Trump announces new class of warship named after himself

US President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy will build a new "Trump-class" battleship, as part of a White House push to modernise a fleet that has been hobbled by years of cost overruns and delays.

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A poster displayed at the event at Mr Trump’s gilded Mara-Lago estate featured an artist’s rendering of a sleek-looking warship dubbed the USS Defiant, cutting through choppy waters with a laser beam shooting from its deck and smoke billowing from a target in the background.

Next to the ship was a picture of the US leader raising his fist in the air in a near-copy of the defiant pose he struck minutes after surviving an assassination attempt in 2024.

Another poster shows a rendering of the vessel sailing by the Statue of Liberty.

"Some of them have gotten old and tired and obsolete, and we are going to go the exact opposite direction," Mr Trump said. "The US Navy will lead the design of these ships alongside me because I am a very aesthetic person."

The navy is also pursuing a new frigate based off the Legend-class cutter as it looks to shore up a surface combatant fleet that is one-third the size the service needs, it announced on Dec 19.