New class of warship to be named after Trump

The vessels will be the latest in what the White House envisions as a ‘Golden Fleet’

- Lara Seligman & Marcus Weisgerber

The first ship in the Trump-class of battleships will be the USS Defiant. AFP

(AFP)

President Trump said the Navy would build a new “Trump-class” battleship, which will be the centerpiece of his vision for a new “ Golden Fleet .”

He also announced a new-class of aircraft carrier, but didn’t offer further details.

The first ship in the Trump-class of battleships will be the USS Defiant. Construction would begin “almost immediately” and would take 2 years, Trump said.

The news follows the Navy’s announcement last week that it will commission a new class of frigates . Trump has for years advocated for revamping the U.S. fleet of warships, which he has said are “terrible-looking” and covered in rust.

In his first term, he called for a return to steam-powered catapults to launch jets from aircraft carriers—in a move that wasn’t successful—and complained about the aesthetics of the Navy's destroyers. He has been personally involved in crafting plans for the Golden Fleet, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

“We're desperately in need of ships,” Trump said. “Some of them have gotten old and tired and obsolete and we're going to go the exact opposite direction.”

Trump said the new battleships will be “100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built” and would be faster than existing ships. The Navy could buy 20 to 25 of the new ships, he said.

The new battleship will be an upgrade to the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which are the workhorse of the current fleet and which Trump has compared unfavorably to rival navies, according to a U.S. official and another person familiar with the discussions. The “battleship” name harks back to the ships with large main guns used until the end of the Cold War, but the new vessels will feature a next-generation design.