Report: Britain, Italy May Slash Eurofighter Orders

[Skybird]

Again:

So, who tells the truth about how much an F-22 costs? How can you reconcile the nearly $250 million per plane difference between the low-end estimate and the high-end estimate? Simple, just remember that commercial firms have the same accounting situation. It costs billions of dollars to develop new commercial aircraft, and those costs must be paid for. They are, by including the development costs in the price paid for the aircraft. But the Pentagon does not "buy" warplanes the same way airlines pay for airliners. The Pentagon pays for development, then it pays for production. Airliners pay for both when they buy their aircraft. If you want the real cost of a warplane, you have to include a portion of the development cost to the production cost.

Can't be much clearer on it than this guy is telling it.