antarctica to deliver supplies to McMurdo scientific research station. c-17 in order to facilitate the pulling of cargo, landing gear is specially designed, can be contracted, at once the height of the aircraft can be lowered, cargo can be loaded without lifting platform, directly to the aircraft, very convenient. c-17 can pull cargo, pull people, but also pull aircraft. The United States used to use the C17 to transport F35 fighter jets, Apache helicopters. As long as the U.S. military has one, it can be loaded!
With a range of 4,600 km, 8,700 km empty, and a maximum range of 11,600 km after air refueling, the C-17 can fly directly from the mainland to anywhere in the world.
In 2010, India spent $5.8 billion to buy 10 C17s, of course the price here is not the price of a bare aircraft, but it also shows how expensive the C17 is and why India values it so much. 10 C-17s can fly one batch to transport a mechanized infantry regiment with tanks from the south to the northwest border. Such transport capability is vital for a country as vast and complex as India.
Speaking of transport aircraft, we have to mention another air juggernaut, the C-5 Galaxy. A C5 can carry 100 VW Beetles and six Apache helicopters, which can be said to have an amazing transport capacity, but the Galaxy was procured in 1965, 50 years ago, when the price of 58 aircraft totaled $1.4 billion, just under $25 million per aircraft, so it did not make this list. The current C5 is scheduled to be in service until 2040 after an upgrade.
- E2-D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft $168.2 million
This list of the top 5, only one fighter. The next on the list is the U.S. Hawkeye early warning aircraft. The Hawkeye early warning aircraft first flew in 1961, and then began mass production. Since its introduction it has become the rage, with the older E2 AWACS costing as much as $80 million and the current latest model, the E-2D, doubling in price to around $160 million.
The E2 AWACS is the only naval airborne early warning aircraft currently in use by the U.S. Navy. It is the world’s most produced and used early warning aircraft by the largest number of countries. And it is interesting to note that the E2 AWACS is the only aircraft currently in service with propeller propulsion in the U.S. military, and its top speed is just over 600 kilometers per hour, so why is this aircraft so expensive?
The E-2D’s core is the Lockheed Martin AN/APY-9 radar. Like Hawkeye, it can detect hidden targets. As previously reported by the U.S. Naval Institute News, this radar is the U.S. Navy’s “secret weapon” against cruise missiles and fifth-generation stealth fighters, including the Chinese J-20 and J-31, the Russian Su-57, and the U.S. F-22 and F-35.
If stealth fighters are the nightmare of all fighters on the battlefield, then the E-2D is the nightmare of all stealth fighters. In addition, the Republic of China has six E-2K early warning aircraft, not the latest E-2D, four were purchased in 1995 and two more in 1999.
- $256.5 million for P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft (2015 procurement cost)
Fourth place, the P-8 Poseidon ASW aircraft, which costs up to $ 250 million, how can it be more expensive than the AWACS, what is it made of? Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft is actually based on the Boeing 737 modified, the price of a Boeing will be $100 million. “Poseidon” 2009 test flight, only in 2015 in service, is currently the world’s most advanced anti-submarine aircraft.
The P-8 is equipped with the AN/APY-10 radar. At high resolution search, this radar can distinguish targets of 1 square meter within 36 kilometers, and at low resolution it can search for large targets within 370 kilometers, and can also track up to 265 targets simultaneously. If a submarine puts out a periscope, then within 60 km, the P-8 can immediately detect it, a veritable submarine killer.
The Poseidon is the world’s most advanced anti-submarine aircraft. With a crew of two pilots and seven operators, it can reach a top speed of 907 km/h and a maximum range of 8,300 km. Taking off from its base in Okinawa, Japan, it can reach the Taiwan Strait in twenty minutes and has a patrol radius of over 370 km.
The P-8 has a built-in weapons bay and six external mount points, and can carry a variety of weapons, including depth charges, torpedoes, Maverick missiles and Harpoon missiles, meaning that the P-8 can also attack surface ships if necessary. The Poseidon is so popular that in addition to the U.S. Navy, the U.K., South Korea, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and India have also purchased and used them, with the U.S. Navy alone purchasing 122.
- B-1B Gun Cavalry $283 million (1998)
Now we come to the top three on the list, and the third place is the famous B-1B Gun Cavalry.
The B-1B Gunfighter was a supersonic heavy long-range strategic bomber from the end of the Cold War that sold for $280 million in 1998. This price can buy three fighter jets, and the Gun Cavalry is a bomber that entered service 30 years ago, so is the Gun Cavalry worth the money in the end?
The B-1B was designed to reduce the radar cross section and increase the stealth performance. The Gun Cavalry’s best feature was high-speed low-altitude flight. Low altitude flight speed increased to Mach 0.92, close to the speed of sound; high altitude can be supersonic flight, reaching Mach 1.2.
Its biggest feature is that it can automatically fly ultra-low to avoid radar reconnaissance. On the flat ground can fly at a low altitude of 60 meters, low altitude flight is very dangerous, so high speed, one accident will be destroyed, why can the gun cavalry in such a low altitude and high speed flight? The gun cavalry is equipped with a terrain tracking system consisting of radar and automatic control system, which can control its own altitude along the rise and fall of the terrain in its path. The flight altitude can be set by the pilot himself, such as 60 meters, 90 meters, or 120 meters.
The B-1B bomber is a veritable air turret. The external mount points can carry 27,000 kg of ammunition externally; the three internal bomb bays can carry 34,000 kg of bombs or missiles, for a total load of 61,000 kg, almost twice that of the B-52 bomber. The Gun Cavalry can carry 16 B61-style nuclear warheads at a time, or 84 500-pound general-purpose bombs. There are videos online of B-1B bombers dropping bombs, one clattering and tilting down like throwing rocks.
The B1B also has very rich combat experience, in December 1998, the U.S. Army’s Operation Desert Fox against Iraq, the B-1B was put into combat for the first time. 1999, the United States in collaboration with NATO joint bombing of Serbia, six B-1B into the battlefield, sorties accounted for only 2% of all aircraft sorties, but the volume of bombs dropped exceeded 20% of the total volume of bombs. 2001 Afghanistan In the 2001 war in Afghanistan, eight B-1Bs flew again, dropping some 3,900 conventional bombs of all types.
- F-22 Raptor $330 million
The most expensive fighter jet of all time, and the second place on the list belongs to the F22 Raptor. According to the U.S. Department of Defense data, the U.S. F22 fighter aircraft production costs $ 150 million. But if you include the cost of research and development, then the price of an F-22 will reach $330 million.
The F-22 Raptor, the world’s first mass-produced fifth-generation stealth fighter, is currently the world’s most advanced warplane, there is no one. 2005 the F-22 began service with the U.S. Air Force, officially producing 187 units. Because its price is too expensive, the U.S. military then developed a lower-priced, slightly lower-performing F35.
For the U.S. military, the F35’s combat power has been able to cope with the majority of conflicts in the world, without the need to use the F22. in fact, the F35 is post-development, so the use of some technology is more advanced than the F22, about the F35 and F22 comparison, we will bring you later.
The F22 can cruise at Mach 1.82, supersonic speed without the use of afterburners. The maximum speed announced so far is Mach 2.25, the actual maximum speed is a U.S. Air Force secret, and none of us know how fast it can actually fly.
The F-22 uses a series of stealth structure design to form the smallest radar reflection cross-section, the exterior is covered with a layer of stealth material that absorbs radio waves, and the interior has electronic pairs of equipment, the F22’s radar reflection cross-section reaches a staggering 0.001 square meters, almost the size of a sparrow, which can be said to come and go without a trace.
The F-22 can also detect enemy aircraft up to 400 kilometers away, with a detection capability even stronger than that of general reconnaissance aircraft, and even play a part in the role of an early warning aircraft, coordinating other fighters to participate in the battle through a data sharing system.
The F-22 can conduct over-the-horizon operations, super stealth capabilities, high-speed flight speed, even its supersonic cruise speed is much faster than the maximum speed of other aircraft, as well as a powerful arsenal, advanced radar fire control system, which makes the F22 the world’s most powerful fighter aircraft, absolutely worth the $350 million price tag. To prevent leaks and maintain sophistication, the F-22 is banned from export and the USAF is the only current user.
- $2.4 billion for the B-2 bomber
Now we are going to reveal the first place of this list, it is the U.S. B-2 ghost bomber. Look at its shape, with its two open wings and sharp aerodynamic layout, just like a thunderbird. b2 cost a whopping $2.4 billion, and if you calculate by weight, the B-2 is two to three times more expensive per unit of weight than Gold.
Britain has just launched its most advanced aircraft carrier, the HMS Elizabeth, and its price is $5 billion, which means that two B-2 ghost bombers can build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, while one B-2 can buy 30 F35s.
It is because of its high cost that only 21 B-2 bombers were produced in total. In terms of price, it is equivalent to ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. So why is the B-2 so expensive?
The B-2 has three capabilities that are simply superhuman in the bomber world. At the beginning of its design, the U.S. Department of Defense asked the designer that the B2 should first have excellent stealth performance, undetectable by enemy radar. Secondly, it should be able to fly high enough to break through the enemy’s blockade at high altitude. Thirdly, it should fly low and have the ability of ultra-low-altitude surprise defense.
Let’s look at the stealth capability. The B-2 Phantom strategic bomber is the only stealth bomber in the world. We should know that the B2 is a behemoth with a maximum takeoff weight of 170,000 kg and a wingspan of 50 meters, but its radar reflective cross section is less than 0.1 square meters.
The B-2 has a very smooth, wrinkle-free shape that does not easily reflect radar waves, which is a very advanced curved stealth technology. The 33-degree swept-back wings make it impossible to reflect radar waves incident from above or below. And surprisingly, the B-2 does not have a vertical tail, which many aircraft cannot do. Have you ever seen an airplane without a vertical tail? Since the Wright brothers invented the airplane, all airplanes have tail fins, even helicopters have tail fins, but the B2 does not need a vertical tail fin. It is really a high-tech ah, you can be arbitrary.
The B2 also has a huge range. The aircraft has an operational range of 12,000 kilometers without refueling, and 18,000 kilometers with one refueling. The B2 can take off from the U.S. mainland and fly to the Taiwan Strait without any pressure, and each B2 mission has a flying time of at least 10 hours, and it does not go anywhere under 10 hours. The U.S. Air Force considers B2 to have the ability of “global reach” and “global destruction”.
A third powerful feature of the B2 is its powerful arsenal, with two rotating racks capable of carrying 16 AGM-129 cruise missiles, as well as 80 conventional bombs or 36 CBU-87 cluster bombs. If carrying nuclear weapons, the B2 can carry 16 nuclear warheads, and a single aircraft can silently destroy a country.
The B-2, a high-tech legacy of the Cold War, is arguably nearly a generation ahead of Russia in terms of technology. And with the U.S. military upgrading the B-2 every year to counter “potential adversaries,” it is difficult to assess how far ahead the B2 is. It’s no surprise that such an advanced weapon is worth $2.4 billion.
We share with you today, the ten most expensive warplanes, I personally like the list of the tenth F35, super cost-effective, and the list of the first B2 ghost bomber, a plane can destroy a country, I do not know which of your friends you like the most aircraft, welcome to leave a message, forward, subscribe, we will see you in the next show.
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