“$1.7 Billion was spent on this program.”
If only. FTA: “Total acquisition costs now exceed $428 billion, nearly double the initial estimate of $233 billion, with projected lifetime operations and maintenance costs of $1.727 trillion.”
Also, https://www.airforcemag.com/massive-34-billion-f-35-contract... talks about a $34 billion contract for 478 aircraft. At that price, $1.7 billion buys you about 24 of these planes.