President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a new Trump-class battleship, named USS Defiant, as part of a broader 'Golden Fleet' initiative. The announcement, made at his Mar-a-Lago resort, envisions a massive vessel armed with advanced weapons, though experts doubt its feasibility amid naval challenges. Trump claims the ship will be the fastest and most powerful ever built.
President Donald Trump announced plans for the Trump-class battleship during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, standing alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The first ship, USS Defiant, is described as a guided missile battleship roughly the size of World War II-era Iowa-class vessels but weighing about 35,000 tons—half as much—with a crew of 650 to 850 sailors. Trump boasted that the vessels would be "the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built," and he envisions constructing 20 to 25 of them, with the first completed in two and a half years.
The ship is set to carry hypersonic missiles, nuclear-armed cruise missiles, rail guns, and high-powered lasers—technologies in various development stages. No U.S. surface vessel has carried nuclear cruise missiles since President George H.W. Bush ordered their removal in 1991, a decision that relieved Navy officers due to security and diplomatic complications. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan stated that the USS Defiant "will inspire awe and reverence for the American flag whenever it pulls into a foreign port."
However, the proposal faces significant hurdles. The Navy recently scrapped plans for a smaller warship due to delays and cost overruns, and it has struggled with projects like the Ford-class aircraft carrier and Columbia-class submarines. Building a Burke-class destroyer takes about five years; experts estimate the Trump-class would require a decade and cost around $10 billion per ship. The U.S. lacks sufficient shipbuilding capacity, with only the Newport News shipyard in Virginia capable of handling such a vessel, which is already occupied with an aircraft carrier. Retired Navy officers and analysts view the project as a pipe dream, contradicting the push for smaller, more dispersed ships amid China's larger fleet of 370 vessels compared to the U.S.'s 294.
Trump first mentioned battleships in a September 30 speech at Quantico, Virginia, drawing from his fondness for the World War II documentary Victory at Sea. He emphasized his role in the design, saying, "The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I'm a very aesthetic person." This follows his past interventions, such as criticizing ship appearances and attempting to revert to steam-powered catapults on carriers. Design efforts are underway, with construction planned for the early 2030s, per an anonymous U.S. official.
