Trump Announces New Class of Battleship

In U.S. Navy planning, a “large surface combatant” is the Navy’s term for its big, multi‑mission surface warships—historically cruisers and destroyers, and now DDG(X)/Trump‑class successors. They are primarily missile ships built to provide air and missile defense, long‑range strike, and command-and-control for a carrier or surface group.

A traditional “battleship,” as used in World War I/II (e.g., the Iowa class), meant something more specific:

• Extremely heavy armor designed to withstand large shells
• Very large-caliber main guns (typically 14–16 inch) as the primary weapon
• Designed to fight other capital ships at relatively short range in gun duels

The Trump‑class/BBG(X) ships announced are called “battleships” in political/branding terms, but available descriptions show they are really large, missile‑centric surface combatants: they rely on vertical-launch missiles, hypersonic weapons, railguns and lasers, with only 5‑inch guns and no indication of classic battleship-style armor. Analysts therefore treat them as a new kind of very large guided‑missile surface combatant rather than a return to WWII-type battleships.

A 30,000–40,000‑ton Trump‑class ship would be dramatically larger than today’s destroyers and cruisers, roughly comparable to a small aircraft‑carrier–sized amphibious ship, but still much smaller than a true fleet carrier or WWII Iowa‑class battleship.

Approximate full‑load displacements and lengths:

• Arleigh Burke destroyer (current workhorse): ~9,000–10,000 tons; ~505–510 ft long
• Ticonderoga cruiser: ~9,800–10,800 tons; ~567 ft long
• Zumwalt destroyer: ~15,000–17,500 tons; ~610 ft long
• America‑class amphibious assault ship (LHA): ~45,000–50,000 tons; ~844 ft long
• Iowa‑class battleship (WWII): ~57,500 tons; ~887 ft long
• Gerald R. Ford–class carrier: ~100,000+ tons; ~1,092–1,106 ft long

So a 30,000–40,000‑ton Trump‑class would be about three to four times the size of an Arleigh Burke or Ticonderoga, roughly twice a Zumwalt, somewhat smaller than an America‑class LHA, and well under half the displacement of a Ford‑class carrier or an Iowa‑class battleship.

Public Navy and contracting notices indicate that design work will be led by the Navy with major U.S. shipbuilders and a naval design firm:

• General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, and HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, are to receive sole-source contracts from Naval Sea Systems Command to support design and engineering of the BBG(X) guided‑missile battleship program.
• Leidos Gibbs & Cox, a long‑time naval architecture firm, is to receive a sole‑source contract to act as the Navy’s surface combatant design engineering support for BBG(X).

These firms are currently being contracted for design and early engineering; no yard has yet been publicly awarded the actual construction contract for the first ship.

As of late December 2025, there is no public evidence that Congress has specifically authorized full procurement or provided line‑item funding to build Trump‑class/BBG(X) ships. What exists so far is:

• A presidential and Navy announcement of intent to develop and eventually buy the class.
• Navy planning statements that detailed cost estimates and funding profiles will be included in the President’s FY 2027 budget request (PB‑27).
• Naval Sea Systems Command contracting notices for six years of design and engineering work with BIW, HII Ingalls, and Leidos Gibbs & Cox, which the Navy can fund under existing research, development, and design accounts.

Until the FY 2027 budget is submitted and the corresponding National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and appropriations are passed, Congress has not locked in a formal timeline or major construction funding for the class.

The announced missions and capabilities are aimed at giving the U.S. Navy a very heavily armed, multi‑mission surface ship optimized for high‑end warfare against major powers, not coastal patrol. From official statements and Navy design data, Trump‑class/BBG(X) ships are intended to:

• Provide very long‑range strike and deterrence

• Large battery of vertical‑launch missiles (128 Mk 41 cells plus 12 larger cells) for land‑attack, anti‑ship and air‑defense missiles.
• Carriage of nuclear‑armed sea‑launched cruise missiles (SLCM‑N) to add a new surface‑ship nuclear deterrent.
• 12‑cell battery of Intermediate‑Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) hypersonic missiles.

• Act as a major air and missile defense node

• AN/SPY‑6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and Aegis‑type combat system to defend carrier or surface groups against aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

• Deliver high-volume conventional firepower at sea and ashore

• A 32‑megajoule electromagnetic railgun and two 5‑inch guns for naval gunfire support and surface engagements.
• 128 VLS cells to compensate in part for the planned retirement of Ticonderoga cruisers and Ohio‑class guided‑missile submarines, both of which carry many missiles.

• Counter modern precision threats, including drones and cruise missiles

• Two 300–600 kW class laser directed‑energy weapons plus four lower‑power ODIN dazzler systems for defeating or blinding drones and incoming missiles.
• Rolling Airframe Missiles, 30mm autocannons, and electronic warfare suite (AN/SLQ‑32(V)7) for close‑in and soft‑kill defense.

• Operate as a large aviation-capable surface combatant

• Aft flight deck and hangar sized for V‑22 Osprey tilt‑rotors or future Navy Future Vertical Lift aircraft, plus MH‑60 Seahawk helicopters, supporting anti‑submarine, anti‑ship and logistics missions.

All of this is framed by Pentagon and Navy leaders as preparation for “modern maritime conflict” against well‑armed rivals with long‑range missiles and drones (e.g., China), where stand‑off firepower, missile defense, and survivability against swarms of precision weapons are central.

Yes, propulsion and some major systems are already described in broad terms, but many details remain to be refined.

Propulsion type

• Navy data cited in reporting on BBG(X) says the ships will use gas turbines and diesel generators feeding an Integrated Power System (IPS)—a large electric power grid that drives electric motors and high‑power weapons, derived from DDG(X)/Zumwalt technology. This is a conventional, not nuclear, propulsion arrangement.

Major systems already specified at a high level

• Sensors: AN/SPY‑6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar; AN/SLQ‑32(V)7 electronic warfare suite.
• Weapons: 128 Mk 41 VLS cells plus 12 large cells for IRCPS hypersonic missiles; nuclear-armed SLCM‑N; a 32‑megajoule railgun; two 5‑inch guns; Rolling Airframe Missiles; 30mm guns; 300–600 kW lasers plus ODIN dazzlers.

However, exact propulsion plant sizing, final weapons fit, electronic suites, and hull form are still in the design and trade‑study phase and could change before the first ship is built in the 2030s.