Whether it’d be a helicopter, an aircraft carrier, or a tank, military vehicles are not cheap to produce. Some of the larger vehicles out their like an aircraft carrier are essentially floating cities. Nuclear submarines are not only armed with multiple nuclear weapons, they are also powered by a nuclear reactor. Now obviously when your engine is a nuclear reactor, your vehicle probably costs a lot of money. When you look at the most expensive military vehicles every produced, all of them come from The United States. The reason this is, is because The United States spends more money than any other country on defense and military contracts. So when you have a fairly strong economy, you can afford to produce some pretty expensive vehicles. We are going to take a look at the most expensive military vehicles of all-time.
5. The F-22 Raptor – $211.6 million dollars per unit
The first military vehicle that we are going to look at is the F-22 Raptor from Lockheed Martin. The F-22 Raptor is a single seat, dual engine fighter craft that is arguably the most advanced in the world. Used by the United States Air Force the F-22 is a multipurpose stealth fighter. It can survey and track ground units and it can simultaneously engage ground and air targets all while remaining extremely difficult to detect by radar. It can also achieve blistering fast speeds between 1,200 and 1,500 miles per hour making it extremely deadly. A few variants have been made over the years, and they costs around $211.6 million dollars individually.
4. The P-8A Poseidon – $256.5 million dollars per unit
The second vehicle on our list is an airplane made from Boeing. The P-8A Poseidon is used primarily by the United States Navy for a variety of different things. The airplane is most widely used as a patrol, reconnaissance, and tracking aircraft. Essentially the aircraft flies over the ocean and monitors and strange or foreign movement, determining if they are a potential threat. It can also detect radar or other signals being transmitted by anyone lurking where they aren’t supposed to be. While that is primarily what the P-8A Poseidon does, it has not necessarily been designed to do that. Sure it does a good job at tracking bad guys, but it can also engage them, specifically submarines. The P-8A is outfitted with a variety of missiles, torpedoes, and depth charges to combat enemy submarines or ships. The Poseidon can actually drop sonar-emitting buoys to help find a submarine underwater and then destroy it.
3. The DDG 51 Destroyer – $1.29 billion dollars per unit
The DDG 51 Destroyer, or more commonly referred to as the Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer, is one of the United States Navy’s main battleships. These ships are fairly large at around 500 feet long and can perform a range of tasks. Their main purpose is to engage enemy ships, airplanes, submarines, or land targets near water. While these ships have a range of large guns, their primary means of engagement relies on missiles. These destroyers are outfitted with missiles to take out land targets, aircraft, or to attack other ships. Additionally the DDG 51 Destroyers also have depth charges and torpedoes to engage enemy submarines. The ships are also outfitted with advanced radar, sonar, and other sensors that help them track enemies, patrol the waters, and give information to other ships or planes within the area. It takes a crew around 300 strong to operate one of these ships and they have a maximum range of around 5,000 miles.
2. Virginia Class Submarines – $2.6 billion dollars per unit
The Virginia Class Submarines are a series of nuclear submarines used by the United States Navy. These submarines are some of the most advanced and impressive vehicles that have ever been produced. The ability to travel underwater pays dividends when it comes to warfare, as they are arguably some of the stealthiest vehicles around. The subs are produced by a few different shipbuilding companies in America, but all retain the same characteristics. This 377 foot vehicles is operated by a crew of around 130 people. They are armed with a series of torpedoes and missiles used to attack ships, other submarines, aircraft, and land targets. Additionally many of these submarines carry long-range nuclear missiles. The most impressive fact about these vehicles would be their nuclear engines. Since they are powered by a nuclear reactor they have an unlimited range. These engines effectively last forever. The only time these submarines need to come up out of the water is for maintenance or to resupply food. They don’t even need to come up for air. I mean that’s what you get when you spend $2.6 billion on just one unit: the most advanced submarine ever.
1. The CVN-78 Class Aircraft Carrier – $9.78 billion dollars per unit
Finally the most expensive military vehicle ever is the CVN-78 Class Aircraft Carrier, or the General R. Ford Class Carrier as they are often referred to as. They are arguably the most advanced aircraft carriers in the world, and serve as the Navy’s main operation bases out at sea. The ships are powered by two nuclear reactors, giving them an unlimited range provided supplies don’t run out. These supercarriers are 1,106 feet long and 250 feet tall. They are armed with a few guns and a variety of missiles, but obviously their main feature is their flight-decks. There is a wide-range of aircraft that can takeoff from these boats ranging from helicopters to fighter jets. They typically can accommodate around 75 aircraft total. There are currently only two in existence, but the government has planned to make eight more. These aircraft carriers embody the phrase “bringing the fight to you” and are truly forces to be reckoned with. At $9.78 billion dollars a piece, they are also absurdly expensive.
Photo by Rafael Figueroa Medina/U.S. Navy via Getty Images, Boeing, F-22, Defense Industry Daily, Naval-Technology.
