Figuring out what the F-35 will cost is a matter of great dispute. A 20% spread exists, for instance, between Lockheed Martin's projections and the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE).
But there is no argument about what the F-35 has cost so far. Every penny spent on the program since contract award in 2001 has been tracked and published in the selected acquisition reports.
So what are the taxpayers getting for their investment?
By the end of Fiscal 2011, if the Department of Defense's latest budget request is approved, the F-35 program will have received $67.9 billion since the October 2001 contract award.
For that investment, Lockheed's global supply chain will have a total of 101 production aircraft on contract, with between 28 to 58 production of those aircraft delivered.
I compared that amount to the F-22 program. By the end of Fiscal 2011, the DOD is budgeted to spend $66.7 billion, with 188 aircraft on contract and nearly that amount delivered.
To be fair, the F-35's $67.9 billion pays for non-recurring engineering on three variants, which includes 14 flight test aircraft.
But it's an interesting benchmark for a program such as the F-35, which has few peers of any relevance.
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