Trump-class’: U.S. President announces new warship fleet named after himself

The U.S. President said the Trump-class ships will be “some of the most lethal surface warfare ships” and “the largest battleship in the history of our country”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (December 22, 2025) announced a new class of heavily armed warships that will be named after him — an honor usually reserved for leaders who have left office.

Two of the “Trump-class” ships will be built initially, but that number could grow substantially, according to the president, who said they will be “some of the most lethal surface warfare ships” and “the largest battleship in the history of our country.”

Mr. Trump

made the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida alongside Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Navy Secretary John Phelan, with pictures of the planned high-tech vessels on stands nearby.

Asked if the planned warships are a counter to Washington’s rival Beijing, Mr. Trump declined to specify, instead saying: “It’s a counter to everybody, it’s not China. We get along great with China.”

He said the ships would weigh between 30,000 and 40,000 tons and would be armed with missiles and guns as well as weaponry still in development, such as lasers and hypersonic missiles.

They will also be capable of carrying atomic weapons in the form of the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile, said Trump.

The Trump-class ships will be substantially larger than existing U.S. destroyers and cruisers, but the projected displacement cited by the president is somewhat smaller than the last American battleships—from the Iowa class—which were retired in the 1990s.

‘Most powerful fleet anywhere’

Mr. Trump — who has complained in the past about the appearance of the U.S. ships — said he would be involved in the design along with the Navy “because I’m a very aesthetic person.”

Mr. Trump’s announcement came just days after the Navy publicized plans for another new class of ships — frigates dubbed the FF(X) that it said will “complement the fleet’s larger, multi-mission warships.”

Mr. Phelan has said that the FF(X) will be based on an existing design from shipbuilder HII that is already in use by the United States Coast Guard, and that the aim is for the first of the new frigates to be in the water by 2028.

The new frigate plans were announced after Mr. Phelan said in late November that four of the six planned ships from the Constellation class of frigates would be cancelled, while two that are already under construction are “under review.”

Washington has fallen significantly behind Beijing when it comes to the number of ships in its Navy, and a report to Congress earlier this year noted that US military officials and other observers are concerned with the pace of China’s shipbuilding efforts.

“We’re going to restore America as a major shipbuilding power,” Mr. Trump said on Monday, adding: “We’re going to ensure that the USA has the most powerful fleet anywhere in the world, and long into the future, with battleships helping lead the way.

US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a new class of Navy battleships, labeled the “Trump class”. He said the vessels would replace an “old, tired and obsolete” American fleet and help maintain US military supremacy.
Making the announcement on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump said, “They will help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American shipbuilding industry, and inspire fear in America’s enemies all over the world.”

Where Things Stand

rump said on Monday that the Navy would build two new “Trump Class” warships, with the eventual goal of acquiring 25. The announcement was the latest example of the President rebranding an aspect of the federal government in his image. The Navy secretary, John Phelan, called the vessels “just one piece of the president’s golden fleet that we’re going to build.”

Venezuela: Mr.

Trump ratcheted up his threats against Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, as the United States aims to intercept tankers that serve the country’s oil industry. “If he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough,” Mr. Trump said. Asked if the goal of his military pressure on Venezuela was to force out Mr. Maduro, Mr. Trump said he thought it would be “smart” for Mr. Maduro to leave power.

Greenland: Mr.

Trump renewed his call for the United States to take over the semiautonomous Danish territory of Greenland, saying that it was necessary for national security. “We have to have it,” he said. Earlier on Monday, Denmark’s foreign minister criticized Mr. Trump’s decision to appoint a special envoy to Greenland.

The U.S. military said Monday night that it had struck a boat that, according to intelligence, was involved in transporting drugs along known trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific Ocean. U.S. Southern Command said a man was killed in the strike. It was the latest attack in a campaign against what the U.S. government says there are drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

President Donald Trump has announced that the US will commission a new series of heavily armed Navy “battleships” named after him, 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 that the first vessels will be operational in two-and-a-half years.

The announcement is part of a larger planned expansion of 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 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan on Monday, Trump said he has approved the construction of two new battleships to begin, 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 that 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 would also include dozens of support and transport vessels.

On 19 December, another new set of vessels, based on the US Coast Guard’s Legend-class National Security Cutter, were announced by the US Navy.

“Recent operations from the Red Sea to the Caribbean make the requirement undeniable – our small surface combatant inventory is a third of what we have,” said Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle in a video statement about the new ships.

“We need more capable blue water small fighters to close the gap and keep our [destroyers] focused on the high-end fight,” he added.

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