Trump Launches Ambitious 'Golden Fleet' of Battleships Named After Himself

Tue Dec 23 2025 11:27:46 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

President Trump announces a groundbreaking initiative to commission a new class of Navy battleships, dubbed the 'Trump Class', as part of a naval expansion aimed at boosting U.S. maritime presence.

During an event at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump revealed plans for a new fleet of battleships named after himself, starting with the USS Defiant. This initiative is seen as a response to China’s naval advancements and aims to enhance U.S. shipbuilding capabilities, potentially creating thousands of jobs in the process.

President Donald Trump has announced that the US will commission a new series of heavily armed Navy battleships named after himself, as part of a revamped Golden Fleet.

Construction on the Trump-class USS Defiant ship, which will be equipped to carry an array of weapons, is expected to begin soon, with Trump stating that the first vessels will be operational in two-and-a-half years.

The announcement is part of a larger planned expansion of the US Navy by President Trump in both manned and unmanned vessels, including larger missile-armed warships and smaller vessels.

Officials have warned that the US currently lags behind China in both shipbuilding capacity and total output.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida alongside defense secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan on Monday, Trump said he had approved the construction of two new battleships to start, with a plan to build up to 25.

They'll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built, Trump proclaimed.

Once completed, Trump emphasized that the armed vessels would be equipped to carry hypersonic and 'extremely lethal' weapons, positioning them as the flagships of the US Navy.

Flanked by posters of renderings of the Trump Class ships, Trump also assured that their construction would take place domestically, thereby creating thousands of jobs.

In a recent interview, Secretary of the Navy Phelan mentioned that Trump had expressly requested a big, beautiful battleship-type vessel as part of the fleet, which will also comprise dozens of support and transport vessels.

On December 19, the US Navy announced another new set of vessels based on the Legend-class National Security Cutter.

Recent operations from the Red Sea to the Caribbean make the requirement undeniable- our small surface combatant inventory is a third of what we have, Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle stated regarding the new ships.

Despite previous setbacks in naval projects, including the cancellation of a Constellation-class frigate, Trump remains optimistic about revitalizing US shipbuilding amidst rising military tensions, particularly in the Caribbean due to the situation in Venezuela.