Why taking pilots out of planes has been more expensive than anticipated
Contrary to expectations, America’s military drones have not saved money
WHEN TOM CRUISE first appeared as Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the rakish naval aviator of “Top Gun”, in 1986, the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet that he jinked around Soviet warplanes cost little over $50m. When he reappears in this year’s sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick”, he will fly a F/A-18E Super Hornet that approaches $60m. And if a geriatric Mr Cruise should be plucked from retirement to complete a trilogy, he might star in a stealthy F-35C that exceeds $90m.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The sky-high cost of drones”
United States March 13th 2021
- America’s battle over election laws
- How the 2020 census may help Republicans regain power in Washington
- Press freedom under pressure
- Why taking pilots out of planes has been more expensive than anticipated
- Tribes of the Hamptons
- A Californian experiment in the provision of guaranteed income returns its first results
- Joe Manchin, the wild man of the mountains
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