The $275 Billion Battleship Bill

The CBO puts a price on Trump's nuclear-powered fleet: $23.4 billion for the first ship, $275 billion for all 15.

By The Defense Desk

The first Trump-class battleship would cost $23.4 billion, with 14 follow-on ships averaging $18 billion each — bringing the total program to $275 billion for 15 nuclear-powered vessels, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Tuesday. [1]

At roughly 35,000 tons, each ship would be the largest surface combatant in the world — about three and half times the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. [1] The Navy's own budget documents put the full-load range higher, between 35,000 and 41,000 tons; at the top end, the lead ship's price tag rises another 16 percent. [1]

The nuclear propulsion choice is the main cost driver. CBO found that an initial, conventionally powered lead ship would total around $21.3 billion, with all 15 ships totaling roughly $243 billion; switching to nuclear — the same reactor type used on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, per Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle — pushes the 15-ship total about 13 percent higher than the $243 billion conventional baseline. [1]

[1] The Navy is requesting approximately $1 billion in advance procurement and roughly $837 million in research and development in its fiscal 2027 budget. [1]

A program of this scale demands scrutiny well beyond sticker price — questions of industrial capacity, strategic doctrine, and opportunity cost will define the debate as much as any CBO line item.

[1] CBO cautions its estimates are 'highly uncertain and rely on CBO's assessments of the ship's design and the overall battleship program.' [1]