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Topic: Naval Warfare Blog Brand: The Buzz Region: Americas Tags: Battleships, Defense Industry, Donald Trump, Huntington Ingalls, North America, Shipbuilding, United States, and US Navy Could the “Trump-Class” Battleship Take Shape by Spring? January 15, 2026 By: Peter Suciu
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Huntington Ingalls Industries will finalize its design schedule for the Trump-class battleship within 60 days—but it will need to survive many other challenges before leaving the drawing board.
The United States Navy is going full-speed ahead with the proposed Trump-class battleship that will be the centerpiece of a proposed “Golden Fleet,” with Chris Kastner, CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), telling reporters this month that the initial design schedule could be finalized within the next 30 to 60 days.
This doesn’t mean the ship will leave the drawing board any time soon; it simply means a timeline will be established for the design work to begin. That serves as a reminder that, despite President Donald Trump’s bold claims, work on the proposed battleship could take years.
“The [Golden Fleet] aircraft carrier is potentially some redesign of the current Ford class,” Kastner said during a roundtable discussion with the media in advance of the Surface Navy Association National Symposium 2026.
“The Navy and us are always doing trades relative to incrementally improving the design,” Kastner said. “I don’t want to necessarily comment on potential changes that are being evaluated. I don’t think there’s significant changes to the capability of the ship. There may be some capability added in excess of what they have now, not in excess, but added capability, not taking capability off. But I think it’s inappropriate for me to comment on what those are right now.”
Several issues may remain, however.
What Will the Trump-Class Battleship Actually Look Like?
The first issue will be determining the size, capabilities, and, notably, the armament. It is unclear whether the specs will be anywhere close to those described by the US Navy for the still-notional warships when announced last month.
“Engineered to outmatch any foreign adversary, the new battleship class will be the centerpiece of naval power. At triple the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, its massive frame provides superior firepower, larger missile magazines, and the capability to launch Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missiles and the Surface Launch Cruise Missile-Nuclear,” a statement from the US Navy explained.
HII, General Dynamics (GD), and Bath Iron Works have been tapped to work on the ship’s design. Still, it should be remembered that the US Navy’s Iowa-class, the final class of battleships laid down and built during World War II, underwent years of development—and closely followed the existing North Carolina-class and South Dakota-class battleships. The United States had a basic design in place to build upon, and industry was already producing large capital ships. No battleship has even been launched in the United States since the end of World War II, meaning that shipbuilders will essentially be starting from scratch with the Trump class.
Design work could extend into the early 2030s. Construction on the lead vessel, USS Defiant (BBG-1), wouldn’t begin until then, with commissioning of the 21st battleship occurring only by the late 2030s or later.
Given the time required to design and build the battleship, there is already concern that it could be obsolete by the time it arrives, especially as drones have proven to be a game-changer on the modern battlefield. Likewise, China has developed so-called “carrier killer” missiles, and its anti-ship capabilities are only likely to increase.
Congress Could—and Probably Should—Sink the Battleship
The greatest foe to the future battleship might not be Russia’s highly-touted nuclear-powered/nuclear-armed Poseidon torpedo, China’s DF-21D or DF-26 carrier killer missiles, or another adversary’s drones. A far more realistic threat is that lawmakers could come to their collective senses and scuttle the BBG(X) program before any money is invested in a 21st-century battleship.
A recently released Congressional Research Service report intended to educate lawmakers on the program even suggested that the question is “whether to approve, reject, or modify the Trump administration’s proposal for building BBG(X)s.”
Although current plans call for building only two battleships initially, the goal is to build a dozen more. The issue is where the ships could be constructed. During World War II, battleships were constructed at several of the nation’s shipyards, including the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York; the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Pennsylvania; Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia; Bethlehem Steel in Quincy, Massachusetts; and Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Most of those shipyards have since closed.
Today, all of the Navy’s aircraft carriers are built at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding. It is hard to imagine that another facility would be able to handle the work—and tasking Newport News with building the new class would interfere with ongoing carrier construction.
So, within 30 to 60 days, it won’t be the BBG(X) that comes into focus. The pre-planning phase could determine that this is simply an ill-conceived plan from the outset.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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Источник: nationalinterest.org