None of the cost has to do with raw size; sheet metal is cheap.
The cost is all electronics.
A 14,000 ton "destroyer?"
I'm with you. The whole DD(X)/CG(X) is nutty. The AGS is not even developed yet. It's a classic "one ship does everything" (aka One size fits all) deal. Even the LCS which is considered littoral in nature weighs almost 3000 tons. (I served on an ocean going DE/FF that weight in at 2500 tons.) At least the LCS project makes sense and the cost is only around $210 million/ship.
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/littoral/
The reason the DD(X) even came about was because the DD-21 become to big and expensive. Here's a good read on the subect, warning it's a big .pdf file, but worth the time if you want to understand this important topic.
http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL32109.pdf
But it's been my understanding that electronics have been getting cheaper and cheaper in the last few years.
Here's the real deal, from my dad, whose company does a lot of defense and aerospace contracts:
Contractors are going to screw as much money from the DoD as they possibly can. Think $600 hammers, and $2000 toilet seats.
It's the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned about. They're going to fleece the country for all the money they can, regardless of whether or not they bankrupt the public purse and compromise national security in the process.
Do I have a solution? Unfortunately, I do not. Does anyone else have any suggestions?
The Geeks have won!
Soon our warriors will be armed with electrical tape to repair their glasses while engaged in close combat with their drone.
Red6