President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a new class of heavily armed U.S. Navy surface combatants, formally described as “battleships”, as part of his administration’s “Golden Fleet” vision for naval power.
Speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Florida alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Navy Secretary John Phelan, Trump confirmed that construction has been approved for an initial pair of vessels, with a much larger class envisaged over time.
“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump said. “Once completed, they will carry extremely lethal weapons and serve as the flagships of the United States Navy.”
The ships will form a new “Trump-class”, reviving the battleship designation for the first time since the retirement of the Iowa class in the early 1990s.
Laser weapons central to the design
Directed-energy weapons are a defining feature of the Trump-class concept rather than a future retrofit. The ships are planned to carry multiple high-energy laser systems intended for missile, drone and air defence, including two large shipborne lasers rated at either 300 kW or 600 kW.
Additional laser systems are expected to include Optical Dazzling Interdictor Navy (ODIN) weapons for counter-drone and sensor-disruption roles, reinforcing a layered defensive approach built around energy weapons.
Trump framed the design as deliberately focused on future conflict. “These ships will be built for the wars of tomorrow, not the wars of the past,” he said during the announcement.
Heavy strike and nuclear capability
The Trump-class is also expected to field an unusually heavy offensive armament for a surface combatant. Planned systems include a large vertical launch capacity for conventional strike missiles, conventional prompt strike weapons, and provision for low-yield nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles.
Gun armament is expected to include an electromagnetic railgun alongside hypervelocity projectile-capable naval guns, combining long-range kinetic firepower with missile and laser defences.
With a planned displacement exceeding 35,000 tonnes, the ships would be significantly larger than existing U.S. destroyers and cruisers, approaching the size of historic capital ships while remaining below aircraft carrier scale.
Scale and industrial intent
Trump said the vessels would be built domestically and tied the programme directly to industrial policy and shipbuilding capacity. “They’ll be built right here in America, and they’ll create thousands and thousands of jobs,” he said, standing alongside renderings labelled “Trump-class”.
Current plans envisage between 10 and 25 ships, with construction intended to proceed in phases following the initial pair. The ships are expected to operate alongside aircraft carriers and next-generation frigates, forming the high-end surface combatant element of the “Golden Fleet” concept.
All drawn with golden crayons no doubt.
How did his parents raise such a child?
They probably didn’t. Left him with multiple nannies no doubt.
Don’t know about his mother but his father was a deeply repulsive figure who I read last week attended KKK meetings and of course whose property business was known for its Rackman style behaviour, was prone to bail out his incompetent son in his casino efforts despite which mostly failed spectacularly and who suffered from early onset dementia in later life. So like father like son it seems, which is probably the only reason Eric and Don jun. keep their head above very murky water, most recently in Serbia of course, but that’s barely a footnote in the various files of late.
Yup, consdering how much he built up his mythical buisness rep, Pedo Donnie has a long history of going broke and needing his dad to bail him out.
It takes considerable talent to bankrupt a casino.
Hopefully the US Navy have an identified need for ships such as these, and they are simply not becoming a reality due to a Thought bubble from the President..
I think he’s off to Greenland for Christmas’.
Seriously what’s the betting on that one, he loves to exceed all other Presidents and Reagan is about as close to a Presidential hero as he has… and Reagan had battleships to play with and impress the ‘natives’. And of course with the US shedding industrial jobs en masse he needs something ‘big’ to boast about reversing that trend to those still believing in his gold at the end of the rainbow malarkey. I do believe that he is convinced that if he can hold n to power beyond the mid terms that his control over the mechanisms of Govt will be such that he won’t actually need popular support. He didn’t realise how quickly his behaviour would sour what he thought was unthinking support amongst so many of his supporters. That’s his arrogance for you and why we are seeing ever increasing desperate tactics to bring them to heel by instilling even greater emblems of patriotism that become tied to himself. Very Putinesque though I doubt we will see him bare chested on a horse any time soon, fighter jets discharging effluent is far more his Imperial style.
Presumably building on the success of the Zumwalt, Freedom, Independence and Constellation classes? I, for one, am totally convinced this is the right choice for the USN and will really see service.
Selling the patriotic dream of exceptionalism for a while is all that he or his behind the scenes manipulators are banking on for moment, he will probably rely on AI to give the impression they not only exist but are giving US enemies a good hiding will probably be sufficient for the future. He’s probably got his inspiration from Silo and Westworld, with a good dose added for good measure of Starship Troopers.
Nathan, they want 25 at 20 billion each. Let them build 100 at 35B. For each battleship, you need at least 3, the rule of 3. One on duty, one in maintainance/repairs, one off loading/ reloading. Due to high tech, the 4th for debugging. The National debt will get to 40 T soon. Don’t hold USD, spend it before it is less valuable
The irony. A multiple draft dodging president naming a warship class after himself.
It should be called the ‘Bonespur’ class.
I doubt that goes unobserved by much of the military, hopefully the majority.
Absolute lunacy. Will the US ever recover?
We’d have more luck building an Imperial Star Destroyer than this monstrosity
The ‘Trump Star’ next.
Better than the USS Titanic.
Don’t worry Musk is rebuilding their relationship so that he can present him with those plans he’s knocked up on the back of a Ketamine packet.
This likely won’t survive the next democratic congress.
Unsinkable?
Avery fat and juicy submarine target!!
Ship Names confirmed for Batch 1:
USS Dummkopf (previously USS Defiant)
USS Putin
USS Small Hands
The fourth I discovered on South Park.
Basically a scaled DDX to battleCruiser size
5x Vietnam draft dodger and recently convicted on 34 counts felon US President, Trump. Enough said. He is a spoilt child in a mans body.
It’s a shame we didn’t keep HMS Vanguard 😊 there again we still have HMS Bellfast even though she’s one size down .I go and get my coat 😄
Never understood why her buns are pointed at Luton, but makes me wonder who or what USS Trump will have her guns pointed at, they will be wizzing around like the windmills he so hates. Can you imagine if there is to be a USS Trump, any sign of a conflict and like its name sake it will never get out of port for fear of actually being sunk. How do I get hold of one of those underwater drones Ukraine is using of late to such great effect.
By the way I assume no one here is planning a World Cup visit, our web History will be as shaky as the crew members of this white elephant cruising off of Taiwan.
(Or even guns though buns seems to reflect the nature of this idea especially to Trump no doubt).
I like buns!
It’s a Bun Fight, USN Fat Burger V’s HMS Scone/scon. A fight to the death under MacTrumps Golden Arches.
(The Cream of the Royal Navy with added Jam eventually).
Not sure If any of that worked but heck, It’s christmas and Trump Is talking Turkey !
I am confused. Has this got anything to do with the DDG(X) program?
Has this replaced that program?
Was the USN consulted about any of this or did Trump just pul this idea out of his ass?
And here I thought it was going to be a relatively straightforward 15-17,000 ton Tico replacement.
Then I saw that the new frigate from the coast guard will have no VLS cells and later read about a self-named “Battleship” class from Trump on the same day.
Not a great day for America.
Every day is April Fools day under Trump.
Can some do a ‘Tangerine’ Class image. i’m crap at photoshop think will great in technocolour
These are Super Destroyers in all but name, and I bet they have conventional kinetic weapons for close-in protection.
Love Trump and I wish we had him here. He would sort this country out in a heart beat.
Of course, the great unwashed, hand ringing, Chihuahua carrying liberals wouldn’t like that.