The Navy wants a $22 billion battleship it might never be able to build

Workforce and Budget Woes Loom Large

The Congressional Budget Office just put a price tag on the Trump-class battleship, and the numbers are staggering. The lead ship could cost up to $22 billion, making it the most expensive warship in American history.

But the real question is not whether the Navy can afford it. The question is whether American shipyards have enough workers to build it.

With construction not starting until the 2030s and half of new shipyard recruits quitting within a year, the Navy’s most ambitious project in decades faces problems that money alone cannot solve.

CBO Says First Ship Could Hit $22 Billion

CBO analyst Eric Labs presented cost estimates at the Surface Navy Association symposium in January 2026, calculating the lead battleship could range from $14.3 billion to $20.6 billion if ordered today.

If the contract is not signed until 2030, the price could climb to approximately $22 billion. Labs explained that a version displacing about 35,000-45,000 tons would likely cost around $18 to $19 billion, while a heavier design could push past $20 billion.

The final price depends on decisions still being made about weapons, armor, and crew size.

It Would Beat the Ford Carrier

At the high end of estimates, the Trump-class would surpass the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which was delivered in 2017 at a cost of about $13.3 billion after exceeding its original budget by around 30 percent.

That would make USS Defiant the most expensive warship ever built by the United States.

Defense analyst Mark Cancian estimated in December 2025 that the battleship would cost about $9.1 billion on average, with the lead ship likely reaching $13.5 billion due to first-of-class expenses—though the CBO’s subsequent January 2026 analysis projects significantly higher costs.

Follow-On Ships Could Cost $15 Billion Each

CBO estimates that follow-on ships could cost anywhere from $9 billion to $13 billion per vessel if orders begin today, or from $10 billion to $15 billion if the first ship order is deferred until 2030.

For comparison, current Arleigh Burke destroyers cost about $2 billion each.

Labs warned these figures may prove optimistic given ongoing problems in the shipbuilding industry.

The Navy plans to start with two ships, but that commitment will face budget pressure from Congress.

Construction Will Not Start Until 2030s

Navy officials confirmed construction of USS Defiant would not start until the early 2030s.

Design contracts awarded to Bath Iron Works, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Gibbs & Cox have a six-year period of performance, putting the design phase completion into 2032.

Cancian noted that the ship is much larger than anything the United States has built in the last 80 years, other than aircraft carriers.

For comparison, the truncated Zumwalt-class took 11 years from program initiation in 2005 to commissioning of the first ship in 2016.

At 35,000 Tons It Dwarfs Current Ships

At more than 35,000 tons, the Trump-class would be more than double the size of the 16,000-ton Zumwalt destroyers, which are currently the largest surface combatants in the fleet.

The ships would stretch 840 to 880 feet long, making them slightly smaller than the 887-foot Iowa-class battleships from World War II.

The industrial base has not delivered a battleship to the Navy since 1944. This would be the largest American surface warship built in 80 years.

The Navy Needs 250,000 New Workers

Navy Secretary John Phelan revealed at the Surface Navy Association symposium that shipyards need to hire roughly 250,000 skilled workers over the next decade to meet demand.

The hardest constraint in American shipbuilding is not the lack of designs on paper, but the shortage of experienced welders, pipefitters, marine electricians, planners, and supervisors who can deliver quality work at scale.

Half of New Workers Quit in Year One

Brett Seidle, the Navy’s acting acquisition executive, told lawmakers that 50 to 60 percent of newly recruited shipyard workers leave within their first year of being hired.

The biggest reason for the attrition is paychecks and the Navy’s inability to compete with other private sector manufacturing and service jobs.

The timeline to build the industrial base the Navy needs will be significantly prolonged without competitive pay.

The Zumwalt Shows What Can Go Wrong

The Zumwalt-class destroyer was originally planned as a 32-ship program but was cut to just three ships as costs overran estimates.

The total program cost reached $22.5 billion, working out to $7.5 billion per ship.

In November 2016, the Navy canceled procurement of the ships’ specialized ammunition after per-shell costs increased to $800,000 to $1 million, leaving the guns unusable.

The Navy has since removed the Advanced Gun Systems and replaced them with hypersonic missiles.

Critics Call It a Bomb Magnet

Defense analyst Bernard Loo compared the proposed battleship to Japan’s World War II super-battleships Yamato and Musashi, which were sunk by carrier aircraft before playing a significant role in combat.

He warned that the size and prestige value of the ship would make it an even more tempting target for adversaries.

The Navy bets that advanced defensive systems will keep it survivable.

The Last Battleship Now Sits in Pearl Harbor

USS Missouri, the last battleship commissioned by the United States, was completed in 1944 and is now a museum ship at Pearl Harbor.

Her quarterdeck was the site where Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945, officially ending World War II.

Missouri was reactivated in 1984, served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and was decommissioned for good in 1992. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial =Association and opened as a museum in January 1999. At approximately 57,000-58,000 tons full load, she was among the largest battleships ever built.

See Historic Battleships at Battleship Cove in Massachusetts

If the Trump-class has you curious about American battleship history, Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, offers an up-close look at the real thing.

The maritime museum is home to USS Massachusetts, a 35,000-ton South Dakota-class battleship commissioned in 1942 that earned 11 battle stars in World War II.

The site also includes the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and the submarine USS Lionfish. Battleship Cove is located at 5 Water Street in Fall River.

Hours vary by season: the museum is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from late March through mid-October, but operates Friday through Sunday only during winter months with reduced hours. Check the website for current schedules.

Adult admission is $25, with discounts for seniors, children, and military.

You can walk the decks, climb into gun turrets, and explore crew quarters to see how sailors lived aboard these massive warships.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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