Overview
- The Congressional Budget Office released its updated estimate Wednesday, putting the lead Trump-class hull at about $23.4 billion and the 15-ship nuclear program at roughly $275 billion under the Navy’s assumptions.
- The planned 35,000-ton ship would be the largest U.S. surface combatant since World War II and the Navy confirmed in May that it would be nuclear-powered using the same reactor design as the Gerald R. Ford class.
- The CBO found the design’s size, nuclear propulsion and advanced weapons suite including space for SLCM-N nuclear cruise missiles drive much of the cost and that several high-profile systems cited for the ship are not yet fielded.
- The report warns the schedule would more than double large-surface-combatant tonnage for builders, concentrate final assembly at Newport News Shipbuilding and worsen existing delays at Bath and Ingalls, raising strong industrial-capacity risks.
- The Pentagon has requested about $1 billion in FY27 advance procurement while Congress and oversight agencies question the program’s affordability and note that CBO’s cost rests on key assumptions such as an order in 2028 and production through 2056 that could change the price significantly.