Overview
- The White House unveiled plans for a new surface combatant class branded as the Trump class, with two ships to start and an eventual goal of roughly 20 to 25 vessels, and renderings label the first hull USS Defiant.
- Navy Secretary John Phelan publicly backed the effort onstage, calling the future USS Defiant a flagship for the service and part of a broader fleet overhaul alongside a newly directed frigate program.
- An official told the Associated Press that design work is underway but construction is not expected to begin until the early 2030s, undercutting the administration’s characterization of an immediate start.
- Trump said the ships would field hypersonic weapons, high‑energy lasers, electromagnetic railguns, AI and nuclear‑capable sea‑launched cruise missiles, though several systems remain experimental or raise treaty issues and the Navy ended its railgun effort in 2021.
- Reporting first attributed to the Wall Street Journal points to 30,000–40,000 tons and roughly $5 billion per ship, with industrial capacity likely centered on HII and General Dynamics and the rollout framed alongside heightened U.S. naval operations near Venezuela.