The Trump-Class Battleship Will Be the Most Expensive Ship Ever Built |
The Trump-Class Battleship Will Be the Most Expensive Ship Ever Built
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Current projections suggest that the Trump-class vessels could cost an astonishing $17 billion each—more than a supercarrier!
President Donald Trump has a penchant for believing things should be the biggest, best, and most beautiful. His proposed Trump-class battleships might disappoint the commander-in-chief. The warships could take far longer to develop and build than the president might understand (or has been led to believe), and that may have resulted in the firing of former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan last week.
There are still many reasons the Trump-class may never be built, of course—but if they are, they will likely be the most expensive warships ever built for any navy in history.
The Pentagon’s Cost Analysis: $17 Billion and Counting
US Navy budget documents show that the lead vessel of the Trump-class could cost a whopping $17 billion, exceeding the price tag of the much bigger USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) by at least a billion dollars. The three proposed warships of the class could together cost more than $43 billion.
Phelan previously told reporters that the $17 billion figure was an “early, initial estimate.”
Still, if there is one absolute truth in the defense industry, it is that programs rarely come in on time and under budget, meaning the final costs of the Trump class could be even higher. The entire Gerald R. Ford-class carrier program has cost nearly $37.3 billion to date, with two........