Trump announces 'Golden Fleet' battleship push

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.

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“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 Mara-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.”

He said the ships would carry advanced missile systems, hypersonic weapons, state-of-the-art targeting technology and lasers, and would also be capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles.

“These will be some of the most lethal surface warfare ships,” he said, adding that they would anchor a revival of US maritime power and shipbuilding.