The Ford's massive price tag is difficult to comprehend. The $13 billion per unit is just part of the equation. The program itself has, so far, cost $120 billion – more than $40 billion beyond the initial cost projection of $77 billion. Are the runaway program costs worth it?
The idea with SPY-6 radar is to give ship commanders more time and decisionmaking abilities by identifying approaching threats and enemy attacks more precisely and at much farther distances.