[Doohickey]

Wow. Seven billion. We've really come full circle from the Bic lighter of surface combatants, the Perry class frigate.

Kinda steep for something that can be wasted by one torpedo.

[The Klingon]

DDx became the R&D platform for the Navy's next generation combatants. The Navy intended to buy 12 of them at an average cost of $2-3 B a piece. The DDG 51 costs $1.5 B a copy. The ship first called DD-21 has been in development for 10 years and the $7 B cost includes the development over those 10 years. The low observable technology makes it expensive. I expect the Navy will keep building DDGs and move to a new Cruiser to replace the TICO Class ships built in the 80s.