Expensive Military Machines
Expensive Military Machines
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| Expensive Military Machines |
Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles
Also known as MRAPs for short, these all-terrain vehicles were designed with one thing in mind: protecting the soldiers inside. As the name would suggest, these vehicles are meant to withstand the dangerous IEDs or improvised explosive devices often found out in combat. They were built with a specialized V-shaped hull underneath designed to deflect explosive blasts and shrapnel away from the vehicle, thus protecting the passengers. All major operating components such as the radiator, engine, transmission, and fuel tank have added ballistic protection as well. There are currently numerous different models of MRAPs each with their own specialties including a smaller, lighter model and a bulkier model designed for clearing mine paths for convoys. Most models are powered by a Caterpillar C7 diesel engine and feature a roof-mounted machine gun for added offensive capabilities. In 2004, it was reported that of the 300 IED attacks on MRAP vehicles, not a single troop had died. In the years following, the United States Marine Corps would order tens of thousands more MRAP vehicles in order to replace the Humvees previously used. The MRAP itself costs over $500,000 depending on the model. It’s estimated that the MRAP program cost the US roughly $48 billion dollars in total.
Trident II Missile
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| Expensive Military Machines |
As is the case with many types of military equipment it is for single-use only. Despite the name “Trident II” this missile is actually part of the fifth generation of strategic weapon system ballistic missiles. It was first deployed in 1990 and was originally expected to have a 25-year service life. However, after proving to be highly accurate and reliable, their life was extended to match the service life of the U.S. Ohio-class and British Vanguard-class submarines they are used and carried on. The maximum number of Trident missiles that can be carried by a submarine now is 20 onboard an Ohio-class vessel. This is in part because of their massive size. A single Trident II missile is 44 feet in length and 83 inches in diameter! Weighing in at 130,000 pounds, these are absolutely daunting weapons. Because of the innovative design of their 3-stage, solid fuel system, the Trident missile has an effective range of 4,000 nautical miles even when carrying a full payload. Speaking of which, each missile is armed with as many as 14 independently targetable nuclear warheads. Currently, it has the greatest range, payload and accuracy of any generation of missile of its kind. The total cost of the development program for the Trident II is estimated to be nearly $40 billion, with a single missile costing $30 million to produce. It is truly a powerful, but expensive investment.
V-22 Osprey
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| Expensive Military Machines |
It’s not quite a helicopter and it’s not quite an airplane. With its tilt-rotor mechanism, the V-22 Osprey possesses the versatility to serve a variety of roles in military use. The two rotors are each powered by a Rolls Royce-Allison turboshaft engine allowing it hover, land and takeoff vertically. Meanwhile, the rotors can also tilt to provide the forward thrust needed for much faster, long range travel; like an airplane. The Osprey has a top speed of 277 mph and can carry up to 24 troops, 20,000 pounds of internal cargo, or 15,000 pounds of external cargo. It can even travel as far as 1,100 miles on a single tank of fuel! However, that’s not all it’s capable of. It is also equipped with an M2 .50 Cal. machine gun and some models were also retrofitted for a remotely operated Gatling gun turret on the bottom with 360 degree turning capabilities. These kinds of features and upgrades don’t come cheap, though. A single V-22 Osprey costs close to $70 million dollars to produce, not to mention the $55 billion dollars spent on the program and for research and development.
F-35 Lightning II
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| Expensive Military Machines |
This multi-purpose fighter jet was designed by Lockheed Martin to replace a series of different outdated fighter and strike aircraft. There are currently 3 primary variants of the F-35 for conventional takeoff and landing, short takeoff and vertical landing, and a carrier ship variant. As a supersonic fighter jet, the F-35 was also designed with impeccable stealth in mind. Its design allows it to be nearly undetectable by radar and other advanced sensors, making it sneakier than any previous aircraft of its king. Furthermore, it was equipped to locate and track enemies while also jamming and disrupting them while simultaneously sharing its collected info with allies on the ground, air, or sea. These actions are all made possible by a special onboard core processor that can perform over 400 billion operations per second! Truly the level of technology in this fighter is unparalleled. Each model was originally designed to share 80% of the same interchangeable parts in order to cut production costs and make the aircrafts more affordable. Manufacturing of the F-35 parts began in 2003, however, by 2017, less than 20% of the parts used in each aircraft were shared. A single F-35 aircraft costs between $94 and $120 million depending on the model which isn’t as momentous as you may have thought. However, the entire program is estimated to have cost $1.5 trillion to research and develop. Now that is one big investment.
E-2 Hawkeye
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| Expensive Military Machines |
Sometimes you just can’t beat a classic, as is the case with the next item on this list, the E-2 Hawkeye. This model of plane was first produced and flown in 1960 and is still in use today by the United States Navy. With the constantly improving airborne radar technology of the time, came the idea of a mobile early warning, command and control aircraft. Thus, the E-1 Tracer plane was born in 1958, only to be improved upon and replaced several years later by the E-2 Hawkeye. This twin engine plane is only 57 ft long with a wingspan of 80 feet; small compared to some of the other machines on this list, but it shouldn’t be judged by its size. With its incredibly powerful computerized radar and surveillance sensors, the Hawkeye often serves as the “eyes of the fleet,” commanding and coordinating other aircraft in a variety of different missions. Currently, variants of the Hawkeye are used by the United States, Egypt, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and France. As you can see, it’s quite popular for a nearly 60-year old aircraft! Part of the reason for that are the upgrades and updated technology put into newer models over time. The previous generation of Hawkeyes, the E-2C, had over 1 million hours of flight time logged and it’s likely the E-2D will match that in the future. So, how much does this timeless aircraft cost? About $80 million apiece. Not too cheap, but at least they can get a lot of use out of them!
B-2 Spirit
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| Expensive Military Machines |
Of all the expensive pieces of military tech on this list, there are none quite as iconic as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber plane. The B-2 Spirit bomber is a tailless, fixed-wing aircraft built by Northrop and Boeing in the late 1980’s. It first rolled out of its hanger in November, 1988, and flew for the first time ever in July, 1989. However, it wasn’t until 1993 that it was a fully operational member of the U.S. Air Force fleet. At its peak production time, the Boeing had 10,000 people employed to work on the program. Ironically, this incredibly stealthy plane is also incredibly large, it has a wingspan of 172 feet and weighs 336,500 pounds. That is 60 feet wider and twice as heavy as a Boeing 737 commercial airliner. The trick to its stealth, though, lies in its speed and sleek design. A combination of its flying wing design, composite building materials, and special exterior coatings are just some of the measures taken to reduce the B-2’s infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual, and radar signatures. This gives it incredibly low observability even in the most heavily monitored and defended areas. This allows it to freely fly at high altitudes where there is less atmosphere and thus reducing fuel consumption. Each of the 4 engines produces over 17,000 pounds of thrust and the craft can carry up to 167,000 pounds of fuel. It has an estimated flight range of nearly 6,000 nautical miles! The program to develop the B-2 bomber was estimated to be about $45 billion; not as much as some of the other development programs on this list. However, the price tag for a single B-2 bomber comes in at a whopping $730 million apiece!
Astute-class Submarine
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| Expensive Military Machines |
Submarines aren’t exactly a new technology, but the Astute submarines brought them to a new level of stealth, enemy detection, and firepower. The over 300-foot long and 7,400 ton submarine is nuclear-powered and equipped with 39,000 acoustic tiles designed to hide its sonar signature. And while it is difficult to detect via sonar, it has a new and improved and incredibly powerful sonar of its own. It’s so strong in fact, that it can detect ships from 3,000 nautical miles away! That combined with its armament of Spearfish heavy torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles definitely make it a formidable vessel; especially considering the Tomahawk missiles can be accurately guided to a target was far as 1,200 miles away! However, those weren’t the only things that got an upgrade when this sub was designed. Rather than using periscopes like previous generations of submarines, this one has been outfitted with fiber optics for image delivery. Furthermore, it has the equipment to produce its own oxygen supply and fresh water. This sub is capable of circumnavigating the globe without surfacing once. All these upgrades don’t come cheap. A single Astute-class submarine costs roughly $1.8 billion dollars to produce! Currently, only 3 are in active use while the remaining 4 are still under construction. The Royal Navy will really have its bills cut out for them in the future!
USS Gerald R. Ford
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| Expensive Military Machines |
Coming in at number 1 is also the newest one: the USS Gerald R. Ford. The USS Gerald Ford entered the US Naval fleet as of June 1st, 2017! If the name sounds familiar, that’s because the carrier was named after former President Gerald R. Ford at his eulogy by the Defense Secretary at the time, Donald Rumsfeld. This massive aircraft carrier was given the most careful attention in its design. After all, it’s the first carrier update since the Nimitz-class carriers of 1975. It’s also the first aircraft carrier to be completely digitally rendered as a 3D model. You heard that correctly, every single piece of this 1,100 ft., 100,000 ton ship was designed to scale! Now that is impressive! Furthermore, this carrier is outfitted with two freshly-designed nuclear reactors that output more than 2.5 times the power of previous carriers in order to keep the Gerald Ford up and running. These also power the electromagnetic aircraft launch system to replace the old steam-powered aircraft catapults. All in all, it took the manufacturers of the USS Gerald Ford 9 years and $13 billion dollars in parts and manufacturing costs to construct just this one ship. This doesn’t even include the nearly $5 billion spent on research and development! And it’s expected to cost at least another $4 billion dollars in upkeep and maintenance costs over the next 50 years of its lifetime.