Posted on 12/12/2014 9:24:49 AM PST by C19fan
The U.S. Navys DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers are extraordinarily expensive. Since 2009, the cost of the ships has increased 34.4 percent, according to the Congressional Research Service. Each of the three Zumwalts being built will cost taxpayers around $3.4 billion. And, thats on top of the more than $9 billion in research and design funding that has gone into this program.
Are they worth the price? The Navy didnt think so in 2009 when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the program would end with the procurement of just three ships, down from the 32 ships the Navy had initially planned to buy.
But, now that the first Zumwalt is actually in the water, theres growing concern that this decision may have been penny wise and pound foolish, as it leaves significant voids in the Navys ability to adapt to future threats. Most notably, ending the Zumwalt program in favor of buying upgraded versions of the decades-old Arleigh-Burke DDG-51 destroyers limits the Navys capabilities without significantly reducing costs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationaldefensemagazine.org ...
Arleigh-Burke DDG still outclasses Destroyers of any other nation by miles.
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