Comment by ianburrell

Also, the now $2 trillion is the total program cost. It is development, cost to buy 2500 aircraft at $80-120 million each. Mostly, it is the maintenance cost for aircraft for decades of future service. The program cost is spread out over decades.

The important thing is that if the US wants to have air forces, it needs fighters and needs to replace the current ones. The F-35 is better and similar price to older fighters so it is the best option to replace them.