Why warship costs rise when fleets shrink

Why are modern warship cost overruns and delays so frequent?

Changing requirements and costly systems integration combine with short production runs that spread fixed development costs over too few ships.

Changing requirements, especially electrical and systems-integration work, are major sources of delay. In this estimate, Type 45 construction cost roughly £480 million per hull, while research, testing, coding, and integration lifted the apparent unit price when development expense was included. Cutting the planned run from twelve ships to six forced those fixed costs onto half as many hulls. A steady annual shipbuilding rhythm preserves yard skills, avoids repeated firing and retraining, and spreads development cost more sustainably than alternating large orders with idle periods.