sonicboom
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2009
- Messages
- 704
- Reaction score
- 2
Fighter Jets: The World's Top 10 Best-Sellers
By Rich Smith |
June 7, 2015
In the 21st century, there are fighter jets, and then there are fighter jets. Which kind you get depends on how much you want to pay.
Multinational fighter jets fly formation during Operation Desert Shield. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Got hundreds of millions of dollars to toss around? Then like the U.S. government, you can hire Lockheed Martin to design and build you an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter -- widely considered the most capable air superiority combat jet in the world. (Of course, if you cut your production run short before efficiencies of scale kick in, the planes end up costing $412 million apiece).
Alternatively, that same money will buy you a whole handful of Boeing's perfectly serviceable fourth-generation F/A-18 or F-15 fighter jets, retailing for about $100 million a pop.
Buying on a budget? You might like a nice Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-34 "Fullback." (List price: $18 million). Or if you prefer to buy domestic, Textron's new Scorpion is a steal at $17 million per plane.
Depending on what a nation needs, various buyers pick various warplanes, and various price points. But which are the most popular combinations today? Let's find out, beginning with a really old picture of number...
10. Chengdu J-7 Fishbed (no longer in production)
Old photo of a J-7 in U.S. possession. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Making its first appearance at No. 10 in this year's Flightglobal Insight "World Air Forces 2015" report is the Chinese J-7 fighter jet. It's actually China's version of the old Soviet MiG-21, and is no longer produced. Still, 418 remain in service, giving the fighter a 3% global market share.
9. Chengdu F-7 Airguard -- List price: $2 million-$3 million
Pakistani Chengdu F-7. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
The export version of China's J-7 is dubbed F-7, and it's likewise a twin to Russia's MiG-21. F-7 numbers have suffered no attrition at all over the past 12 months. One year ago, 460 were in service around the globe. Today, each and every one is still flying, giving the F-7 a 3% market share as well.
8. Northrop Grumman F-5 Tiger -- List price: $20 million to $25 million (estimated)
Norwegian Air Force F-5 Tiger. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.
After two dozen retirements over the past year, only 468 Northrop F-5 Tigers are still flying. The plane's no longer in production, but retains a 3% market share. WebsiteAircraftCompare.com estimates that if the Tiger were produced today, it would probably cost somewhere in the low-$20 million range.
7. Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot -- List price: $11 million
Kazakh Su-25 at landing. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.
Russia's answer to the American A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog," the Su-25 is a dedicated "tank-buster" aircraft. It's also apparently nearly as popular as the Warthog. Over the past year, only one single Su-25 has been retired.
With 506 planes still in service, it too holds a 3% market share. With a new variant now in production -- the Su-39 -- the Frogfoot just might hop higher in future rankings.
6. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed -- List price: $25,000*
Egyptian Air Force MiG-21. Photo: U.S. Air Force.
Although it was once one of the world's most popular fighter aircraft, it's no longer in active production, and the number of working MiG-21s continues to dwindle. Its numbers have fallen from 793 in 2013, to 698 in 2014, to just 668 today. Because it's no longer produced, it's hard to say how much a new one might cost... but you can apparently buy a used MiG-21 on eBayfor about 25 grand.
The MiG-21 still commands a 5% market share. And if you added up all of its "twins" -- the Chinese J-7s and F-7s still flying around -- there would be 1,546 MiG-21 lookalikes in service, and its market share would double.
5. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum -- List price: $40 million
German Su-29 -- presumably a holdover from the old DDR days. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Moscow's most advanced MiG has seen its market share shrink to 5% (793 planes). That's enough of a drop to drop MiGs to fifth place in the rankings. A new variant (MiG-35D) is expected to become operational in 2016, however, and may perk up MiG's prospects -- so stay tuned.
4. Boeing F-15 Eagle -- List price: $100 million
British Royal Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Losing more and more international fighter jet competitions through a combination of high cost and low stealth, Boeing's F-15 dropped one notch in the rankings this year, and now occupies fourth place on Flightglobal's list. With 11 fewer planes in service (now 854 total), the F-15 is tied for 6% global market share with...
Continued.......
By Rich Smith |
June 7, 2015
In the 21st century, there are fighter jets, and then there are fighter jets. Which kind you get depends on how much you want to pay.
Multinational fighter jets fly formation during Operation Desert Shield. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Got hundreds of millions of dollars to toss around? Then like the U.S. government, you can hire Lockheed Martin to design and build you an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter -- widely considered the most capable air superiority combat jet in the world. (Of course, if you cut your production run short before efficiencies of scale kick in, the planes end up costing $412 million apiece).
Alternatively, that same money will buy you a whole handful of Boeing's perfectly serviceable fourth-generation F/A-18 or F-15 fighter jets, retailing for about $100 million a pop.
Buying on a budget? You might like a nice Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-34 "Fullback." (List price: $18 million). Or if you prefer to buy domestic, Textron's new Scorpion is a steal at $17 million per plane.
Depending on what a nation needs, various buyers pick various warplanes, and various price points. But which are the most popular combinations today? Let's find out, beginning with a really old picture of number...
10. Chengdu J-7 Fishbed (no longer in production)
Old photo of a J-7 in U.S. possession. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Making its first appearance at No. 10 in this year's Flightglobal Insight "World Air Forces 2015" report is the Chinese J-7 fighter jet. It's actually China's version of the old Soviet MiG-21, and is no longer produced. Still, 418 remain in service, giving the fighter a 3% global market share.
9. Chengdu F-7 Airguard -- List price: $2 million-$3 million
Pakistani Chengdu F-7. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
The export version of China's J-7 is dubbed F-7, and it's likewise a twin to Russia's MiG-21. F-7 numbers have suffered no attrition at all over the past 12 months. One year ago, 460 were in service around the globe. Today, each and every one is still flying, giving the F-7 a 3% market share as well.
8. Northrop Grumman F-5 Tiger -- List price: $20 million to $25 million (estimated)
Norwegian Air Force F-5 Tiger. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.
After two dozen retirements over the past year, only 468 Northrop F-5 Tigers are still flying. The plane's no longer in production, but retains a 3% market share. WebsiteAircraftCompare.com estimates that if the Tiger were produced today, it would probably cost somewhere in the low-$20 million range.
7. Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot -- List price: $11 million
Kazakh Su-25 at landing. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.
Russia's answer to the American A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog," the Su-25 is a dedicated "tank-buster" aircraft. It's also apparently nearly as popular as the Warthog. Over the past year, only one single Su-25 has been retired.
With 506 planes still in service, it too holds a 3% market share. With a new variant now in production -- the Su-39 -- the Frogfoot just might hop higher in future rankings.
6. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed -- List price: $25,000*
Egyptian Air Force MiG-21. Photo: U.S. Air Force.
Although it was once one of the world's most popular fighter aircraft, it's no longer in active production, and the number of working MiG-21s continues to dwindle. Its numbers have fallen from 793 in 2013, to 698 in 2014, to just 668 today. Because it's no longer produced, it's hard to say how much a new one might cost... but you can apparently buy a used MiG-21 on eBayfor about 25 grand.
The MiG-21 still commands a 5% market share. And if you added up all of its "twins" -- the Chinese J-7s and F-7s still flying around -- there would be 1,546 MiG-21 lookalikes in service, and its market share would double.
5. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum -- List price: $40 million
German Su-29 -- presumably a holdover from the old DDR days. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Moscow's most advanced MiG has seen its market share shrink to 5% (793 planes). That's enough of a drop to drop MiGs to fifth place in the rankings. A new variant (MiG-35D) is expected to become operational in 2016, however, and may perk up MiG's prospects -- so stay tuned.
4. Boeing F-15 Eagle -- List price: $100 million
British Royal Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle. Photo source: U.S. Air Force.
Losing more and more international fighter jet competitions through a combination of high cost and low stealth, Boeing's F-15 dropped one notch in the rankings this year, and now occupies fourth place on Flightglobal's list. With 11 fewer planes in service (now 854 total), the F-15 is tied for 6% global market share with...
Continued.......
