Congressional report reveals: Trump's ship program in danger

The US administration's plan to build the largest warships since World War II carries a $275 billion price tag. A new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report released Thursday suggests that US shipyards may lack the capacity to execute the project.

Each of the 15 planned nuclear-powered warships will cost over $18 billion, placing them in the same cost bracket as Ford-class aircraft carriers, previously considered the most expensive naval vessels ever built. This massive expenditure will increase the Navy's procurement budget for combat vessels from $11 billion in 2025 to $18 billion by 2027.

The program, announced last December, features advanced weaponry including hypersonic missiles, electric railguns, and high-tech lasers. The Navy later confirmed the ships would carry nuclear-armed cruise missiles, making them the most powerful assets in the US arsenal after ballistic missile submarines.

The CBO report estimates the first ship will cost $23.4 billion, with subsequent units priced at $18 billion each. While this represents a significant cost increase, the report notes that initial estimates were based on conventional, rather than nuclear, propulsion.

Capacity concerns are a major focus of the report. The new warships will be three and a half times larger than the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that currently dominate US naval production. "By 2035, the Navy's plan will more than double the tonnage of large combat vessels that shipyards will need to produce. Dealing with such a significant increase... could be a challenge for the shipbuilding industry," the CBO stated.

The industry is already struggling with delays. In 2025, then-Secretary of the Navy John Phelan testified that existing programs were six months behind schedule and 57% over budget. Furthermore, the two primary builders, Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding, lack the infrastructure for nuclear-powered vessel construction. Assembly would likely fall to the Newport News shipyard, potentially disrupting other critical programs.

The report highlights the "steep learning curve" of building a new class of ship from scratch. Beyond construction hurdles, analysts question the strategic wisdom of the investment given the rise of low-cost, effective drone warfare. "Given today's drone swarms, stealth submarines, hypersonic missiles... putting a lot of eggs in single large baskets does not make much sense," wrote retired Admiral James Stavridis.