What Would You Pick? If you had $100 million, would you buy an F-35 Lightning II or an F-15EX Eagle II? Though the F-15EX is known as a “missile truck” and offers fourth-generation+ capabilities, the F-35’s fifth-generation stealth, technology, and combat edge give it the advantage—even with its higher price and maintenance demands.

-While both jets have their strengths, the F-35 has earned its place as the next-gen fighter of choice, offering unmatched multirole capabilities.

-The F-15EX is a powerful alternative, but investing in the F-35 aligns better with America's long-term air dominance strategy and commitment to cutting-edge military technology.

If I Had $100,000,000, I'd Buy the F-35 

There’s an old Barenaked Ladies song from the 1990s called “If I Had a Million Dollars.” In that song, the band goes through all the things that they’d do if they had a million dollars, ranging from the practical to the absurd. The point was that $1 million was such a large sum of money that they could do almost anything they wanted. 

So, I started thinking about what I’d buy if I had that kind of money. Or, rather, what I’d do with the equivalent of that amount of money in today’s high inflationary environment. But instead of buying a tree fort for our yard replete with “a tiny fridge in there somewhere,” because I’m me, I’d want to purchase a warplane. 

And that’s where things get tricky. 

Would I purchase the F-15EX Eagle II, which has been dubbed as a fourth-generation+ warplane or would I sink my money, say $100,000,000, into the F-35 Lightning II?

Which is Better?

As someone who has long believed the F-22A Raptor was the greatest warplane that not only the United States ever produced but that the world has ever seen, it might strike you as strange that I’m only looking at the F-15EX Eagle II and the F-35 Lightning II. 

There is a real reason for this. 

That’s because this is the dilemma that the Pentagon is currently enduring. You see, the F-35 was the chosen multirole fighter to replace the current crop of fourth-generation warplanes, such as the F-15. Yet, the F-35 runs anywhere between $80 million and $100 million, depending on the variant. 

Plus, because of its highly sophisticated nature, the F-35 is very difficult to maintain and takes time to build. I spoke with several pilots at Luke Air Force Base earlier this year who were transitioning from F-16s to F-35s and they all explained how the complexity of the F-35 is such that it’s almost like they were learning how to fly again. The cost is the biggest problem with the F-35. Its expensive price tag and slow development made the Pentagon seek a stopgap.

That stopgap came in the form of the F-15EX Eagle II.

The F-15EX Eagle II is Just a Rehash 

Less of a new plane than an augmentation of the old, the new variant of the F-15 incorporates multiple technologies that were originally only part of the F-35 program. What’s more, the armaments package on the F-15EX Eagle II is so impressive that it has been described as a “missile truck.”

There’s just one tiny problem. Currently, the F-15EX Eagle II costs more than the F-35 Lightning II. 

How could that be? 

After all, even though it’s a newer bird, the F-15EX Eagle II is still only a fourth generation+ plane whereas the F-35 is a fifth-generation warbird. With the cost becoming imbalanced between the two potential plane purchases, and the fact that the F-35 is a full-blown fifth-generation warplane, if I had one hundred million dollars, I’d just purchase the F-35.

We Need to Do Better Than This

Then again, given the struggles of mass producing anything in this country, perhaps I’d spend that money on starting to reinvigorate America’s ailing defense industrial base. But that, of course, is a far longer discussion for another time. The bottom line is that the F-35, while imperfect, is a better plane than the F-15EX Eagle II. 

America should stick with the F-35 since it has made such a long-term commitment to it anyway. Now, if the choice ever came down to picking between either the F-35 or the F-22, my decision would be quite different.

Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is out October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock. 

From the Vault

Russia Freaked Out: Why the U.S. Navy 'Unretired' the Iowa-Class Battleships

Battleship vs. Battlecruiser: Iowa-Class vs. Russia's Kirov-Class (Who Wins?)