When National Defense Knows No Budget: The Most Expensive Military Vehicles in History

5. The Panavia Tornado

Joined the Service in 1979 Produced by: Panavia Aircraft GmbH Price: *$59.6 million A fleet of twin-engine, multirole, variable-sweep combat aircraft, the Panavia Tornado was developed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. Together, the three nations designed and produced the Tornado fleet. The Panavia Tornado is available in three different configurations: interceptor strike (IDS), electronic combat/reconnaissance (ECR), and interceptor aircraft (ADV).

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The Panavia Tornado ©Images by VanderWolf via Shutterstock Along with BAE Systems, EADSY is Panavia's principal stakeholder. The Tornado made its maiden flight in 1974 and made its official debut in 1979. The Royal Air Force retired the Tornado in 2019. These days, the RSAF, IAF, and GAF still employ it.

6. The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush

Joined the Service in 2009 Produced by: Northrop Grumman Price: *$6.2 billion While most people are aware of George H.W. Bush as the past president of the United States, many may not be aware that he served as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II. The final Nimitz-class Navy supercarrier in service is the USS George H.W. Bush, which is the eleventh in the class. H.W. flew an Avengers during World War II, hence the callsign.

aircraft carrier ©Peter R. Foster IDMA and Shutterstock The biggest dock in the Western Hemisphere, Dry Dock 12, is where Northrop Grumman started building in 2003.The completion of George H.W. Bush in 2009 came at a cost of $6.2 billion. She is berthed in Virginia at Naval Station Norfolk. The USS George H.W. Bush was a member of Carrier Strike Group Two on her maiden voyage. She set sail for Britain to take part in drills known as "Thursday Wars." Since then, the ship has been used on several missions and for naval training exercises. The USS George H.W. Bush is not in service at this time.