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The Single Most Expensive Piece Of Military Equipment Ever Has Reached A Massive Milestone
The Ford will run about $11.5 billion, with three ships costing about $40.2 billion.
Even given these generous estimates, the Navy figures that the USS Gerald R. Ford could cost as much as $1.1 billion more than planned, making it far and away the service's most expensive warship.
Bloomberg reported the Ford's rising costs in August, when planners understood their worst-case assessment would put the carrier at about 21 percent over its target cost (via Hampton Roads).
Currently assembled in Newport News, Virginia, the Ford-class will replace the Nimitz-class carriers and will include an array of new technology.
Advanced arresting gear used to grab planes as they land on the deck.
With fewer crew and the most modern equipment, the Navy hopes to reduce the cost of future carriers while an improved design of the ship's "island" will allow more sorties to be flown per day than before.
The Ford is expected to hit the water in 2015, with a 10 carrier fleet hoped for by 2040.
A 2004 artist's rendition of the USS Gerald R. Ford, three years before construction began in 2007. A wide open deck will allow more planes to take off and land than previous carriers.
This layout from Northrop Grumman provides an idea of the carrier's layout
The F/A-18 Super Hornets will be a regular fixture on the Ford and have been in service since 1995
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