Trump's 15-Ship Fleet Will Cost $275 Billion, 50% More Than Planned
New Congressional Budget Office report reveals the first nuclear-powered 'Trump-class' ship will cost $23.4 billion, $8 billion more than the Navy's initial estimate.
New Congressional Budget Office report reveals the first nuclear-powered 'Trump-class' ship will cost $23.4 billion, $8 billion more than the Navy's initial estimate.
The proposed fleet of 15 warships named after President Donald Trump could cost U.S. taxpayers $275 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. That figure represents an increase of more than 50 percent over earlier projections and places these ships among the most expensive warships ever built.
According to the report from this independent parliamentary agency, as reported by the New York Times, the cost of the first nuclear-powered ship is estimated at $23.4 billion. That is a full $8 billion more than the Navy's initial estimate. Each subsequent ship in the class would cost an average of $18 billion.
The main reason for the dramatic cost increase is President Trump's decision to use nuclear propulsion for the ships. This change has significantly raised the overall project cost compared to original plans.
For comparison, the CBO notes that the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, cost about $13.3 billion in 2008. Adjusted for inflation, that price exceeds $20 billion in 2026. Interestingly, the USS Gerald R. Ford visited Split on March 28, 2026, as captured by AFP photographer Elvis Barukcic.
The 'Trump-class' ships will be significantly larger than current U.S. destroyers and cruisers, though their displacement will be slightly less than that of the last U.S. battleships of the Iowa class, which were decommissioned in the 1990s. According to details from the CBO report, the ships will be heavily armed with anti-air and anti-ship missiles, hypersonic weapons, nuclear cruise missiles, lasers, and an electromagnetic railgun.
President Trump announced the project for this new class of warships in December 2025, an honor typically reserved for leaders after they leave office.
The project comes at a time when Washington significantly lags behind Beijing in the total number of ships in its navy. A report delivered to Congress last year already highlighted concerns from U.S. military officials and other observers about the speed of Chinese shipbuilding.
