A 1-hour Boeing E-4B Nightwatch flight costs nearly $400,000 - the B-2 Spirit nuclear bomber and the B-1B Lancer supersonic
The Government Accountability Office of the United States has disclosed the cost of one hour of flight for military planes and helicopters in the Air Force, Navy, U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
Here's What We Know
Let's start with helicopters. The MV-22B Osprey is considered the most expensive. The cost of one hour of flight is almost $43,000. Although technically the Osprey is a convertible.
One hour flight of the legendary A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft costs only $22,500. The Warthog is about on par with the F-16 Fighting Falcon (almost $27,000).
The most expensive U.S. fighter jet is the F-22 Raptor. One hour of flight costs about $85,000. Therefore, it is more than twice as much as another fifth generation fighter, the F-35 Lightning II (about $42,000).
Expectedly, the Top 3 are bombers. But not the B-52H Stratofortress (over $88,000). The B-2 Spirit nuclear bomber with nearly $151,000 for 60 minutes of flight time is in third place. The B-1B Lancer costs more than $22,000 for one hour of flight.
And the most expensive aircraft was the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch. The cost of one hour of flight is more than $372,000.