PresidentĀ Donald Trumpās name is being attached to a new class of U.S. battleships that will haveĀ nuclear capabilities.
Making the announcement at an event at Trumpās Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Navy Secretary John Phelan referred to the warships as āTrump-class battleships” and said a forthcoming vessel dubbed the USS Defiant will be āthe largest, deadliest and most versatile and best-looking warship anywhere on the worldās oceans.ā
Trumpās eponymous battleships will be armed with guns and missiles, as well as hypersonic weapons, electronic rail guns and high-powered lasers.
āWe envision that these ships will be the first of a whole new class of battleships to be produced in the years to come,ā Trump said, noting an eventual goal of 20 to 25 new battleships.
Phelan said the battleships will also carry the ānuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile.”
The last time the U.S. used battleships in combat was in 1991, during the first Gulf War against Iraq.
“These have been under design consideration for a long time, and it started with me in my first term, because I said, ‘Why arenāt we doing battleships like we used to?'” Trump said Monday.
The Navy is tasked with leading the design of the new battleships, which are expected to be ready early next decade,Ā according to the Defense Department. Trump said he will also play a role, “because Iām a very aesthetic person.”
Signifiers of Trump, from his likeness to his name and his birthday, have become more commonplace during his second term.
Last week, a board handpicked by TrumpĀ voted to rename the John F. Kennedy CenterĀ for the Performing Arts in Washington the Trump-Kennedy Center. Trumpās name was alsoĀ added to the U.S. Institute of Peace headquartersĀ in Washington this month, and the Interior Department the Interior DepartmentĀ in a videoĀ last month displayed a national park pass for 2026 that will bear Trumpās image. The legality of some of those moves, however,Ā faces legal challenges.
Trump said the new battleships are not meant as a deterrent to any one country.
“Itās a counter to everybody. Itās not China. We get along great with China,” he said. “Itās just everybody. You donāt know who comes along, but we just wanted peace through strength. Hopefully we never have to use them, but there will never be anything built like these.”
