Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford completed shock trials in 2021. (US Navy)

The US Navy's (USN's) Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier faces numerous hurdles, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an 8 June report, but the unit price for the ships is decreasing.

The GAO catalogued developmental, operational, and financial issues with the Ford-class programme in its annual report on major Pentagon acquisitions, but also noted that per-unit costs had dropped by 10.6% to USD12.5 billion as of September 2020 compared with the first full estimate of USD14 billion in April 2004.

During that same period, development costs rose by 16.9% to USD6.6 billion and overall procurement costs rose by 18.8% to USD43.3 billion – both of which were offset by the increase by one carrier to a total of four, an increase of 33.3%.

One of the reasons for the increase in the number of ships, at a relatively cheaper cost, is because of a contract approval for a dual-contract buy.

The GAO report noted that the 12 critical technologies on carrier USS Gerald R Ford

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford completed shock trials in 2021. (US Navy)

The US Navy's (USN's) Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier faces numerous hurdles, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an 8 June report, but the unit price for the ships is decreasing.

The GAO catalogued developmental, operational, and financial issues with the Ford-class programme in its annual report on major Pentagon acquisitions, but also noted that per-unit costs had dropped by 10.6% to USD12.5 billion as of September 2020 compared with the first full estimate of USD14 billion in April 2004.

During that same period, development costs rose by 16.9% to USD6.6 billion and overall procurement costs rose by 18.8% to USD43.3 billion – both of which were offset by the increase by one carrier to a total of four, an increase of 33.3%.

One of the reasons for the increase in the number of ships, at a relatively cheaper cost, is because of a contract approval for a dual-contract buy.

The GAO report noted that the 12 critical technologies on carrier USS Gerald R Ford

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford completed shock trials in 2021. (US Navy)

The US Navy's (USN's) Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier faces numerous hurdles, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an 8 June report, but the unit price for the ships is decreasing.

The GAO catalogued developmental, operational, and financial issues with the Ford-class programme in its annual report on major Pentagon acquisitions, but also noted that per-unit costs had dropped by 10.6% to USD12.5 billion as of September 2020 compared with the first full estimate of USD14 billion in April 2004.

During that same period, development costs rose by 16.9% to USD6.6 billion and overall procurement costs rose by 18.8% to USD43.3 billion – both of which were offset by the increase by one carrier to a total of four, an increase of 33.3%.

One of the reasons for the increase in the number of ships, at a relatively cheaper cost, is because of a contract approval for a dual-contract buy.

The GAO report noted that the 12 critical technologies on carrier USS Gerald R Ford

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford completed shock trials in 2021. (US Navy)

The US Navy's (USN's) Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier faces numerous hurdles, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an 8 June report, but the unit price for the ships is decreasing.

The GAO catalogued developmental, operational, and financial issues with the Ford-class programme in its annual report on major Pentagon acquisitions, but also noted that per-unit costs had dropped by 10.6% to USD12.5 billion as of September 2020 compared with the first full estimate of USD14 billion in April 2004.

During that same period, development costs rose by 16.9% to USD6.6 billion and overall procurement costs rose by 18.8% to USD43.3 billion – both of which were offset by the increase by one carrier to a total of four, an increase of 33.3%.

One of the reasons for the increase in the number of ships, at a relatively cheaper cost, is because of a contract approval for a dual-contract buy.

The GAO report noted that the 12 critical technologies on carrier USS Gerald R Ford

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford completed shock trials in 2021. (US Navy)

The US Navy's (USN's) Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier faces numerous hurdles, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an 8 June report, but the unit price for the ships is decreasing.

The GAO catalogued developmental, operational, and financial issues with the Ford-class programme in its annual report on major Pentagon acquisitions, but also noted that per-unit costs had dropped by 10.6% to USD12.5 billion as of September 2020 compared with the first full estimate of USD14 billion in April 2004.

During that same period, development costs rose by 16.9% to USD6.6 billion and overall procurement costs rose by 18.8% to USD43.3 billion – both of which were offset by the increase by one carrier to a total of four, an increase of 33.3%.

One of the reasons for the increase in the number of ships, at a relatively cheaper cost, is because of a contract approval for a dual-contract buy.

The GAO report noted that the 12 critical technologies on carrier USS Gerald R Ford

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford completed shock trials in 2021. (US Navy)

The US Navy's (USN's) Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier faces numerous hurdles, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an 8 June report, but the unit price for the ships is decreasing.

The GAO catalogued developmental, operational, and financial issues with the Ford-class programme in its annual report on major Pentagon acquisitions, but also noted that per-unit costs had dropped by 10.6% to USD12.5 billion as of September 2020 compared with the first full estimate of USD14 billion in April 2004.

During that same period, development costs rose by 16.9% to USD6.6 billion and overall procurement costs rose by 18.8% to USD43.3 billion – both of which were offset by the increase by one carrier to a total of four, an increase of 33.3%.

One of the reasons for the increase in the number of ships, at a relatively cheaper cost, is because of a contract approval for a dual-contract buy.

The GAO report noted that the 12 critical technologies on carrier USS Gerald R Ford