President Donald Trump’s proposal to build a fleet of 15 nuclear-powered guided missile battleships could cost an estimated $275 billion through 2056, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office, which projects the lead vessel alone will carry a price tag of $23.4 billion.

The nonpartisan budget office estimated that the first ship, the USS Defiant, would require at least eight years to complete after its planned 2028 procurement. It also projected that each of the remaining 14 battleships would cost roughly $18 billion to construct.

Trump first unveiled the new class of warships in December and later directed that the vessels be redesigned to use nuclear propulsion instead of conventional engines.

When introducing the program, Trump described the planned fleet as being “the fastest, the biggest and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” adding that the ships would weigh more than 30,000 tons.

According to the CBO, switching the ships to nuclear power raises procurement costs by approximately 13% compared to a conventionally powered design. However, the agency noted that eliminating the need for fuel purchases could reduce operating expenses over the long term.

The report also warned that carrying out the Navy’s 2027 shipbuilding strategy would require a massive expansion of America’s shipbuilding capacity. It said shipyards would need to more than double their production of large surface combatants by 2035 to meet projected demand.

“The Navy does not currently plan to have Bath Iron Works, in Maine, or Ingalls Shipbuilding, in Mississippi, perform the final assembly of the battleship, even though those shipyards have built all of the Navy’s large surface combatants over the past 40 years,” the CBO said.

“During that time, no other shipyard has performed that work, although in recent years, Bath and Ingalls have outsourced small amounts of work to other facilities to speed construction in the DDG-51 destroyer program.”

The analysis was commissioned by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

“While we continue to see too many Pentagon programs burdened by cost overruns, delays, and unrealistic promises that fail to meet reality, Congress cannot afford to commit to another massive military boondoggle that will only succeed in filling the coffers of the military-industrial complex,” Merkley said.

“I will work with my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to reject moving forward with this wasteful project, and instead invest in programs that help families thrive.”

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also criticized the proposal, arguing that Trump’s envisioned “Golden Fleet” is out of step with the future of modern warfare.

“That’s not the way warfare is going to be done,” Reed said, while noting that “some” have argued the ships could remain outside enemy kill zones by carrying long-range missiles.

{Matzav.com}