New US Warship 'Named After Trump' May Cost $275 Billion - Sarmad

The cost of building the fleet, which will comprise 15 warships named after Donald Trump, could reach $275 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, making them among the most expensive U.S. warships ever constructed.

The first of these nuclear-powered vessels is expected to cost approximately $23.4 billion, while subsequent ships will average $18 billion each, according to a report issued by this independent parliamentary body.

For comparison, the Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, cost about $13.3 billion in 2008, equivalent to more than $20 billion in 2026 prices.

Last December, the U.S. president announced his plan to produce a new class of warships bearing his name, an honor typically reserved for leaders who have left office.

The Congressional Budget Office clarified that these ships will be heavily armed, equipped with anti-aircraft missiles, sea-to-land missiles, hypersonic weapons, nuclear cruise missiles, laser systems, and an electromagnetic railgun. These vessels will be much larger than current U.S. destroyers and cruisers, although their displacement will remain slightly less than that of the last U.S. battleships of the Iowa class, which were decommissioned in the 1990s.

Washington is now facing a significant lag compared to Beijing in terms of the number of ships in its naval fleet.

A report submitted to Congress last year highlighted concerns among U.S. military officials and other observers regarding the pace of shipbuilding in China.