The US will resume building battleships: a new class of ships named in honor of Trump

President of the United States Donald Trump on Monday, December 22, announced a large-scale plan to build up the US Navy, the centerpiece of which will be the creation of a "Golden Fleet" of the latest Trump-class battleships.

The last battleship in the United States was built in 1944.

In a speech at night, Kyiv time, the US president said that the ships would be "some of the deadliest surface combatants" and added that they would "strike fear into the hearts of US enemies around the world."

According to Trump, the Trump-class battleships will be "the fastest, largest, and hundreds of times more powerful than any battleship ever built." They are expected to be equipped with hypersonic weapons, lasers, cruise missiles, nuclear weapons, and artificial intelligence.

The first ship will be named USS Defiant. So far, the plan is to build two such vessels, and in the future – up to 25.

The program is aimed at restoring American shipbuilding. In particular, Trump mentioned the reopening of the Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia in cooperation with the South Korean company Hanwha.

As reported by CNBChanwha shares jumped 10% after the announcement.

The company acquired a shipyard in Philadelphia in 2024 and promised to invest $5 billion in the facility. This investment commitment is part of a broader trade agreement between the US and South Korea. As part of the deal, duties on South Korean exports were reduced to 15% in exchange for, among other things, Seoul's promise to invest $350 billion.

Hanwha Ocean is one of the leading shipbuilding concerns in South Korea. The company specializes in the construction of commercial vessels, including LNG tankers, as well as naval platforms, such as submarines and surface ships.

• In November, it became known that US Navy asks Congress for $1.4 billion for the development of the F/A-XX fighter.