A good portion of that 18 billion is the R&D. Subtract that, and I think the Ford's cost is around 13 billion, and the reason why it costs more than the JFK is because that figure includes modifying the shipyard to build the Ford's and training the workers on how to build them. When they build Enterprise, the cost should be lower still.
@@patrickwilkinson7351 So you think $13+ Bn for a carrier that doesn't yet work and has never left US waters after 5 years is good value for the US Taxpayer? By the way in that $18 Bn I was being generous. Its actually $18.5 Bn and still counting with a further $0.5 bn allocated for correction work. But yes $4.5 Bn was R & D. Its a shame they didn't make better use of it before building the ship. And will JFK be any better seeing as there are still unresolved issues on GRF?
Shipyard worker here. Remember these are hand built and sometimes the first of its kind and it ain’t easy also quite dangerous
The USS Gerald R Ford is the first in the class not the USS Fohn F Kennedy.
Next up the new enterprise carrier
They really do aircraft Carriers in mass production
USS GRF cost $18 Bn
USS JFK cost $12 Bn
I guess some might say that is progress ...
A good portion of that 18 billion is the R&D. Subtract that, and I think the Ford's cost is around 13 billion, and the reason why it costs more than the JFK is because that figure includes modifying the shipyard to build the Ford's and training the workers on how to build them. When they build Enterprise, the cost should be lower still.
I guess the military-industrial-complex contractors had to make the cost a little less obvious rent-seeking.
@@patrickwilkinson7351 So you think $13+ Bn for a carrier that doesn't yet work and has never left US waters after 5 years is good value for the US Taxpayer?
By the way in that $18 Bn I was being generous. Its actually $18.5 Bn and still counting with a further $0.5 bn allocated for correction work. But yes $4.5 Bn was R & D. Its a shame they didn't make better use of it before building the ship.
And will JFK be any better seeing as there are still unresolved issues on GRF?
@@rabidbigdog Well it will of course go over 'budget' so their profits are baked in ....
0:12 thanks for watcHIng
Still not in the navy 4 years later
The Ford would have a multitude of problems given its namesake
They were going to call it the Clinton.
Taxpayers money hard at work.