The United States will build new “Trump-class” battleships as part of a “Golden Fleet,” President Donald Trump announced Monday.
The Navy has not built new battleships since World War II.
“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump said construction would begin on two steel battleships, and “we’re going to quickly morph into 10,” with the possibility of up to 25 in total. The first ship in the so-called Golden Fleet will be called the USS Defiant; construction could take several years.
The president’s announcement comes a month after the Navy scrapped plans for a new warship fleet, saying the larger ships take too much time to build. When asked by a reporter how the administration would ensure “sufficient workforce availability” during construction, Trump said: “We’re going to have tremendous workforce availability. We’re also going to have robots helping us.”
During the news conference, Trump also reiterated his intention to expand his military campaign against alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela, building on recent strikes that have drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers and legal experts.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.