Another day another stupid question!

Just wondering how long it takes to build a modern combat aircarft e.g. the Typhoon or The F16?

Well, if you're planning on doing it yourself I would set aside atleast three months for an undertaking such as this.

No, I don't really know but I was bored so I figured I'd throw my two cents in since nobody else has answered your post yet. I would think that would be kind of hard to know, since I'm sure they don't build all of the parts at one facility. I think different company's make different parts of the aircraft. That could very well be classified information, too. I'll do a little research and see what I can come up with, in case nobody else decides to try and answer.

Depends on the aircraft, and depends on the assembly line, but typically you are looking at a timeframe of weeks to months.

It completly depends on what parts are used in the airplane. For example it might take Raytheon a month to make a certain part for an F-22, but Raytheon actually gets some of it's materials and such from a German owned company that my mother works for. It's an incredibly complex process. It takes longer to get all the parts in one place than it does to put them all together. I don't know how the bureucrats get anything done with such a long drawn out way of having to produce things.

Originally posted by RAB
Just wondering how long it takes to build a modern combat aircarft e.g. the Typhoon or The F16?

There's really no way to answer your question. There is development times, low rate production, and serial production. For example, the F-22 is in low rate production, and LM will deliver 24 AC this year. That number will increase to 36-48/year in serial production. It's a matter of getting all the components in the pipeline and having a production line that will output the AC on the planned schedule.

To develop a new AC from concept to production can take 10-15 years, depending on how serious you are in getting it into service. Actual assembly time per aircraft can be measured in days, and then you have to do finishing touches, coatings, testing, etc. before you can deliver it into service.