Motley Fool: Introducing the U.S. Air Force's Top 10 Priciest Planes (to Fly)
Which company makes them, how expensive are they -- and what does all this mean for investors?
According to the U.S. Air Force, it costs anywhere from $700 million to $840 million per year to operate and maintain America's fleet of 300-odd A-10 Warthog bombers. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says USAF overstates the case, but if that number is accurate, the Air Force could skip hiring Boeing (NYSE:BA) to replace the wings on a lot of A-10s, and quit paying Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) to maintain them -- in order to save enough money to buy seven or eight of Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) shiny new F-35 fighter jets instead. So is the U.S. Air Force right about that?
WNU Editor: The priciest plane to fly was a surprise .... but when I thought about it, it then made sense.