The High Cost of Waging War on Rust

On June 6-9, Norfolk, Va., will play host to Mega Rust 2011. That's not a gathering of middle-aged Metallica fans but a conference sponsored by the U.S. Navy to bring together experts in the field of corrosion and discuss the latest prevention strategies.

The Pentagon spends $22.9 billion a year fighting rust—almost twice as much as the cost of a new Navy aircraft carrier and about as much as 55 F-22 Raptors, the Air Force's premier fighter jet. Dealing with corrosion in ships, tanks, planes, and other equipment will cost an estimated $114.5 billion over the next five years. The sum dwarfs the $78 billion in savings projected in outgoing Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's budget, which covers the same period. "It's certainly a huge expense, and I fully expect it will grow," says Winslow T. Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information in Washington. "The equipment inventory of all services is significantly older than it used to be."