Donald Trump revealed on Monday details of the US Navy's new “Golden Fleet” acquisitions — two large ones shipsarmed with the latest technology.
The rest of the article below the video:
The construction of the “Trump-class” ships, which the president referred to as “battleships,” was announced on Monday afternoon at a press conference attended by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The first of these ships will be named USS Defiant. Posters with the warship were presented at a press conference held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan at the Mar-a-Lago Club, December 22, 2025, Palm Beach, Florida.
|
Alex Brandon/Associated Press/East News/East News
The warship would be one of the largest in the Navy: 880 feet long, with a displacement of 35,000 tons, and a crew of up to 850 people. For comparison, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is 505 feet long and displaces about 10,000 tons, Business Insider writes.
The “Trump-class” ship will be packed with modern equipment
The concept of battleships dates back to the early 20th century, when armies demonstrated naval power with warships. They largely fell out of favor with the development of missiles and planes, but Trump said they will now return with “100 times more strength and power.”
The announced capabilities of the new ship are very ambitious, as most of the planned weapons are still at the testing stage.
The equipment includes a 32-megajoule electromagnetic cannon on the ship's bow that fires high-velocity projectiles.
The ship is also to be armed with a 12-chamber Conventional Prompt Strike missile launcher. These are hypersonic missiles that use boost glide technology to attack targets many kilometers away at extreme speeds.
Another important armament of the new ship is the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear, or SLCM-N. It is a congressionally approved program, still in development, that is intended to provide the United States with a modern means of launching tactical nuclear weapons from the sea.
In his statement on Monday, Trump acknowledged that SLCM-N is still “in development.”
The new ship is also to be equipped with two types of lasers. The Navy said the first type would include two 600- or 300-kilowatt lasers that use intense heat to destroy targets and are likely still in the testing phase.
The second is ODIN, a low-power laser designed to disrupt or blind systems tracking incoming threats.
Donald Trump is racing against China
The president said that ultimately 20 to 25 “Trump-class” ships will be built, and construction will begin “immediately.”
He lamented that the United States lags behind the rest of the world in shipbuilding capacity, which China has been rapidly developing in recent years.
“We desperately need ships, and I have approved a plan for the Navy to begin building two large battleships,” Trump said. “We have built Iowa, Missouri and Alabama. They will be 100 times stronger and more powerful. Each of them will be the largest battleship built in the history of our country.”
Source: Business Insider, Reuters
