Aircraft carriers are the exclusive property of large countries, and small countries do not deserve to have them at all, even if they are given for nothing, if they want to maintain the normal operation of an aircraft carrier, few countries can do it. How expensive can an aircraft carrier strike group be? What are the annual operating costs?
Aircraft carriers are the largest combat weapons that human beings can make at present, and they are an absolute symbol of a country's comprehensive national strength and military strength, and aircraft carriers can fire thousands of bombs every day and destroy hundreds of targets. Where are our aircraft carriers? If there are 3 US aircraft carriers gathered in one place at the same time, it means that the great war is coming.
Let's take the USS Ford aircraft carrier in the United States, for example, the price of a bare ship alone is $13.5 billion. Just like buying a car, the car has to be decorated when it is bought, and the aircraft carrier is no exception. The carrier's combat effectiveness is mainly derived from its carrier fighter, the F35 Lightning fighter, which is currently in service with a shipborne stealth fighter, costing $129 million per aircraft. Because the price is too high, the Ford aircraft carrier is also equipped with a certain number of F18 Super Hornet fighters, which cost $90 million per aircraft. There are a total of 4 squadrons of fighter attack aircraft aboard the USS Ford, equipped with 24 F35 Lightning and 24 F18 Super Hornets, with a total price of $5.286 billion.
In addition to the combat attack aircraft squadron, the aircraft carrier also has an electronic warfare squadron, an early warning aircraft squadron, a maritime combat helicopter squadron, a maritime strike helicopter squadron, and a transport aircraft detachment. The Electronic Warfare Squadron is 5 EA18G Growlers for $98 million each, and five are $490 million. The AWACS squadron was 5 Hawkeyes for $290 million each, and 5 was $1.45 billion. The squadron of maritime combat helicopters is 11 Knight Hawks, $28 million each, and 11 is $308 million. The Squadron of Sea Strike Helicopters is 8 Ocean Hawks for $47 million each, and 8 is $376 million. The squadron of transport aircraft is 2 Ospreys with a total price of $242 million.
All of the above aircraft combined are $8.152 billion, which can buy two mainland Shandong aircraft carriers, and there is still a surplus. The US aircraft carrier is not only amazing in combat effectiveness, but also in terms of cost. But this is far from over, you have seen which big brother went out, not followed by a group of little brothers. Aircraft carriers never act alone, and every time they travel, they must be hugged back and forth. 2 Ticonderoga-class cruisers with a total value of $2 billion. 6 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers with a total value of $7.45 billion. Two attack submarines with a total value of $6.3 billion. Together, the younger brothers are worth $15.75 billion, which is even higher than the value of Big Brother.
The total price of all the above ships and aircraft is $13.5 billion + $8.152 billion + $15.75 billion, which is equal to $37.4 billion. What is the concept of $37.4 billion? 5 aircraft carrier formations are equal to one Wuliangye, and 11 aircraft carrier formations are equal to one Guizhou Moutai.
The eldest brother takes the younger brother out for a walk, which is inevitable for various expenses. Although nuclear-powered aircraft carriers do not need to be refueled, maintenance and repairs are certainly indispensable, with thousands of people to eat and drink, hundreds of aircraft to serve, and scattered together, which costs about $2.1 billion a year.
Although the expenses of other little brothers are not as good as those of big brothers, they can't stand the number of them a bit, and $1 billion is also to be spent. The United States currently has a total of 11 aircraft carrier strike groups, and the annual operating costs alone exceed $30 billion. The average cost of $1,000 per second, can you calculate that your monthly salary can make these big guys run for 1 second?
In a developed country like Italy, military spending in 2021 is about $30.4 billion, just enough to feed these aircraft carriers. And Brazil and Canada, their full-year military expenditure in 2021, is only more than $20 billion, less than 30 billion, even without the army, air force, all kinds of missile weapons, it is not enough to feed these aircraft carriers. To know that Italy, Brazil, Canada three countries, but are the world's top 15 countries in military expenditure, coupled with the difficulty of aircraft carrier research and development, it can be seen that the countries that can play with aircraft carriers, the world will not exceed 10 countries.
The United States, which has a military expenditure of more than $700 billion, is a global power with interests all over the world, and a powerful aircraft carrier formation is an important tool for safeguarding its global interests and maintaining hegemony. Without a strong aircraft carrier, there is no prosperous United States, and the total GDP of the United States in 2019 is $21.4 trillion, while military spending is $732 billion, accounting for 3.4%. The expenditure on the aircraft carrier fleet is less than 5% of its total military expenditure, so in comparison, this business is simply not too cost-effective.