With nuclear propulsion, railguns and gigantic firepower, the “Trump class” is intended to dominate the world’s oceans. However, critics wonder whether the US is wasting billions by doing so.
In the 2012 feature film “Battleship,” a reactivated US battleship from World War II stops an alien invasion of Hawaii – thanks to its old-fashioned but large-caliber guns. Did Donald Trump have these movie scenes in mind when he announced his intention to build new cannon-based battleships for the US Navy?
We don’t know. But it is clear that the new, super-expensive type of ship must bear the president’s name. The Republican presented the first plans for the “Trump class” shortly after his election in December 2025. He has since fired his Navy Secretary John Phelan, who is said to have expressed increasing doubts about the construction project behind the scenes.