Source: Grok
The U.S. Navy is actively planning and designing a new class of large, nuclear-powered guided-missile surface combatants, officially called Trump-class battleships. This is part of the "Golden Fleet" initiative announced by President Trump in December 2025.
The new battleship is still in the design and early procurement phase. It is not yet under construction. Advanced procurement funding has been requested for FY2027.
Keel-laying for the first ship (USS Defiant) is targeted for around 2028, with delivery expected around 2036. The plans call for initially 2–3 ships, scaling to 10–15 over the next 30 years. The Navy's 2026 shipbuilding plan includes purchases starting in the late 2020s.
The estimated cost for the lead ship is approximately $13–17+ billion, and potentially much more. Follow-ons are projected at $9–14.5 billion each. These are among the most expensive warships ever planned.
The displacement is planned at 30,000–40,000 tons, the largest U.S. surface combatant since WWII, but smaller than an old Iowa-class battleship of 55,000 tons.
The propulsion will be nuclear-power for high speed, endurance, and power for advanced weapons.
The armament will include large vertical launch system (VLS) cells for missiles, including hypersonics like Conventional Prompt Strike Missile and potentially nuclear cruise missiles; railguns; high-energy lasers; advanced guns; and counter-drone systems.
It's role will be to provide high-volume long-range fires, survivable forward command/control platform, and to be a multi-mission "high-end" combatant. It is not a direct replacement for destroyers.
Railguns are electromagnetic guns that use Lorentz force (strong magnetic fields from high electrical currents) to accelerate unguided or guided projectiles to hypersonic speeds (Mach 6–10+). The US gave up on railguns several years ago because the barrels were melting down after just a few shots.
After the Japanese just fielded an experimental ship armed with a railgun. however, the US has resumed research on its own railgun. "If the Japanese can do it, so can we!" Railguns require immense power, and the nuclear reactor aboard the new Trump-class battlement would be ideal.
