Defense Budget
- Report
Usage Patterns and Costs of Unmanned Aerial Systems
The military services use unmanned aerial systems (UASs) differently than manned aircraft. UASs generally have lower recurring costs per flying hour, but their cost advantage may be smaller when the cost of acquiring the aircraft is considered.
- Report
Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2021 to 2030
CBO estimates that plans for U.S. nuclear forces, as described in the fiscal year 2021 budget and supporting documents, would cost $634 billion over the 2021–2030 period, $140 billion more than CBO’s 2019 estimate for the 2019–2028 period.
- Report
The U.S. Military’s Force Structure: A Primer, 2021 Update
This update of CBO’s 2016 primer on the structure of the U.S. military describes the size, functions, and operation and support costs of every major element of the armed forces.
- Report
An Analysis of the Navy’s December 2020 Shipbuilding Plan
CBO estimates that the total shipbuilding budget would average $34 billion per year, 10 percent more than the Navy estimates. The Navy’s average shipbuilding budget would be almost 50 percent larger, on average, than those of recent years.
- Report
Projected Acquisition Costs for the Army’s Ground Combat Vehicles
This report provides CBO’s projections of the Army’s costs to acquire tanks and other ground combat vehicles through 2050. On the basis of the Army’s plans, those costs are projected to average about $5 billion annually.
- Report
The Capacity of the Navy’s Shipyards to Maintain Its Submarines
The Navy’s shipyards have experienced significant delays in completing maintenance on submarines. In this report, CBO projects that required maintenance will continue to exceed the shipyards’ capacity and examines options to reduce delays.
- Report
National Cruise Missile Defense: Issues and Alternatives
CBO examined the threat that adversaries equipped with land-attack cruise missiles might pose to the U.S. homeland and estimated the costs of several defensive systems that could be fielded to protect the United States from such attacks.
- Presentation
Shipbuilding and Expeditionary Warfare Operations
Presentation by Eric J. Labs, an analyst in CBO’s National Security Division, at the 2021 Virtual Expeditionary Warfare Conference.
- Presentation
Navy Shipbuilding: Prospects for Building a Larger Fleet
Presentation by Eric J. Labs, an analyst in CBO’s National Security Division, at the Surface Navy Association’s 33rd Annual Symposium.
- Report
Costs of Implementing Recommendations of the 2019 Missile Defense Review
CBO estimated the costs of the recommendations of the 2019 Missile Defense Review, including early initiatives implemented before the report was released and expansions of missile defenses that could result from report’s directives.