Trump announces new class of nuclear-armed battleships

President Donald Trump has unveiled a sweeping naval construction plan centered on a new class of nuclear-armed battleships, a move that would revive a ship type absent from the U.S. Navy for more than three decades and reshape future surface warfare.

Speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Florida alongside Defense 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. He said the Navy ultimately aims to field between 20 and 25 of the ships.

“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.”

According to the president, the ships will inaugurate a new “Trump-class,” reviving the battleship designation for the first time since the retirement of the Iowa-class in the early 1990s. Trump said the program reflects a renewed focus on sea power and large surface combatants able to dominate future conflicts.

As reported by Naval News, the Trump-class is envisioned as a 30,000- to 40,000-ton warship, exceeding the size of the largest surface combatants currently in service, including Russia’s Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers. Renderings of the lead ship, the USS Defiant, show large SPY-6 radar arrays, laser systems engaging distant targets, and at least 100 vertical launch system cells on a historically large hull.

UK Defence Journal has reported that the design is intended to function as a command platform when required. The publication said the ship includes space for an embarked commander with a full command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence suite, allowing it to lead a Surface Action Group, operate independently, or integrate into a Carrier Strike Group.

Counter-unmanned capabilities are also prominent. The design imagery shows two Counter-UxS systems, reflecting recent operational experience in which drones and unmanned surface vessels have emerged as persistent threats to major warships.

The Trump-class is built around heavy offensive strike power. Diagrams cited in reporting show 12 Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missile launchers supported by vertical launch missile cells. While one section of the ship is labeled with 28 Mk 41 VLS cells, program documentation referenced in reporting indicates a much larger total missile capacity across the full hull. The ships are also expected to carry the SLCM-N nuclear-armed cruise missile, restoring a surface-based nuclear strike role not fielded by the U.S. Navy for decades.

Navy Secretary John Phelan said the new class fills a critical need. He said the battleship is something the Navy “desperately needs” and described the future USS Defiant as “the largest, deadliest and most versatile and best-looking warship anywhere on the world’s oceans.”

“I want to thank the president for his vision to make the future battleship a game-changing capability for the U.S. Navy,” Phelan said.

Phelan compared the Trump-class to the Iowa-class battleships, which formed a core part of the Navy’s fleet throughout much of the 20th century. “The Iowa was designed to go on the attack with the biggest guns, and that’s exactly what will define the Trump-class battleships: offensive firepower from the biggest guns of our era,” he said. “This ship isn’t just to swat the arrows; it is going to reach out and kill the archers.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tied the program to broader priorities of the Department of War. “American strength is back on the world stage, and the announcement of the golden fleet anchored by new battleships — the biggest and most lethal ever — accomplishes all three of those things and marks a generational commitment to American sea power across the entire department,” Hegseth said, referring to restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding the military, and reestablishing deterrence.

Trump said the new battleships will be built entirely in the United States by American workers. “The construction will create thousands of American jobs. We’re going to have the jobs be created,” he said. Alongside conventional guns and missiles, he said the ships will be equipped with hypersonic weapons, electronic rail guns, and high-powered laser-based weaponry.

He added that the Navy will lead the ship design while partnering with the U.S. defense industrial base. “We’re going to make battle groups great again, and this is just one piece of the president’s golden fleet that we’re going to build with the investments,” Phelan said.