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Lower price means higher sales volume means higher profit. So, what does that tell us about fighter jets being so expensive?
Most Popular Fighter Jet
In the 21st century there are fighter jets and then there are fighter jets. Which type you get depends on how much you want to pay.
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Have millions of dollars to throw away? Then, like the US government, you can hire Lockheed Martin (LMT 0.90%) to design and build the F-22 Raptor stealth jet for you — considered the world's most capable fighter jet. (Of course, if you reduce your production before economies of scale kick in, each plane will cost $412 million).
Alternatively, that same money would buy you a full fleet of Boeing (BA -0.16%) aircraft, the F/A-18 or the fourth-generation F-15, which sell for about $100 million.
Shopping on a budget? You may also like the Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-34 "Fullback". (Price: 18 million US dollars). Or if you want to buy locally, Textron (TXT 2.15%) is a steal at $17 million per new Scorpion plane.
Depending on what the nation needs, different buyers prefer different planes and different prices. But which is the most popular combination?
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10. Chengdu J-7 Fishbed (no longer in production) Making its first appearance in this year's FlightGlobal Insight "World Air Forces 2015" report at number 10 is China's J-7 fighter jet. In fact, it is an older Chinese version of the MiG-21, and is no longer in production. However, 418 remained in service, giving the fighter a 3% world market share.
The export version of the Chinese J-7 is called the F-7, and is the twin of the Russian MiG-21. F-7 numbers have not suffered in the last 12 months. A year ago, 460 served the world. Today, each still flies, giving the F-7 a 3% market share as well.
8. Northrop Grumman F-5 Tiger - List price: $20 million to $25 million (estimated) Twenty years after retirement last year, only 468 Northrop F-5 Tigers were still flying. The plane is no longer in production, but retains a 3% market share. AircraftCompare.com estimates that if the Tiger were produced today, it would cost less than $20 million.
Russia's answer to the American A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog", the Su-25 is a dedicated "tank" aircraft. It seems almost as popular as the Warthog. Over the years, only one Su-25 has been retired.
F 16 Fighting Falcon Multirole Fighter, United States Of America
With 506 aircraft still in service, it has a 3% market share. With a new model already in production – the Su-39 – the Frogfoot may rise in the rankings in the future.
Although it was once the world's most popular fighter, it was no longer in production, and the number of MiG-21s in service continued to decline. Its number was 793 in 2013, which declined to 698 in 2014, which is only 668 today. Since it's no longer manufactured, it's hard to say how much a new one would cost...but it looks like you can buy a used MiG-21 on eBay for around 25 bucks.
The MiG-21 still has a 5% market share. And if you add its "twins" — the still-flying Chinese J-7 and F-7 — it apparently has 1,546 MiG-21s in service, doubling its market share.
5. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum -- List price: $40 million Market share for Moscow's most advanced MiG has dropped to 5% (793 aircraft). A drop was enough to push the MiG to fifth place in those rankings. However, a new version (the MiG-35D) is expected to enter service in 2016, and may increase the MiG's prospects - so stay tuned.
Top Sixth Generation Fighter Jets
4. Boeing F-15 Eagle - List Price: Losing $100 Million In the international fighter jet competition, the Boeing F-15 has fallen by a combination of high cost and low stealth. ranked number one this year, and is currently number 4 on FlightGlobal's list. With 11 fewer aircraft in service (currently 854), the F-15 is tied for a 6% share of the global market...
3. Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker -- List price: $22 million Russia's most popular fighter jet, the Su-27 Flanker, has moved up the ranks this year — and one reason may be the low price. "Helped" by the falling ruble, the most advanced version of the Su-27, called the Su-35 Flanker-E, costs just $22 million per copy, according to military aircraft experts at deagel.com.
Climbing up two spots from last year's fifth place, the basic Flanker and its Su-30, -33, and -35 cousins now control a 6% global market share, with a total of 874 aircraft in service.
While maintaining its number 2 position in the market, Boeing's F-18 fighter jet, among its many, has a 7% market share worldwide. In 2015, the number of F-18 fighter jets in the world's air forces increased to 1,046.
Which Is The Best Fighter Jet In The World?
And last (first?), but not least, for the second year running, Lockheed Martin's modestly priced F-16 Falcon is number one in this year's FlightGlobal report. With 2,242 aircraft in service, the F-16 is still the most popular fighter in the world, accounting for 15% of the world's air force.
Why is fighter jets important to investors Why is this important to investors in the defense industry? It works like this: the more planes a company makes and sells, the wider the base over which it can spread research and development costs, and the lower the cost per plane.
Are you with me so far? Currently, Lockheed Martin has sold more than 4,500 F-16s worldwide. It is not surprising. After all, it is the cheapest fighter jet in our inventory. (Note that Russia has sold very cheap MiG-21).
Half of Lockheed's F-16s are still flying, and service, maintenance and upgrades generate revenue for Lockheed and make an 11% profit on this revenue to its shareholders.
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However, the aircraft that Lockheed hopes will succeed the F-16, the F-35 stealth fighter, costs 3 times more than the F-16. In fact, some versions of the F-35 can cost nearly five times as much as the F-16. At prices as high as $150 million per version, the question becomes: Can Lockheed Martin maintain its global market share in the face of cheaper fighter jet offerings from Russia and China?
Personally, I have my doubts. Of course, if all goes according to plan, and Lockheed Martin manages to sell more than 3,000 F-35s over the next 60 years, the plane's current high price could generate huge profits for Lockheed. But if Lockheed doesn't sell them fast enough, and lowers the price quickly enough to attract buyers, one day soon, this list of the world's top 10 most popular fighter jets will look very different.
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Invest better with Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, stock recommendations and more from The Motley Fool's premium service. Countries with the most sophisticated weapons have an advantage in modern conflict. The speed of fighter jets is unmatched by other lethal weapons, including nuclear submarines and new Navy aircraft carriers. Fighter jets, or fighter jets, are fixed-wing aircraft built for air combat and are one of the most widely employed forms of government weaponry. It is possible to change the course of war by using jet fighters to dominate the battlefield.
It is not only the ability of the pilot, but also the ability of the aircraft that matters. A jet fighter can play many different roles, including bomber, interceptor (heavy), interceptor, reconnaissance aircraft and night fighter. 5th generation fighter plane of
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