Well...it is clear that it is well over budget...but I will wait and see what the final numbers are.
I have seen people throw around total numbers for the price of the first two and call that a price for each.
The original contract called for a cost of a total of $6.13 billion (US) for all three ships. My understanding was that this month (MAy 2015), the projected cost increase was $920 million US, making the total $7.2 billion.
Now, that's still expensive by any stretch...but at the same time, the industry in Australia does not have the economy of scale that a US or other nation that builds a lot of ships. When you build three ships in class...and that is all...it is going to cost a lot more per ship no matter how you cut it.
Australia would do well to move forward with the plan that would build the new frigates that they are contemplating on the same hull form as these AWD DDGs, so as to get more economy of scale and to support their shipbuilding for a much longer.
If you build three ships...then layoff everyone for ten years and try and come back and build four or five more ten years later...you are constantly plagued by this problem.
As it is, the first AWD was just launched, and the second is well along in construction.
The vessels are going to prove good solutions for Australia...and I will be very surprised if the total is anything lose to $3 billion US per DDG.
Time will tell.
I have seen people throw around total numbers for the price of the first two and call that a price for each.
The original contract called for a cost of a total of $6.13 billion (US) for all three ships. My understanding was that this month (MAy 2015), the projected cost increase was $920 million US, making the total $7.2 billion.
Now, that's still expensive by any stretch...but at the same time, the industry in Australia does not have the economy of scale that a US or other nation that builds a lot of ships. When you build three ships in class...and that is all...it is going to cost a lot more per ship no matter how you cut it.
Australia would do well to move forward with the plan that would build the new frigates that they are contemplating on the same hull form as these AWD DDGs, so as to get more economy of scale and to support their shipbuilding for a much longer.
If you build three ships...then layoff everyone for ten years and try and come back and build four or five more ten years later...you are constantly plagued by this problem.
As it is, the first AWD was just launched, and the second is well along in construction.
The vessels are going to prove good solutions for Australia...and I will be very surprised if the total is anything lose to $3 billion US per DDG.
Time will tell.