It Cost $326,000,000 To Bring Back the 58,000-Ton US Navy Iowa-Class Battleships Packed with Tomahawk and Harpoon Missiles

The Kirov scared Washington, and Reagan's Navy answered with four Iowa-class battleships it already owned. Lehman's written price — $326 million — held, the program cost $1.7 billion, and in 2026 dollars the whole comeback runs about $5 billion: less per battleship than a new frigate today. The complete cost ledger, the combat record, and how the ledger closed.