This Active US Military Vehicle’s Cost Is Larger Than the GDP of Several Small Countries

Earlier this year, the United States Army paid $13 million to Concurrent Technologies Corp. for the development of more lightweight combat vehicles. Over the last few years, the weight of combat vehicles has grown, in part due to the advancements in the technologies and weaponry they carry. However, this makes the performance of the combat vehicle slower in actual conflict settings. This new contract aims to use machine learning to identify and develop better materials that can build stronger and faster next-generation military vehicles like tanks and personnel carriers. (This eight-wheeled armored vehicle was built to destroy slow-moving tanks.)

Developing these new vehicles and technologies can be incredibly costly. Many times, it requires specialized knowledge, processes, labor, and materials. In fact, the most expensive vehicle on our list costs $26,969,800 per unit. As such, you can imagine that the U.S. Army’s fleet of vehicles is extremely pricy to build, buy, and keep up. Here, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a list of active US military vehicles from Military Factory, an online database of military vehicles, aircraft, arms, and more, to identify the 15 most expensive US military land vehicles. Vehicles are ranked according to their unit cost, sourced from a number of media and government sites. Unit prices were adjusted for inflation to March 2023 using the CPI inflation calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Information on the role these vehicles play in the military, when they entered service, and their crew size also came from Military Factory.

Why Does This Matter?

According to its budget, the United States Army spends roughly $5 billion modernizing its ground-based combat vehicles: tanks, artillery, personnel carriers, and other armored vehicles. Out of this lump sum, a portion goes to research and development, but most of the military’s budget goes toward updating its fleet of land vehicles or procuring new vehicles. Learning about the most expensive U.S. military vehicles gives you a better idea of where the U.S. is prioritizing spending.

Here are the most expensive military vehicles used by the U.S. Army:

15. Force Protection Cougar

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $832,334
• Type: Troop transport / Command and control communications / EOD / Lead convoy vehicle
• First entered service: Troop transport / Command and control communications / EOD / Lead convoy vehicle
• Crew size: 2

14. BAe RG-31 Nyala

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $1,066,551
• Type: Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV) / Mine-Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle
• First entered service: Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV) / Mine-Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle
• Crew size: 8

13. M1117 Guardian ASV

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $1,127,326
• Type: Armored Security Vehicle
• First entered service: Armored Security Vehicle
• Crew size: 3

12. M9 Armored Combat Earthmover (ACE)

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $1,427,031
• Type: Military bulldozer / Engineering vehicle
• First entered service: Military bulldozer / Engineering vehicle
• Crew size: 1

11. Force Protection Buffalo H

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $1,458,578
• Type: Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle
• First entered service: Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle
• Crew size: 2

10. M88 Hercules

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $4,330,659
• Type: Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV)
• First entered service: Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV)
• Crew size: 3

9. M270 MLRS

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $4,344,229
• Type: Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
• First entered service: Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
• Crew size: 3

8. M777 Ultra-lightweight Field Howitzer (UFH)

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $4,776,868
• Type: 155mm Lightweight towed artillery
• First entered service: 155mm Lightweight towed artillery
• Crew size: 7

7. M2 Bradley

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $4,811,844
• Type: Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV)
• First entered service: Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV)
• Crew size: 3

6. General Dynamics Stryker

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $5,533,620
• Type: 8×8 wheeled multirole Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV)
• First entered service: 8×8 wheeled multirole Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV)
• Crew size: 3

5. M3 Bradley

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $5,820,508
• Type: Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) / Armored reconnaissance scout-tracked combat vehicle
• First entered service: Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) / Armored reconnaissance scout tracked combat vehicle
• Crew size: 5

4. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS)

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $6,766,010
• Type: Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
• First entered service: Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
• Crew size: 3

3. M1 Abrams

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $15,037,012
• Type: Main Battle Tank (MBT)
• First entered service: Main Battle Tank (MBT)
• Crew size: 4

2. M109 (Paladin)

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $17,082,045
• Type: 155mm Self-Propelled Artillery (SPA)
• First entered service: 155mm Self-Propelled Artillery (SPA)
• Crew size: 4

1. MIM-104 Patriot

• Unit cost (adjusted for inflation): $26,969,800
• Type: Surface-to-Air (SAM) system
• First entered service: Surface-to-Air (SAM) system
• Crew size: 12