Overall, the program would cost about $275 billion in 2026 dollars between 2027 and 2056. The Navy had previously estimated the lead ship would cost about $15.1 billion, with follow-on ships averaging roughly $10.2 billion, before shifting the program to nuclear propulsion in its 2027 “Golden Fleet” shipbuilding plan. Industrial Base ChallengesPerhaps more significant than the cost is the burden the new fleet would place on an already stretched U.S. shipbuilding industry. By 2035, shipbuilders would need to more than double the annual tonnage of large surface combatants under construction compared with the previous plan. Overall, production of large surface combatants would rise by about 60%, even as work on smaller surface combatants declines by roughly 40%.