Washington: US President Donald Trump unveiled plans to begin construction of a new class of massive battleships as part of a broader effort to rebuild US shipbuilding capacity, strengthen deterrence, and restore what he described as American military supremacy.
“Today, I get the great honor to announce that I have approved a plan for the Navy to begin the construction of two — the largest we’ve ever built — battleships,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference on Monday. With Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Navy Secretary John Phelan by his side, Trump said he had approved a plan for the Navy to begin construction of two new battleships immediately, calling them the foundation of a new “Golden Fleet.”
“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far — 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” Trump said the new ships would be the largest battleships ever constructed, exceeding even the historic Iowa-class vessels, and would be “the most heavily armed vessels built specifically for naval combat.”