The only chart you need to see to know that the F-35 is the future of warfare

Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesHey gorgeous.

Nobody spends money on defence like the Stars and Stripes, and that’s most evident in the Department of Defence’s annual
Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) to Congress.
Detailing the status, plans, and funding requirements for nearly 80 major defence-acquisition programs, SARs provide a glimpse into America’s war-machine portfolio.

Compiling the most recently publicly released SARs and a few other estimates, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) published the
“Weapons Systems Factbook.” CSBA projects that the Pentagon’s top programs will need $321 billion for the Future Years Defence Program (spanning FY 2017 to FY 2021) plus an additional $410 billion in FY 2022 and beyond.

The following graphic outlines money spent (red), money needed right now (green), and money needed for the future (blue). Take a look and you can’t help but notice America’s F-35 Lightning II takes the lead, with projected spending in the years to come far higher than any other program.

Center for Strategic and Budgetary AssessmentsPrograms marked by an ‘*’ do not have public SARs and reflect a summation of data from official DoD sources only. They are not intended to suggest total program cost estimates.

NOW WATCH: America’s $400 billion warplane has some major flaws

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.