Here Is What Each Of The Navy’s Ship-Launched Missiles Actually Costs

By Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick

Updated Dec 11, 2020 1:44 PM EST

Many of America’s warships set sail absolutely packed with missiles. A single Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser has 122 Mark 41 vertical launch system (VLS) cells, each of which can handle one of a wide array of individual missiles, or four Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSMs). Even America’s carriers are bristling with missile-based point defenses. While the capabilities the Navy’s array of ship-launched missiles provides are fairly well known, at least conceptually, the staggering cost of each of these weapons is not. Now, just as we did with air-launched weapons and decoy flares , we aim to change that.

The War Zone has collected the latest unit costs of these weapons to give readers a sense of just how much it is spending to arm its fleet. It should be stressed that these are the prices for just the individual weapons and the figures do not factor in any future spending on support services, modifications, upgrades, or past spending on the weapons’ development.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) launches a Standard Missile-3 as part of a joint ballistic missile defense exercise in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 25, 2012., USN

It’s important to note that individual unit prices can vary from year to year due to a number of factors, including the economies of scale of placing larger or smaller orders. As such, the estimated price point for certain missiles may even be significantly different just between purchases made through the base budget and the supplemental Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget.

What is presented below are the unit costs, rounded to the nearest dollar, that the Navy expects to pay for these weapons in the 2021 Fiscal Year as they appear in the official budget documents.

Surface -to-Air Missiles:

Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IIIAZ – $1,200,000 This is the unit cost of the conversion kit to turn existing SM-2 Block IIIA missiles into to Block IIIAZ variant, which is specifically for the Navy’s Zumwalt class stealth destroyers .

This is the unit cost of the conversion kit to turn existing SM-2 Block IIIA missiles into to Block IIIAZ variant, which is specifically for the Navy’s Zumwalt class stealth destroyers .

Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IIIC – $2,349,000 This unit price is the cost of the conversion kit to transform existing SM-2 Block IIIA and Block IIIB missiles into the Block IIIC configuration with active radar homing.

This unit price is the cost of the conversion kit to transform existing SM-2 Block IIIA and Block IIIB missiles into the Block IIIC configuration with active radar homing.

Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Block IB – $11,830,000 Funding for these missiles come through the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) budget.

Funding for these missiles come through the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) budget.

Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Block IIA – $36,387,000 The funds for these missiles also come through the MDA budget.

The funds for these missiles also come through the MDA budget.

Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) – $4,318,632 This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which includes SM-6 Block I and Block IA variants .

This unit price is an average for the entire projected 2021 Fiscal Year order, which includes SM-6 Block I and Block IA variants .

Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) – $1,795,000 This unit cost reflects an average for the entire projected Fiscal Year 2021 purchase, which includes ESSM Block I and Block II versions .

This unit cost reflects an average for the entire projected Fiscal Year 2021 purchase, which includes ESSM Block I and Block II versions .

Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) – $905,330 This unit price is an average across the full projected Fiscal Year 2021 order, which includes multiple RAM variants, including the Block II and IIA.

This unit price is an average across the full projected Fiscal Year 2021 order, which includes multiple RAM variants, including the Block II and IIA.

Sailors load an Evolved Sea Sparrow missile into a Mk 29 box launcher aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Many millions of dollars worth of missiles are held in a single eight-round launcher., USN

Surface -to-Surface and Land Attack Missiles:

Tactical Tomahawk (TACTOM) Block V – $1,537,645 This is the unit price for the base land-attack variant. Funding for conversion kits to transform Block V missiles in Block Va Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST) anti-ship missiles or Block Vb missiles with the new Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System (JMEWS), as well to upgrade existing Block IV TACOMs to the Block V standard, is contained in separate portions of the budget. A unit cost, approximately $889,681, is provided for the MST conversion kit.

This is the unit price for the base land-attack variant. Funding for conversion kits to transform Block V missiles in Block Va Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST) anti-ship missiles or Block Vb missiles with the new Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System (JMEWS), as well to upgrade existing Block IV TACOMs to the Block V standard, is contained in separate portions of the budget. A unit cost, approximately $889,681, is provided for the MST conversion kit.

Naval Strike Missile (NSM) – $2,194,000 It’s worth noting that the Navy only requested funds to purchase 15 of these missiles in the 2021 Fiscal Year budget.

It’s worth noting that the Navy only requested funds to purchase 15 of these missiles in the 2021 Fiscal Year budget.

Harpoon – The Navy did not request any funding for new Harpoon anti-ship missiles or upgrades to existing Block IC air , sea, and submarine-launched variants in the 2021 Fiscal Year. Budget documents for the previous year do not have a unit cost breakdown for conversion kits to bring Block IC missiles up to the new Block II+ standard .

Griffin – The service also has not asked for any funding to purchase additional examples of Griffin missile, which its Cyclone class patrol craft are armed with, since the 2019 Fiscal Year, at which time the unit cost for one of those missiles was approximately $127,333.

Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (VL-ARSOC) – The Fiscal Year 2021 budget request did not include any funding for new VL-ASROCs, but did funds for refurbishment kits for some of these weapons, each of which cost approximately $490,909.

A $1.5M RGM-109 about to make contact with its intended target. , DoD

Some may be surprised, or even a bit mortified, at just how expensive some of these weapons are. The truth is that advanced naval warfare is a very costly endeavor, especially when it comes to defending one’s fleet or destroying the enemy’s fleet with guided missiles.

Author’s note: The original version of this piece had an older figure for the unit cost for the SM-3 Block IIA, as it had appeared in the budget documents that purchases of these missiles stopped in the 2020 Fiscal Year. As it turns out, funding for these missiles was simply shifted to another portion of the budget. This piece has been updated with the unit cost for this weapon as of the 2021 Fiscal Year.

Contact the authors: Tyler@thedrive.com and Joe@thedrive.com

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作者：泰勒·罗戈韦和约瑟夫·特雷维西克

更新于美国东部时间2020年12月11日下午1:44。

美国许多军舰出海时都满载导弹。一艘提康德罗加级导弹巡洋舰就配备了122个Mk 41垂直发射系统（VLS）单元，每个单元可以发射多种不同的导弹，或者四枚改进型海麻雀导弹（ESSM）。就连美国的航母也布满了导弹防御系统。虽然海军舰载导弹的性能已广为人知（至少在概念上如此），但每种武器的惊人成本却鲜为人知。现在，就像我们之前改造空射武器和诱饵弹一样，我们的目标是改变这种现状。

为了让读者了解其舰队的武装成本，《战区》收集了这些武器的最新单价。需要强调的是，这些价格仅包含单件武器的价格，并未计入未来在后勤保障、改装、升级或武器研发方面的任何支出。

2012年10月25日，美国海军“菲茨杰拉德”号导弹驱逐舰（DDG-62）在太平洋海域发射一枚“标准-3”导弹，参与联合弹道导弹防御演习。

值得注意的是，由于多种因素的影响，包括订单规模大小带来的规模经济效益，单个产品的价格每年都会有所不同。因此，某些导弹的预估价格，即使仅通过基本预算采购和通过补充海外应急行动（OCO）预算采购，也可能存在显著差异。

下面列出的是海军预计在 2021 财年为这些武器支付的单位成本（四舍五入到最接近的美元），这些成本出现在官方预算文件中。

地对空导弹：

标准导弹 2 (SM-2) Block IIIAZ – 1,200,000 美元 这是将现有的 SM-2 Block IIIA 导弹改装成 Block IIIAZ 型号的转换套件的单位成本，该型号专门用于海军的朱姆沃尔特级隐形驱逐舰。

这是将现有的 SM-2 Block IIIA 导弹改装成 Block IIIAZ 型号的转换套件的单位成本，该型号专门用于海军的朱姆沃尔特级隐形驱逐舰。

标准导弹 2 (SM-2) Block IIIC – 2,349,000 美元。此单价为将现有的 SM-2 Block IIIA 和 Block IIIB 导弹改装为 Block IIIC 配置并配备主动雷达制导的改装套件的成本。

该单价为将现有的 SM-2 Block IIIA 和 Block IIIB 导弹改装成 Block IIIC 配置并配备主动雷达制导的改装套件的成本。

标准导弹 3 (SM-3) Block IB – 11,830,000 美元 这些导弹的资金来自导弹防御局 (MDA) 的预算。

这些导弹的资金来自导弹防御局（MDA）的预算。

标准导弹 3 (SM-3) Block IIA – 36,387,000 美元。这些导弹的资金也来自导弹防御局的预算。

这些导弹的资金也来自导弹防御局的预算。

标准导弹 6 (SM-6) – 4,318,632 美元。该单价是 2021 财年预计订单的平均值，其中包括 SM-6 Block I 和 Block IA 型号。

该单价是 2021 财年预计订单的平均值，其中包括 SM-6 Block I 和 Block IA 型号。

改进型海麻雀导弹 (ESSM) – 1,795,000 美元。该单价反映了 2021 财年预计采购的平均值，其中包括 ESSM Block I 和 Block II 版本。

该单位成本反映了 2021 财年预计采购的平均值，其中包括 ESSM Block I 和 Block II 版本。

滚动式导弹（RAM）——905,330 美元。该单价是 2021 财年预计订单的平均值，其中包括多种 RAM 型号，包括 Block II 和 IIA。

该单价是 2021 财年预计订单的平均值，其中包括多种 RAM 型号，包括 Block II 和 IIA。

水兵们正在“约翰·C·斯坦尼斯”号航空母舰（CVN 74）上将一枚改进型海麻雀导弹装入Mk 29型箱式发射器。一个可容纳八枚导弹的发射器就装有价值数百万美元的导弹。

地对地和对陆攻击导弹：

战术战斧导弹（TACTOM）Block V – 1,537,645 美元。这是陆攻型基本型号的单价。预算中另有部分资金用于改装套件，将 Block V 型导弹改装为 Block Va 型海上打击战斧导弹（MST）或配备新型联合多效弹头系统（JMEWS）的 Block Vb 型导弹，以及将现有的 Block IV 型 TACOM 导弹升级到 Block V 标准。MST 改装套件的单价约为 889,681 美元。

这是陆攻型导弹的单价。将Block V导弹改装成Block Va海上打击战斧（MST）反舰导弹或配备新型联合多效弹头系统（JMEWS）的Block Vb导弹的改装套件，以及将现有的Block IV TACOM导弹升级到Block V标准的资金，已包含在预算的其他部分。MST改装套件的单价约为889,681美元。

海军打击导弹 (NSM) – 2,194,000 美元。值得注意的是，海军在 2021 财年预算中只申请了购买 15 枚此类导弹的资金。

值得注意的是，海军在 2021 财年预算中只申请了购买 15 枚此类导弹的资金。

鱼叉导弹——海军在2021财年没有申请任何资金用于新型鱼叉反舰导弹或升级现有的Block IC空射、海射和潜射型导弹。上一年度的预算文件中也没有将Block IC导弹升级到新的Block II+标准的改装套件的单位成本明细。

格里芬导弹——自 2019 财年以来，该部门也没有申请任何资金来购买更多格里芬导弹，其旋风级巡逻艇就装备了这种导弹。当时，一枚格里芬导弹的单价约为 127,333 美元。

垂直发射反潜火箭（VL-ARSOC）——2021 财年预算申请中没有包含任何用于购买新的 VL-ARSOC 的资金，但包含用于购买部分此类武器的翻新套件的资金，每个套件的成本约为 490,909 美元。

一枚价值150万美元的RGM-109导弹即将与目标交火。（美国国防部）

有些人可能会对这些武器的昂贵程度感到惊讶，甚至有些震惊。事实上，先进的海战是一项非常昂贵的行动，尤其是在保卫己方舰队或用制导导弹摧毁敌方舰队方面。

作者注：本文原版本中SM-3 Block IIA导弹的单价数据较旧，因为当时的预算文件显示，该型导弹的采购已于2020财年停止。但实际情况是，该型导弹的资金只是被转移到了预算的其他部分。本文已更新，采用2021财年的最新单价数据。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com 和 Joe@thedrive.com

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