The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, announced yesterday, December 22, plans for the construction of a new class of large battleships for the U.S. Navy, designated the Trump class. The announcement was made alongside the Secretary of the Navy, John C. Phelan, and the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and envisions the development of vessels that the government itself defines as “battleships,” a designation that has not been officially used by the U.S. Navy since the decommissioning of the last Iowa-class battleships in the early 1990s.
The first ship of this new class will be named USS Defiant (BBG 1) and will serve as the centerpiece of a broader naval expansion initiative known as Golden Fleet. According to the information released, these vessels will have an estimated displacement of between 30,000 and 40,000 tons, making them significantly larger platforms than the current Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which are considered the mainstay of the U.S. surface fleet.
During the presentation, Trump stated that the initial goal is to build at least two units, although the total number could be expanded to ten or more ships, with projections even mentioning a fleet of between 20 and 25 vessels in the long term. The President affirmed that the new battleships will be built in shipyards located in the United States, without ruling out the participation of foreign-owned facilities operating within the country.
From an operational standpoint, the Trump class is conceived as a large-displacement surface combatant capable of operating both within a Carrier Strike Group, as well as leading its own Surface Action Group. According to official information, these ships will be prepared to conduct missions including air defense, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and long-range strategic strike operations.
The planned armament includes hypersonic missiles launched via the Conventional Prompt Strike system currently under development, SLCM-N nuclear-capable cruise missiles, Standard family surface-to-air missiles, and Tomahawk land-attack missiles, in addition to vertical launch systems (VLS) distributed across three large modules. The conceptual designs presented also depict 5-inch naval guns, directed-energy weapon systems, and electromagnetic railguns, as well as yet-unspecified capabilities based on artificial intelligence.
Beyond their role as combat platforms, Trump-class ships will act as central command and control nodes, coordinating operations involving both manned and unmanned units. In this regard, the U.S. Navy indicated that these battleships will form part of a “high–low” force structure, combining large, highly capable platforms with the newly announced FF(X) frigates and various types of unmanned systems.
The Secretary of the Navy, John C. Phelan, underscored the strategic importance of the program by stating: “The President has been clear: we must restore America’s maritime industrial power, and he has told me many times that, as Secretary of the Navy, it is my job to equip our sailors to win the fight at sea with the best ships in our history.” In the same vein, he added: “Now, when a conflict arises, we are going to be asked two questions: where is the aircraft carrier and where is the battleship?”
For his part, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle, stated that “As we forge the future of our Navy’s fleet, we need a larger surface combatant, and the Trump-class battleships meet that requirement,” emphasizing that the program will be subject to continuous evaluations in light of operational needs for the 2030s and beyond.
The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, described the announcement as a long-term strategic commitment and stated: “American strength has returned to the world stage, and the announcement of the Golden Fleet, anchored by new battleships—the largest and most lethal in history—… marks a generational commitment to American maritime power across the entire department.”
From an industrial perspective, the Navy will lead the design of the ships in cooperation with the private sector, relying on a network of more than 1,000 suppliers distributed across nearly every state in the country. As indicated, President Trump himself will have direct involvement in the design process, a point he justified by declaring that he considers himself “a very aesthetic person.”
The presentation of the Trump class also marks an unusual moment in U.S. naval tradition, as it is the first time that a Navy ship class has been named after a sitting president. It is likewise unusual that the lead ship does not bear the class name, as the first vessel will be USS Defiant rather than a ship named USS Trump.
With this program, the U.S. Navy seeks to introduce a new type of large surface combatant, within the broader context of fleet modernization and a reassessment of its naval capabilities for the coming decades.
Images obtained from the U.S. Navy
You may be interested in: The U.S. Navy received the future USS Idaho, its 26th Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine
