According to Defense News and Air Force Magazine, the manned version of the fighter will be at the heart of the "next generation of air superiority" fighters. U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said on the 27th that this fighter will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but the Air Force can reduce research and development and maintenance costs.
Kendal specifically mentioned in his house Armed Services Committee hearing on budget needs for fiscal year 2023 that a multi-billion dollar warplane is always a concern. By comparison, an F-22 is about $135 million, the most expensive fighter ever developed by the U.S. Air Force. The F-35A asks for about $80 million, but this price may rise due to inflation. Although the value of the "next-generation air superiority" fighter dwarfs that of both the F-22 and F-35, this 6th generation fighter will play a key role in the air superiority fighter.
Kendal said that to reduce the price of new fighters, we must first start with research and development design, so that upgrades and repairs can be carried out in a very effective way. In fact, the F-35's maintenance costs are highlighting this problem, with estimates of more than $1.25 trillion over the entire service life. However, Kendal sounds optimistic that the "next generation of air superiority" fighters can use new methods such as module design and common interfaces to avoid facing the same fate.
On the other hand, Kendal said, the "next generation of air superiority", while incredibly efficient, must be paired with platforms such as the less expensive automated unmanned wingman to expand the range of the battle. While he did not specifically estimate the likely price of these unmanned wingmen, in a speech to the Air Force Association in Florida in March, he noted that they would hope that the drones would not cost more than half the price of the manned fighters.
However, if a manned "next-generation air superiority" fighter costs hundreds of millions of dollars, it means that the cost of unmanned wingmanship may be similar to the F-35, or even higher.