What's The Average Lifespan Of The F-35 Fighter Jet?

Military vehicles and equipment are built to last, and designed to withstand extreme environments in both peacetime and wartime. The same is true for fighter jets like the F-35, which often need to remain in the air without refueling, especially during long missions. But when it comes to the overall life expectancy of the F-35, the exact number is 8,000 flight hours per airframe.

This number comes from the Department of Defense's Selected Acquisition Report for fiscal year 2022. The word "airframe" refers to the total number of flight hours per F-35 jet from its original manufacture date. Even if the engine is modified, or the plane itself has an upgrade, if that F-35 spends time in the air, that time counts toward its total airframe. According to a 2024 US government report on F-35 sustainability, each F-35 variant regularly flies a certain number of hours per year. The F-35A gets around 187 hours, and the F-35C gets about 336 hours.

So using the specified airframe of 8,000 flight hours, the F-35A, the only variant that's nuclear capable, could achieve a shelf life of about 43 calendar years. The F-35C could technically reach a lifespan of around 24 calendar years. However, these numbers are all theoretical and do not account for maintenance issues. They also don't account for additional flying time due to active deployment, or any other factors that could either increase or decrease the number of hours flown per year.

According to an internal audit by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, around only half of the F-35s in active service were actually available in fiscal year 2024. This means that fighters are only flying about 50% of the time they could be, thus slowing the total number of airframe hours each jet accumulates annually. This was attributed to maintenance gaps and sustainment issues, which limited the rate at which airframe hours were used.

These usage patterns are worth noting when looking at how the three original F-35 variants entered service and are deployed today. In fact, the jets only date back to 2011, when Lockheed Martin designed different versions for three different branches of the US military. The F-35A was first introduced to the US Air Force that year and became part of a squadron just four years later. By 2016, the F-35A had joined regular operations.

The F-35B also came to the US Marine Corps in 2011, and was ready for regular service in 2015. The F-35C, the newest of the three, wasn't received by the US Navy until 2013 and didn't join regular operations until 2019. Since 2011, Lockheed Martin has designed and developed over 25 models of the F-35, including the Lightning II, which the US has banned some countries from using. Despite limited flying hours in recent years, the military plans to operate the F-35 fleet until 2077 or 2088, depending on the variant and service branch.