The Congressional Budget Office has updated its preliminary estimates for President Trump's Golden Fleet, now projecting costs could reach $275 billion for a fleet of approximately 15 nuclear-powered battleships through 2056. According to the latest CBO analysis released today, the first vessel would cost $23.4 billion to construct, with subsequent ships estimated at approximately $18 billion each. The original estimate of $275 billion for 15 ships has been expanded to account for the Navy's stated goal of building 20-25 battleships in total. As reported by the CBO, each ship will displace 35,000 tons, but if displacement increases to 41,000 tons, the costs per hull would rise by 16 percent, pushing the total program cost to $528 billion. The CBO noted that these estimates are "highly uncertain and rely on CBO's assessments of the ship's design and the overall battleship program."
If the preliminary estimates hold, the vessels would be even costlier than the $13.2 billion USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the most expensive US warship ever built. As reported by the CBO, the lead vessel of a new class of warships has historically cost much more than planned, with the Ford seeing an overrun of almost $3 billion from its original estimated price tag. The battleship's construction will be complicated by nuclear power requirements, as neither of the Navy's top surface warfare shipbuilders — Maine-based Bath Iron Works Corp. or Mississippi's Ingalls Shipbuilding Inc. — is certified by the Navy to perform nuclear power-related work. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest cost estimate for the battleship fleet.
The CBO analysis reveals significant operational advantages of the nuclear-powered design, with the report stating that "a nuclear-powered ship would ultimately cut down operating costs since fuel wouldn't be purchased." However, the CBO cautioned that "CBO does not have enough information to estimate those potential savings, which would depend on the final design of the ship and the specifications of the conventional propulsion plant it otherwise would have used." The Navy confirmed in May that the battleship would feature the same nuclear reactor as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. Prior to the nuclear announcement, CBO had estimated that an initial, conventionally powered battleship would total around $21.3 billion, with all 15 ships totaling roughly $243 billion - making the nuclear-powered version 13 percent more expensive.
Despite the high costs, the CBO noted that based on current specifications — which include hypersonic missiles, nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and laser weapons — the battleship would add considerable firepower to the Navy's fleet. As envisioned, the battleship will be armed with hypersonic missiles and an electromagnetic rail gun — two weapons the Navy has yet to field. It will also carry conventional 5-inch guns along with a range of lasers and smaller guns. The CBO report confirmed that "the Navy has stated that the ship would be equipped to carry the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile, or SLCM-N," though the number of nuclear-tipped cruise missiles remains unknown. The battleship would be built around a 128 Mark 41 vertical launch cells, four tubes for Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missiles, an electromagnetic railgun and a scaled-up version of the Navy's AN/SPY-6 integrated air and missile defense radar. Navy leaders have defended the ship in congressional hearings, arguing the service needs a larger ship to accommodate more capability.
The Trump-class battleship program is so associated with the current president that it's likely to be one of the top defense programs targeted for cancellation if Republicans lose control of the House of Representatives in November midterm elections. Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee who requested the CBO review, stated that "at a time when families are struggling to afford groceries, gas, health care and child care, Congress cannot throw hundreds of billions of dollars at Trump's Golden Fleet, including plastering his name across a new battleship." The Senate Budget Committee estimates that a fleet of 25 ships could cost $455 billion, significantly higher than the CBO's $275 billion projection. Merkley warned that "Congress cannot afford to commit to another massive military boondoggle that will only succeed in filling the coffers of the military-industrial complex." The House last month narrowly passed the $1.15 trillion defense policy bill amid rising tensions over military spending and the war with Iran, with the bill including funding for the "Golden Fleet." The Senate has not yet approved its version of the defense measure, and it's possible that a final version won't be ready until after the midterm elections.
