Cost rises to $275 billion for projected Trump-class battleship program, CBO says

The potential cost of the Navy's new nuclear-powered battleship procurement program is estimated to reach an eye-popping $275 billion

with the first Trump-class battleship costing $23.4 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report published recently

The Trump administration in December announced its intention to build a new class of large-surface combatants designated as the Trump-class guided missile battleship

Welcome to Mar-a-Lago for this exciting announcement of the new Golden Fleet

We're calling it the Golden Fleet that we're building for the United States Navy

As you know, we're desperately in need of ships. Our ships are, some of them have gotten old and tired and obsolete

And we're going to go the exact opposite direction. As Commander-in-Chief, it's my great honor to announce that I have approved a plan for the Navy

to begin the construction of two brand new, very large, largest we've ever built battleships

If built, the 35,000-ton nuclear battleship will be the most heavily armed surface vessel

the U.S. Navy has ever constructed, possessing anti-air, land attack, and anti-ship missiles

hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, large lasers, and a railgun. The Navy projects that between 2028 and 2056, it will build 15 Trump-class guided missile

battleships, with the subsequent 14 costing $18 billion each. By contrast, the USS Gerald R. Ford

the U.S. Navy's premier nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, cost approximately $13.3 billion. The report also noted that while the price tag will be immense up front over time by switching

to nuclear power, it would reduce the battleship's operating costs by eliminating the need to purchase

fuel. Since the December announcement, the cost of Trump-class battleships has been a moving target

with the updated $23.4 billion, roughly $6 billion more than the initial Navy projection