Trump Announces Plans for 'Golden Fleet' of Battleships Named After Himself

Tue Dec 23 2025 11:04:13 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a bold move, President Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to commission a series of Navy battleships named after him, as part of a new 'Golden Fleet.'

At Mar-a-Lago, President Trump announced the construction of the Trump-class USS Defiant, highlighting the need for a stronger naval presence in light of competition with China. The first two ships will kickstart an ambitious expansion of the US Navy, directly addressing concerns over the nation’s shipbuilding capacity.

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 saying 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 defence secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan on Monday, Trump said he 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 said.

Once completed, Trump said the armed vessels would be equipped to carry hypersonic and extremely lethal weapons, and would be the flagships of the US Navy. Trump, who spoke while flanked on both sides with posters of renderings of the Trump class ships, said the vessels would be built domestically, and their construction would create thousands of jobs.

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Phelan said that Trump had specifically asked for a big, beautiful battleship-type vessel as part of the fleet, which will also include dozens of support and transport vessels.

The president's announcement also comes as US naval and air assets have surged to the Caribbean amid rising tensions with Venezuela, where strikes against drug trafficking vessels have resulted in significant fatalities.