Trump-class battleship could become most expensive ship in US history - Bloomberg
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
The first of the US Trump-class battleships could cost up to $22 billion, making it one of the most expensive military ships in US history, Bloomberg reports.
The initial cost estimate for the ship was presented by Eric Labs, a naval analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, at a US Navy surface warfare conference in Virginia.
He acknowledged that the final price of the first ship would depend on decisions that have yet to be made regarding tonnage, crew size, and armament. His lowest cost scenario was $15.1 billion.
The guided-missile battleship would be twice as large as any cruiser or destroyer built by the US Navy since World War II, but about three times smaller than the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, which is currently the most expensive US military ship.
The latter was launched in 2017 at a cost of about $13 billion.
Labs also said that weaknesses in the US shipbuilding industrial base, namely a shortage of skilled labor and supply chain problems, could push the final cost even higher.
The average cost of subsequent ships could range from $10 billion to $15 billion, depending on various factors.
Background
US President Donald Trump announced plans for the new ship at Mar-a-Lago in December, saying the Trump battleship would be part of his Golden Fleet plan to revive US shipbuilding.
Although Trump has criticized the US defense industry for late weapons deliveries and cost overruns, he said that Trump-class ships would be more expensive but incomparable in importance and power.
For now, the battleship remains only a concept. A poster presented at the event at the Mar-a-Lago estate featured an artistic rendering of a sleek warship, the USS Defiant, cutting through rough waters with a laser beam.
A Navy information sheet said the ship would weigh about 35,000 tons and have a crew of up to 850 people.
