Taking a stroll down the high-rent district of military aviation reveals a number of airframes with shockingly expensive operating costs, and some that have even more staggering purchase prices. The cost of aerial supremacy has never been cheap, but in the era of fifth generation fighters and the arms race for the most superior stealth, costs keep getting higher and higher.

Interestingly, fighter jets are far from the most costly warplanes in the world. That crown goes to strategic assets like the United States Air Force's 747-based Air Force One and other specialized mission platforms. Much of the cost of these aircraft is built into the massive suite of sophisticated electronics, but also the large, highly trained crew that operates them. Let's break down the list of the top five.

6 Eurofighter Typhoon

$65,000 per hour

The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the most capable 4.5-generation multirole fighters, but it is notably expensive to operate, costing between $60,000 and $65,000 per flight hour. The Typhoon's high operating costs are driven by several factors. Aside from simply being an advanced fighter jet, it is also a complex multinational project. It is built by a consortium of four nations: the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain. A lot of the built-in cost is there as a result of political and economic planning.

Aside from this supply chain aspect of the price tag, the Typhoon is an exceptionally high-performance fighter jet. Its two EJ200 engines provide exceptional performance but double the fuel consumption and maintenance compared to single-engine jets. It features a sophisticated suite of European electronics, including the newer Captor-E AESA radar, which requires highly specialized technicians and constant software upgrades.

Notably, it is the most expensive non-stealth fighter jet to operate. However, it does also have a significantly lower purchase price than some of its competitors. It can also match or exceed a number of the combat metrics with comparable aircraft like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.

The Typhoon was designed with 15 interchangeable modules to minimize repair time, which significantly reduces its maintenance time and cost. The Typhoon can carry the Meteor long-range missile, which many analysts consider superior to the F-22’s standard air-to-air loadout. And unlike the F-22, the Typhoon is a true multirole aircraft, capable of air-to-air combat, precision ground strikes, and maritime roles in a single mission.

5 Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor

$85,000 per hour

The F-22 remains the apex predator of the world of fighter jets. Although it may not be the highest-performance or most heavily armed aircraft in the world, its unique combination of very high speed, super maneuverability, and, most importantly, stealth technology has kept it at the top of the food chain. Unsurprisingly, sustaining this beast of a warbird is not cheap.

The F-22 was the first 5th generation aircraft to ever successfully achieve production. Going on three decades old now, its successors remain actually less stealthy. An increased focus on budget and compromises to all aspects of stealth made the F-35 Lightning II a more economical and well-rounded fighter jet, but ultimately less lethal.

The Raptor can outrun and outmaneuver even the most fearsome enemies from adversary nations like Russia or China. It also has longer legs thanks to the highest supercruise capability of any aircraft and an incredible beyond visual range engagement capability based on that same performance factor.

The Raptor is the most expensive fighter jet to fly in the world. To put that in context, below is a breakdown of estimated flight hour costs for a sampling of the best fighter jets in service around the world today:

The price of the Raptor's unchallenged air superiority is a highly expensive maintenance program for not only its radar absorbent material but a host of other innovative technologies that were invented by Skunk Works in order to make this revolutionary jet a reality. Its operating costs are staggering, as was its initial purchase price of over $300 million per airframe.

4 Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy

$100,000 per hour

Nicknamed FRED, for 'freaking ridiculous economic disaster,' the C-5 is a Cold War warrior that was forged by the fires of the Vietnam conflict. The colossal strategic airlifter was made to sustain American troops around the world by providing rapid airlift with immense capacity to any airfield for good support on normal airliners. Today, the latest iteration has attempted to significantly improve its fuel efficiency and maintenance upkeep with modernized tech upgrades.

Still, the C-5 is now essentially the largest strategic military airlift aircraft in the entire world. The destruction of the Antonov An-225 Mriya by Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine left the C-5 at the top of the airlift food chain. Antonov's An-124 Ruslan technically beats out the C-5 in every metric except overall length, but in terms of strategic capability, the C-5 has much more range, which makes it a much more useful tool for a 21st-century military.

The C-5 was also made to perform fast climb-outs from airfields in theater. While it is not as high performance as the C-17, nor nearly as rugged, it still far outperforms its Soviet-era counterparts. And with the focus on fuel efficiency and lower procurement costs as well as sustainment investments, it is likely that we will never see another aircraft like it made again. The Air Force is therefore pushing to modernize the fleet and keep it relevant in the future, because its unique outside cargo capacity is so valuable to US national defense.

3 Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit

$130,000 per hour

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is notoriously the most expensive military aircraft ever acquired based on price for a single airframe. Because the Cold War ended just before the aircraft entered service, the contract for the world's first 5th generation flying wing stealth bombers was cut short by lawmakers. The US Air Force originally expected to acquire 200 but ended up with just 21, which offset the cost of the incredible amount of research that went into their development and payments for each delivery that accounted for roughly $2 billion per airplane.

Today, these jets are also some of the most costly to sustain because of the incredible, groundbreaking technology that was used to make them possible at all. The B-2 wasn't just a pioneer of stealth but also of a host of other technologies, including the most advanced fly-by-wire controls and avionics ever developed for an airplane. The RAM that coats its exterior is extremely fragile, however, and requires 119 hours of maintenance for every 1 hour of flight.

Much of the inflated cost that goes into the upkeep of these jets is due to the extremely small production number that was actually delivered. Virtually all of the tooling and equipment, as well as the skill pool and knowledge, were lost over the years because there was no economical way to sustain the logistics for such a tiny fleet. The Spirit's successor, the B-21 Raider, as well as the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter both attempt to rectify this with a much larger production series, hoping to continue America's stealth dominance at a much lower budget in the future.

2 Air Force One

$200,000 per hour

The current VC-25A fleet costs approximately $177,000 to $206,000 per flight hour to operate. This cost is roughly 10 times higher than that of a standard commercial Boeing 747 due to its role as a hardened, flying command center rather than a simple transport, according to the War Zone. It features military-grade avionics, multiple backup power systems, and midair refueling capability, allowing it to stay airborne indefinitely in a crisis.

The current fleet consists of modified Boeing 747-200Bs, a model that has been out of production for over 30 years. The aircraft is shielded against electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and equipped with extensive self-defense systems, including electronic countermeasures to deflect missiles. As planes age, they require more frequent and specialized maintenance to remain mission-ready.

The plane is designed to be fully independent at any airfield, with its own retractable stairways and baggage loaders to avoid relying on local ground support. The upcoming VC-25B, based on the 747-8i, is expected to be more fuel-efficient but carries a massive price tag of $6 billion for just two aircraft.

The hourly cost covers salaries for a highly trained military crew and specialized chefs. Additionally, every mission involves a second backup VC-25A and a fleet of C-17 support aircraft to transport presidential limos and security equipment.

1 Boeing E-4B Nightwatch

$300,000 per hour

The cost for operating the US Air Force's 'Doomsday' fleet of highly advanced 747 variants is astronomical, even by comparison to Air Force One and other extremely complex specialized military platforms. This is owing to not only its enormous array of state-of-the-art equipment but also a very large crew. The jet is essentially a flying Pentagon, paralleling the mission of the VC-25A but with more direct military command and control equipment. The cheapest missions it flies are estimated to be somewhere around $150,000 per hour, while on the more expensive end of sorties, it is estimated to cost as much as $400,000 per hour.

The fleet of Nightwatch jumbo jets also serves to transport the Secretary of Defense and high-ranking members of the US Armed Forces around the world on strategic missions and diplomatic envoys. The jets are similarly advanced and aged to the AF1 fleet and are slated for replacement with even more stunningly expensive airplanes. The Sierra Nevada Corporation has begun modifying a number of 747-8 jetliners as the E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC).

The new SAOC will feature hardened onboard computing and a modern communications suite to link the President and Secretary of Defense with the US nuclear triad during a national emergency. It will have increased protection against electromagnetic pulse (EMP), thermal effects, and nuclear radiation. While the new aircraft will have lower maintenance requirements and better fuel efficiency, they are not expected to be much cheaper to operate as they will have large aircrews and similarly cutting-edge technology aboard.

While only four E-4Bs currently exist, the Air Force plans to acquire between 8 and 10 SAOC aircraft to ensure higher global availability. SNC was chosen instead of Boeing because they agreed to the Air Force's use of a modular open systems approach (MOSA), allowing the USAF to quickly upgrade software and mission systems without being locked into a single proprietary vendor.