5 of the most expensive military mega-projects of all time
by Orvelin Valle - Jan 14, 2016 5:11:14 pm History, Weapons
Making planes, tanks, and ships isn’t cheap. Now factor in the cost of personnel, housing benefits and operations and you have a defense budget that balloons into the billions.
Related: Defense budget spotlight: What do weapons really cost?
In 2011, the U.S. government spent about $718 billion on defense. That’s nearly half of all military spending on the planet. The other top 13 nations combined spent $695 billion.
While the yearly budget is spread out according to defense needs, some projects take the lion share. Case in point are weapon systems like the Virginia Class Submarine with a procurement cost of $76.6 billion and the V-22 Osprey at $95.2 billion. Although costly, they aren’t the most expensive military mega-projects of all time. Here’s the list:
1. Nazi Germany’s Atlantic Wall
nazi germany Atlantic wall
TestTube News, YouTube
Final cost: unknown
Although the final cost was never determined, the French portion alone would have cost $200 billion when adjusted for inflation.
2. National Missile Defense
Warhead-Inert-nuclear-missile
Photo: flickr/mightyohm
Cost: over $300 billion and still rising.
3. DDG-51 Guided Missile Destroyer
USS_Arleigh_Burke_(DDG_51)_steams_through_the_Mediterranean_Sea
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51). U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Patrick Reilly
Procurement cost: $87.3 billion
4. USS Gerald Ford Aircraft Carrier
PCU-Gerald-Ford-Drydock-carrier-aircraft
Photo: US Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Joshua J. Wahl
Per unit cost: $13 billion
5. F-35 Strike Fighter
lockheed-martin-f-35a
Image: Lockheed Martin
Current cost: $400 billion
Estimated total cost: $1.5 trillion
http://www.wearethemighty.com/intel/5-expensive-military-mega-projects-times