“The Trump-class ships will be the largest battleships in U.S. history and the largest ever constructed in the world,” Trump said on December 22 at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. He claimed the vessels would be “100 times faster and stronger than any previous class.”
Although Trump referred to the vessels as battleships, their appearance and weapon systems resemble modern large cruisers and destroyers currently being developed by several countries.
The Trump-class ships are expected to have a displacement of 30,000–40,000 tons and will be equipped with “the highest-level artillery and missile systems,” with artificial intelligence playing a “key role.” Illustrations displayed at Mar-a-Lago showed a Trump-class ship named USS Defiant.
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“I will personally work with the Navy on the design of these ships, because I care deeply about aesthetics,” Trump said. He added that Washington plans to build two ships in the first phase, followed by eight more. Ultimately, the U.S. Navy could receive 20–25 ships, forming what Trump described as a “Golden Fleet.”
“These Trump-class battleships will be equipped with nuclear-capable cruise missiles. This is just one part of the President’s Golden Fleet that we are about to establish,” U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan said.
Trump stressed his desire for rapid construction and said he would meet with defense contractors in Florida next week to accelerate production, stating that “the current pace is far too slow.” He warned that companies failing to perform could face penalties and added that the federal government also plans to “renovate and reorganize” Navy headquarters.
Battleships, characterized by heavy armor and large-caliber guns, were the pinnacle of naval power for much of the 20th century. However, the rise of submarines, aircraft carriers, and advanced missile systems rendered them obsolete.
The United States stopped building battleships after World War II, shifting toward missile-capable warships at the beginning of the Cold War. The battleship era officially ended in the early 1990s when the U.S. Navy decommissioned its last vessels of this type.
Trump has repeatedly praised battleships in the past and criticized modern U.S. Navy warship programs.