The current ongoing conflicts in the world and particularly the war in Ukraine have brought to the fore the very high cost of war. Weapons are expensive and they sell out quickly.as demonstrated by Ukraine's continued need to receive military packages that help it stop the Russian Army.
The missiles are single use weapons, which makes the high cost they can have even more striking. According to data collected by the specialized media The Warzone, the cost per unit The ones that launch the United States Navy ships have are the following:
Surface-to-air missiles
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)
The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile, known as RAM, is a highly maneuverable and fast-acting weapon. It serves as a point defense system to confront anti-ship cruise missiles, drones, aircraft and small boats at close range from ships. It uses infrared imaging search capabilities and passive radio frequency guidance to quickly target threats. It protects aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships and some LCS, Littoral Combat Ships, and is planned for installation on all Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the future. Cost: $950,000 / €877,814 per missile.
RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM)
The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile is a significant improvement of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow adopted in the 1970s. This short- to medium-range radar-guided missile can engage a wide variety of targets, including aircraft and anti-ship missiles. Four ESSMs can be packed into a single Mark 41 Vertical Launch System cell, allowing for greater payload capacity on Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke destroyers. Cost: $1,490,000 / €1,376,782 per missile.
SM-2 Block IIIC
The SM-2 Block IIIC is an improved version of the SM-2 Block IIIA and B missiles to which active radar guidance capability is added, increasing its flexibility and lethality. Used widely in the Navy, it can take on drones, manned aircraft, cruise missiles and less capable ballistic missiles. Cost: $2,530,000 / €2,337,757 per missile.
SM-2 Block IIIAZ
The SM-2 Block IIIAZ is another variant of the SM-2 that is used on the Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers. This missile can also engage a variety of air threats and ballistic missiles. Cost: $770,000 / €711,491 per missile.
SM-6
The SM-6 is an evolution of the SM-2 offering much greater range and active guidance capability. It can shoot down ballistic missiles in their terminal phase, as well as aircraft and cruise missiles. It also has the ability to engage ground and surface targets at long ranges, acting as a quasi-ballistic missile. It is also the only missile capable of intercepting hypersonic weapons. Cost: $4,270,000 / €3,945,544 per missile.
SM-3 Block IB and IIA
The SM-3 specializes in defense against medium-course ballistic missiles. Shoot down ballistic missiles at long ranges as they fly outside the Earth's atmosphere. Cost: $12,510,000 / €11,559,427 for Block IB and $28,700,000 €26,519,230 for Block IIA.
Ground-to-ground missiles
Tomahawk Block V
The Block V Tomahawk, known as the Tactical Tomahawk, has a range of approximately 1,600 kilometers and is used for over-the-horizon ground attack missions. It can receive in-flight command updates via satellite data link and anti-ship capabilities are being integrated into its latest variants. Cost: $1,890,000/€1,746,388 per missile.
Naval Strike Missile (NSM)
The NSM is a multipurpose weapon for operations in coastal waters and the open sea. It has a range of 178 km, stealth features and an electronic warfare resistant infrared image seeker. It can also attack ground targets. Cost: $1,900,000 / €1,755,628 per missile.
Harpoon Block II
The Harpoon has been a mainstay of the Navy's anti-ship missiles, but no funding for it has been requested in the fiscal year 2024 budget. It was previously funded in the 2020 budget. Cost: $1,410,000 / €1,302,861 per missile.
Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (VLA)
The Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket, or VLA, carries a lightweight Mark 54 torpedo and can launch it from a distance of 20 km to attack enemy submarines. No funding has been requested for the VLAs, but funding has been included for retrofit kits. Cost: $530,000 / €489,727 per kit.
Total cost of building a destroyer
Equipping an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer with new weapons, including 11 RAM, 32 ESSM, 16 Tomahawk, 40 SM-2, 12 SM-6, 8 SM-3, 6 VLA and 8 Harpoon would cost around $420 million. That is to say, 388 million euros.