Weapon Systems
- Report
Long-Term Costs of the Administration’s 2022 Defense Budget
CBO analyzes DoD’s plans for 2022 as presented in the Biden Administration’s 2022 budget request and projects how those plans would affect defense costs through 2031. Those costs would increase by 10 percent over that period, CBO projects.
- Report
Availability and Use of Aircraft in the Air Force and Navy
CBO analyzes patterns in the availability and use of the Air Force’s and Department of the Navy’s aircraft since 2001. CBO also analyzes how the military aircraft have performed since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Presentation
The 2022 Outlook for Navy Shipbuilding: An Uncertain Course for the Future Fleet
Presentation by Eric J. Labs, an analyst in CBO’s National Security Division, to the Bank of America 2022 Defense Outlook and Commercial Aerospace Forum.
- Report
Illustrative Options for National Defense Under a Smaller Defense Budget
CBO examined three broad options for reconfiguring the military if funding for the Department of Defense was reduced by $1 trillion (in 2022 dollars), or 14 percent, over the next 10 years.
- Presentation
Navy Shipbuilding: Searching for a Path to a Larger and More Distributed Fleet
Presentation by Eric J. Labs, an analyst in CBO’s National Security Division, to the American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association.
- Report
An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2022 Shipbuilding Plan
CBO estimates that the Navy’s total shipbuilding budget would average between $25 billion and $33 billion (in 2021 dollars) per year through 2052 to build a force of between 398 and 512 manned ships and unmanned vessels.
- Report
The Effects of Large-Scale Maintenance Actions on the Availability of the Air Force’s Aircraft
CBO examines the availability of six Air Force aircraft fleets after large-scale maintenance performed since the mid-1990s. In most of the cases, aircraft were more available after the maintenance action than would be expected without it.
- Presentation
The Capacity of the Navy’s Shipyards to Maintain Its Submarines
Presentation by R. Derek Trunkey and Eric J. Labs, analysts in CBO's National Security Division, at the Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International.
- 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.