As part of its broad modernization process, the U.S. Navy would be preparing to invest more than $17 billion in the construction of its first Trump-class battleship, also referred to as BBG(X) in official institutional documents. According to reports from specialized U.S. media, based on the most recent budget requests for fiscal year 2027, construction of this first vessel is scheduled for fiscal year 2028, with the aim of demonstrating progress before the administration led by Republican Donald Trump concludes its term.
Expanding on these details, currently available reports indicate that the U.S. Navy would already be requesting $1 billion in advance funding to be allocated to this program, which would allow it to begin laying the groundwork for future acquisition. Additionally, another $837 million has been included in current budget requests to support research and development projects related to the Trump class; for which approximately $134 million has already been invested, according to sources within the institution.
Regarding the composition of the rest of the battleship fleet, once construction of the first Trump-class vessel begins, the U.S. Navy plans to proceed with the acquisition of a second unit in fiscal year 2030 at an additional cost of $13 billion. The third ship in the series would begin construction in fiscal year 2031, with an investment reaching $11.5 billion. In the long term, projections indicate that Washington could field between 20 and 25 battleships, although this has not yet been officially defined.
On the other hand, in response to a growing number of criticisms regarding the approach chosen by the U.S. Navy to shape the so-called “Golden Fleet,” naval authorities have spoken out in defense of the Trump class and its high associated costs. One such figure is the Navy’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget, Rear Admiral Ben Reynolds, who stated: “We have been seeking a larger surface combatant for many years (…) This will be able to do many things that our destroyers cannot, just as the frigate fulfills a need that our destroyers do not cover. Right now, with the retirement of the cruisers, we are left with only one type of ship.”
It is worth recalling at this point that the service recently canceled its Constellation-class frigate program developed by Fincantieri Marinette Marine, even reallocating funds toward the development of new priority programs for the future. In particular, the U.S. Navy will seek to move forward with a design derived from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend class, modified to incorporate a broader range of weapons and sensors; although it has been criticized for being considerably less ambitious than the originally planned ships.
Regarding the aforementioned “retirement of cruisers,” a process that would leave Arleigh Burke-class destroyers as the only major surface combatants in U.S. Navy service, it refers to the already outdated Ticonderoga class. As previously reported in late 2024, reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted that the modernization program for this class wasted approximately $1.84 billion on ships for which the necessary work would not be completed, affecting four of the seven cruisers initially selected.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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