United States President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a new generation of battleships, dubbed the “Trump-class”, as part of a broader naval expansion he has branded the “Golden Fleet”.
The announcement, made at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, signals a dramatic attempt to revive the battleship concept, which has been largely absent from modern naval strategy for decades.
Standing beside renderings of the proposed vessels, Trump declared that the ships would be “100 times more powerful” than any previous American battleship.
“We had big battleships. These are bigger. They’ll be 100 times the force, the power [of the old ships], and there’s never been anything like these ships,” he said.
The president added that the vessels would be equipped with cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, directed energy lasers, hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles and rail guns.
The first ship, to be named the USS Defiant, is expected to begin construction immediately, with Trump promising that two vessels will be built initially, scaling up to as many as 25 over time.
Navy Secretary John Phelan described the Trump-class as a “spiritual successor” to the iconic battleships of the 20th century, though unlike their predecessors, these new ships will rely primarily on missile systems rather than large-calibre naval guns.
According to details released on a newly launched Golden Fleet website, the guided missile battleships will be roughly the size of the Iowa-class vessels but weigh significantly less, at around 35,000 tonnes. Crews will also be smaller, ranging between 650 and 850 sailors.
Trump emphasised that the programme was not aimed at any single adversary, saying the ships were “a counter to everybody”.
He also pledged to pressure defence contractors to accelerate production and reduce costs, criticising executives for excessive compensation and stock buybacks while projects such as the F-35 fighter jet continue to face delays.
The announcement comes amid growing concerns that the United States is falling behind China in shipbuilding capacity.
Analysts note that Chinese shipyards accounted for more than 60 per cent of global orders this year, and Beijing’s navy is already the largest in the world.
Trump’s plan to revive large-scale shipbuilding is framed as both a strategic necessity and an economic opportunity, with the president promising “thousands” of jobs from domestic construction.
The unveiling of the Trump-class battleships also coincides with heightened US naval activity in the Caribbean, where American forces have been conducting operations against vessels allegedly carrying narcotics.
Trump claimed these strikes had saved “thousands of American lives” by preventing drugs from entering the country, though critics have warned that such actions may breach international law.
By invoking historical references such as Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet and the World War II documentary Victory at Sea, Trump positioned the Golden Fleet as a symbol of renewed American naval supremacy.
Whether the ambitious project can overcome the technological, financial and strategic challenges that have plagued previous shipbuilding efforts remains to be seen.
Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Reuters
