The Congressional Budget Office has released information supplementing its January-released nuclear weapons cost study for Fiscal Year 2015-2024 estimating total government spending on nuclear weapons at $348 billion during that period. The supplemental information shows defense costs for all three legs of the nuclear triad peaking in either 2022 or 2023. National Nuclear Security Administration spending is expected to peak at the back end of the period as well. According to the study, ballistic missile submarines and bomber cost estimates peak in 2022 with prices of $10.9 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively. Intercontinental ballistic missile costs peak in 2023 at $4.3 billion. From 2015 to 2024, SSBNs are projected to cost $75 billion, ICBMs are estimated at $24 billion, and bombers are expected to cost $32 billion. Including general DoD nuclear-related research and operations support activities, as well as tactical delivery systems and weapons, the CBO report estimated DoD will spend $146 billion on nuclear weapons over the study’s timespan. Overall DoD nuclear weapons spending is expected to spike in 2022 at $20 billion.
Furthermore, NNSA spending on the nuclear triad is expected to top out over the 10-year period at $11.1 billion in 2024. The report projects NNSA will spend $1.1 billion on stockpile services in FY 2015, steadily ramping up to $1.7 billion in FY 2024. Moreover, NNSA is expected to steadily increase its facilities and infrastructure spending over the 10-year period, from $2.1 billion at the outset to $3.2 billion at the conclusion. Total yearly NNSA and DoD spending on nuclear weapons is expected to top out at $35.6 billion in 2022, up from $23.9 billion at the outset before tailing off to $34.7 billion in 2024.
