2:22President Donald Trump arrives to announce the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of frigates, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, December 22, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP
President Donald Trump unveiled a new class of warships aimed at enhancing what he refers to as the Navy’s “Golden Fleet,” claiming they will be “the fastest, the largest, and by a significant margin — 100 times — more powerful than any battleship ever constructed.”
“We’re naming it the Golden Fleet that we’re developing for the United States Navy. As you’re aware, we are in dire need of vessels. Many of our ships have aged, become outdated, and obsolete,” Trump stated.
“As the commander in chief, it’s my great privilege to declare that I have sanctioned a plan for the Navy to commence the construction of two entirely new, exceptionally large battleships, the largest we’ve ever built. You remember we used to construct the Iowa, the Missouri, the Wisconsin, the Alabama, and several others. We had substantial battleships. These will be even larger, but they will possess 100 times the — they’ll be 100 times as powerful,” Trump elaborated.
The president introduced two ships but mentioned that the administration aims to construct 20 to 25 of them.
President Donald Trump arrives to announce the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of frigates, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, December 22, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP
The battleship was a type of substantial war vessel that was decommissioned in the early 1990s.
No information has been released regarding the cost of the battleships. The Pentagon directed inquiries to the Navy, which stated that this has yet to be decided.
“Design studies are currently in progress to refine the Navy’s cost estimates,” a Navy spokesperson mentioned.
Retired Navy Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior director at the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies, expressed his belief that the first battleship could easily exceed $10 billion for design, construction, and deployment.
Trump remarked that while the Navy will spearhead the project, he will be actively involved as a consultant, stating that he is “a very aesthetic” individual.
He also emphasized the vessels’ enhanced lethality and technological features.
“They will also incorporate hypersonic weapons, numerous hypersonic weapons, cutting-edge electric rail guns, and even high-powered lasers that you’ve been beginning to hear about,” he stated. “We possess lasers that, when aimed at a target, completely obliterate it. We will have — they will be the most advanced lasers in the world, and the most sophisticated laser in existence will be on the battleships that we are developing,” Trump declared.
During the president’s announcement, he was surrounded by renderings showcasing the “Trump Class” of battleships, which appear to feature the weapon systems and lasers that he highlighted.
Montgomery criticized the initiative to focus on a large vessel as a misstep.
“These ‘Battleships’ are giants and not the vessels the Navy requires — the Navy needs a distributed fleet with weaponry on a significant number of minimally manned platforms to address the Chinese threats at sea. These battleships will not fulfill any of these tactical objectives,” he remarked in an email to ABC News.
Renderings of ‘Trump Class’ USS Defiant are displayed, on the day U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about the Navy’s “Golden Fleet,” at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, December 22, 2025. Jessica Koscielniak/Reuters
The new battleship is being promoted
Sourse: abcnews.go.com