The boats of the Seawolf class are the most advanced but also the most expensive hunter-killer submarines in the world. The first completely new American submarine design for some 30 years, the USS Seawolf was laid down in 1989 as the lead boat in a class of 12. The cost of the Seawolf class in 1991 was estimated at $33.6 billion (25% of the naval construction budget), making it the most expensive naval building programme ever. At that time the US Navy planned an additional 17 boats. Then the peace dividend resulting from the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War caused US politicians to question the need for more ultra-quiet boats. The class was trimmed to just 3 boats that cost $7.3 billion. That’s over $2.4 billion per boat. The replacement for the 51 Los Angeles class boats became a much cheaper design of the Virginia class.