History
Announcement
The announcement of the class comes amidst warnings by U.S. officials that Chinese shipbuilding has surpassed the United States in capacity and output, and is part of the Trump administration's goal to enlarge the U.S. Navy and revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry. [12] [13]
On 22 December 2025, Donald Trump announced that 2 ships would initially be constructed, with a total of 10 then planned, and eventual plans for "between 20 and 25" as part of a "Golden Fleet". [4] [12] The first ship is planned to be named USS Defiant (BBG-1). [14] U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan stated that the ships are planned to carry conventional guns and nuclear-armed cruise missiles. [15] Trump stated that the ships are planned to be domestically built at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, owned by South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group. [16]
Ships of the class are planned to include, as part of their primary battery, a Surface-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear (SLCM-N) system, a 12-cell Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missile system, and a 128-cell Mark 41 vertical launching system (VLS). A secondary battery is planned to consist of a 32-MJ electromagnetic railgun, two 5-inch (127 mm) guns, and a pair of 300-kW lasers. A defensive battery is planned with two RAM launchers, four 30mm guns, four ODIN lasers, and two anti-drone systems. The ships are also planned to have an enclosed hangar for VTOL aircraft such as helicopters, the V-22 Osprey and other, future vertical-lift manned and unmanned aircraft. [3]
Reactions
The Trump class name would challenge typical United States ship naming conventions. All battleships operated by the United States have been named after U.S. states, with the sole exception being USS Kearsarge, a pre-dreadnought battleship; [17] [18] while names of presidents have recently been used for aircraft carriers. [19] [20] Naming a warship after a living person is not unusual in the United States, [20] although it is atypical for presidents to name things after themselves. The naming came in the context of the recent addition of Trump's name to the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Institute of Peace, as well as the new Trump account and Trump Gold Card. [21]
The classification of the ship as a battleship has been questioned. The Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote that the term has historically been used for warships with large guns such as 16-inch ones and heavy armor, which Trump class would lack; and that the ship's profile is more typical of a guided-missile battlecruiser (BCG) like Russia's Kirov-class warships. [22] However, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, the definition of the term "battleship" has evolved over the ages, from wooden ships with many guns, through to the 20th-century usage of high-calibre gunned ships with heavy armor. The ship is meant to survive in a fleet battle, thus armor is not definitional to the core of the battleship. The preeminence of the gun as the definitional instrument is only as long as the gun is the preeminent instrument of firepower. [23]
CNN analyst Stephen Collinson states that the procurement of the Trump class would likely revive the battleship retirement debate. [24] Some experts have commented that this type of ship is obsolete and that none of this class will ever be built. [25] [26] [19]
Trump’s apparent desire to have a class of warship named after him “would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad,” said Thomas Oppel, who served as chief of staff to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus during the Obama administration. [27]
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United States Navy (projected)
