Carrier Costs Rise

The cost of building the remaining five of the six Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers has risen to $11.5 billion, up from a cap Congress set in 2006 of $8.1 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. “Actual inflation in the prices of labor and materials was the most important contributor to the rise in the cost cap, accounting for $2.5 billion of the $3.4 billion increase, according to analyses by both the Navy and CBO,” the report stated. Construction of the first ship in the class, the Gerald R. Ford, is nearly complete. Congress authorized funding for construction of the next new carrier, the John F. Kennedy, in 2013. Appropriations for the Kennedy should be complete by 2018, according to CBO.