US President announces plan for ‘Trump class’ battleships

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump announced on Monday (local time) the new ‘Trump class’ of Navy battleships into the ‘Golden Fleet’ of the US Navy.

Announcing the ‘largest ever battleships’ in the world, Donald Trump said that the US will build a total of 20 to 25 of these ships, which will be 100 times the force as compared to the US’ existing battleships.

The US President said, “We are going into a Golden Fleet; we are building for the United States Navy. We desperately needed ships as some of them have become old, tired, and obsolete. As Commander in Chief, I have approved a plan for the Navy to begin the construction of the brand new, largest we have ever built battle ships. They will be 100 times the force, the power. These have been under design consideration for a long time, and started with me in my first term. These are the best in the world, the fastest, the biggest”.

The future Trump Class Battleship USS DEFIANT will be the largest, deadliest, most versatile, and best-looking warship anywhere on the world’s oceans. I want to thank @POTUS for his vision to make this game-changing capability a reality for America’s Navy. pic.twitter.com/968vY5by2g

— Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan (@SECNAV) December 22, 2025

He said that the battleships weighing between 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes will be the ‘most lethal’ warships and will carry nuclear arms and guns along with missiles.

“We haven’t built a battleship since 1994. We used to build ships during World War II, but now we don’t build ships anymore. These cutting-edge vessels will be some of the most lethal surface warfare ships. Each one will be the largest battleship in the history of the world. We are talking about ten, but we are going to start with two, and ultimately we think it will be between 20 to 25 of these. These battleships have many missiles but also guns, and in many ways, guns can do the trick at a tiny fraction of the cost”, Trump said.

He added, “Once completed, these new 30-40,000-tonne plus vessels will be the flagships of the American Naval Fleet. We have great navy yards, and we are negotiating with some companies which run those yards. The most sophisticated lasers on Earth will be on the battleships. They will also carry the nuclear arms and cruise missiles under development… They’ll be AI-controlled… The US Navy will lead the design of the ships along with me”.

The announcement comes after the United States seized two tankers off the coast of Venezuela this month, and on Sunday (local time), they began pursuing what it described as a “dark fleet” vessel in international waters near Venezuela after the ship refused to stop and continued sailing, CNN reported. The vessel, identified as Bella 1, was sailing toward Venezuela to load oil when US Coast Guard personnel attempted to board it. (ANI)