Weapon Systems
- Report
Testimony on Potential Costs of a National Missile Defense System
David E. Mosher, CBO's Director of National Security Analysis, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
- Report
The Navy's New Battleship Program: Costs and Implications for the Shipbuilding Industrial Base
CBO estimates that it would cost about $275 billion (in 2026 dollars) to build 15 of the Navy's new nuclear-powered battleships through 2056. The first ship would cost about $23 billion, and the next 14 ships would average $18 billion.
- Report
Projected Composition of the U.S. Military's Fleet of Fighter Aircraft Through 2040
CBO projects that the military's fighter fleet will shrink from about 3,300 aircraft now to about 3,000 by 2029 and then grow to 3,600 aircraft by 2040. Starting in 2033, more than half the fleet will be harder-to-detect stealthy aircraft.
- Presentation
Snapshot of the U.S. Military's Fighter Aircraft Fleet in 2025
CBO provides an overview of the size, availability, use, and age of the Department of Defense's fleet of fighter aircraft.
- Report
Options to Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
CBO describes current methods to detect and counter small unmanned aircraft systems and estimates it would cost about $74 million to outfit a typical military installation with a layered defense and at least $5 million a year to support it.
- Report
Increasing the Size and Missile Capability of the Navy's Fleet Within the Next Five Years
CBO examines three options to quickly increase the offensive lethality of the U.S. Navy's fleet of surface ships by 2030.
- Report
Potential Costs of a National Missile Defense System
CBO estimates that a national missile defense system possessing capabilities broadly consistent with those in the "The Iron Dome for America" executive order would cost about $1.2 trillion to develop, deploy, and operate for 20 years.
- Report
Testimony on Challenges Facing the Navy's and Coast Guard's Shipbuilding Programs and the Shipbuilding Industrial Base
Eric J. Labs, CBO's Senior Analyst for Naval Forces and Weapons, testifies at a joint hearing before the House Subcommittees on Seapower and Projection Forces and on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
- Presentation
The Congress, the Golden Fleet, and the Shipbuilding Industrial Base in 2026
Presentation by Eric Labs, an analyst in CBO's National Security Division, at the 38th National Symposium of the Surface Navy Association.
- Presentation
The 2026 Outlook for Navy Shipbuilding
Presentation by Eric Labs, an analyst in CBO's National Security Division, at the Bank of America Defense Outlook and Commercial Aerospace Forum 2026.