The intent to expand the fleet to 313 ships by 2020, up from the present 285 ships, will likely be much more costly than estimates the Navy provided in its 2009 budget request, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Shipbuilding for the next 30 years will cost an average of $27 billion per year (in 2009 dollars), according to CBO estimates – more than double the $12.6 billion annual average since 2003. The CBO also reports that Navy shipbuilding between 2009 and 2012 would be 30 percent higher — and that new ship construction from 2009 to 2020 would cost 13 percent more – than the service estimates.
