The Phenomenally Costly Submarine
Submarines are among the most expensive vessels to build in the U.S. Navy, costing a few billion dollars each. The U.S. Navy can only afford to purchase a few new submarines a year, and its budget, which is designated a few tens of billions of dollars a year, will have more than half that amount spent on submarines. The SSN(X) program would then charge around $5.5 billion, and that is just for its early development! So, how big would such an expensive submarine be?
The Phenomenally Costly Submarine
Dwarfing The Sea Wolf Class
When it comes to submarines, it seems that bigger is in fact better. The SSN(X) will need to be far larger and more fiercely armed for it to be deemed a worthy successor to the Virginia and Sea Wolf series. The expanded submarine would be able to fit greater weapons than the older classes, and would have a capacity of 9,100 tons, far more than the predecessors’ 7,800 tons. Something this enormous will need a lot of fuel to keep it going.
Dwarfing The Sea Wolf Class
