I have found the information about what it costs to put military planes in the air, and the information comes from the USA, which is almost the only country that publishes this type of news. It is very useful information in a democratic system, but few countries in the world publish it.
It is very difficult to calculate precisely what it costs to put this type of aircraft in the air for an hour, because in addition to the purchase costs of the device, many other costs must be considered: weapon systems that they carry, various maintenance, costs of pilots (including their training), cost of support on land or by boat, etc…. But in the USA they have provided information that I find interesting to share and reflect on.
Helicopters cost considerably less than planes.
- UH 60 BlackHawk $3,000/h
- UH 64 Apache $5,000/hr
- MH 60R SeaHawk $14,000/hr
The lower cost of the BlackHawks is due to the many thousands of devices that have been manufactured and put into operation for decades, and many of them are still active today.
Fighter jets are more expensive because they are manufactured in fewer quantities, their weapon systems are very complex, and they consume a lot of fuel (although this concept will be the least expensive).
- F-16 Fighting Falcon $27,000/hr
- F-18 Super Hornet $39,000/hr
- F-35 Joint Strike Fighter $42,000/hr
Both the F-16 and the F-18 planes have been in operation for more than 30 years and should be replaced quite soon, but the new planes are so expensive that they are extending the useful life of the old planes by introducing into them new improvements.
Bomber planes are much more expensive, as there are very few
- B-52 Stratofortress $88,000/hr
- B-2 Spirit $150,000/hr
The B-52 has more than 50 years of service and will continue to be operational for a few more decades, and the B-2 is the most modern bomber with characteristics of being invisible to radar (stealth), and there are only a few in operation.
And the most expensive by far is the plane that is used by the president of the USA as a command and control center ( U.S. Air Force USAF Boeing E-4B ) for emergencies. An hour of flying this plane costs a nice figure of $373,000.
At least the North Americans know what they pay for the use of their planes. In most countries we have no idea, although we can assume that the costs will not be much different.
With these enormous costs, it is very well understood that only "rich" countries can afford to have a proper air force. And the poorest get by with a few planes that are generally quite old, and lately every day they use more drones, which are cheap and if you know how to use them they can do a lot of damage.
Some call drones the air force of the poor, and the truth is that in a way they have a point.
EN 
ES_ES 