President Donald Trump is pressing ahead with a marquee naval initiative he’s calling the “Golden Fleet,” centered on a new generation of large surface warships—described by his team as a “battleship”—along with a sizable package of support vessels.
“We’re calling it the Golden Fleet that we’re building for the United States Navy. As you know, we’re desperately in need of ships. Our ships are some of them have gotten old and tired and obsolete,” Trump said.
Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, now a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the proposal could include up to 50 support ships and a new, massive “surface combatant class” of vessel. The Wall Street Journal reported—citing a source—that the first ship would be named USS Defiant, and that the new class of ships could be labeled the “Trump-class.”
What “battleship” means in this context
Traditionally, the term “battleship” refers to a large, heavily armored warship armed with oversized guns designed to bombard land targets or engage other ships. Battleships peaked in prominence during World War II. The Iowa-class battleships—modernized in the 1980s—were the largest in U.S. service and displaced about 60,000 tons.
Today’s U.S. surface fleet relies heavily on destroyers, including 74 Arleigh Burke-class ships currently in service. First built in the 1980s, these multi-mission warships perform roles ranging from air defense and aircraft carrier escort to launching Tomahawk cruise missiles.
A familiar Trump focus on ship design and naval systems
Trump has previously pushed for major changes to Navy hardware choices. During his first term, he advocated—unsuccessfully—for replacing electromagnetic aircraft-launch systems on the newest aircraft carriers with steam-powered catapults.
He also highlighted his personal involvement in aesthetics and design decisions. During a 2020 visit to a shipyard working on the now-canceled Constellation-class frigate program, Trump said he had weighed in directly on the ship’s appearance.
Trump stated at the time, “I looked at it and said, ‘That’s a terrible-looking ship, let’s make it beautiful.”
Announcement comes amid shifting shipbuilding plans
The new initiative is being announced roughly a month after the Navy abandoned plans to build a smaller new battleship-style vessel amid schedule delays and cost overruns, choosing instead to pursue a modified Coast Guard cutter design that had been in production until recently.
The White House has described the upcoming event as a “major announcement,” with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join Trump.
Trump framed the plan as both a strategic and industrial push, saying the ships would “help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American shipbuilding industry, and inspire fear in America’s enemies all over the world.”
