One Trilion Dollars

From the ARES blog,  "Carter says estimated $1 trillion sustainment cost "is unbelievable for two reasons: it's huge, and you should not believe it, it's a parametric forecast based on the information available. We have not begun to manage it. No-one is going to pay that cost"

The F-35 fanatics claimed that the numbers were unjust, that he were comparing some twothousand F-35:s against less F-18:s or about the same number (? at least I think it's like that, don't bet on it though) of F-16.
Perhaps right, but what caught my eye were the words "No-one is going to pay that cost"
Is this the first sign that USA will reduce the buy of F-35? Or, more likely, that the pressure is on Lockheed Martin to really really prove their claim that an airplane three times as complex and 50% bigger that the predecessor is cheaper to operate and maintain?

Just askin'

Photo from Lockheed Martin

/RAF

PS
"three times as complex and 50% bigger" is just an lazy estimation, if you have better numbers feel free to share them
DS