The lead ship's roughly $1.5 billion estimate includes much of the class's detailed design and non-recurring engineering. Hull jigs and other production tooling are examples of costs that later ships do not have to repeat in the same way. The British comparison puts such costs into early batches, with expansion and training of the workforce also affecting follow-on batches before unit costs fall further. Production experience offers another reason later ships can cost less. Irregular orders make that expected progression less dependable and help explain the pressure to place costs on the first ships. The discussion separates the purchase price of the lead hull from the cost of producing a mature class.
Notable Point · 1:19:45-1:21:12
Why the first frigate carries design and tooling costs
Detailed design, hull tooling, and production learning explain why a lead frigate's estimated price differs from follow-on costs.