Trump unveils ‘Golden Fleet’ of Navy battleships, touts them as ‘more powerful than any' ever built
Trump unveils ‘Golden Fleet’ of Navy battleships, touts them as ‘more powerful than any' ever built
Trump said the new 'Golden Fleet' of battleships would expand U.S. naval power and speed up defense production
My heart breaks for these soldiers: Navy SEAL
President Donald Trump announced a new fleet of ships Monday, known as the "Golden Fleet," as he revealed he approved plans for two new "very large battleships."
"As you know, we're desperately in need of ships. Our ships are some of them have gotten old and tired and obsolete," Trump said, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan.
Trump said the new ships would be "100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built," in an address from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
NAVY SECRETARY WARNS SHIPYARDS MUST ‘ACT LIKE WE’RE AT WAR’ AS CHINA’S AI-POWERED FLEET RACES AHEAD
Renderings behind the president showed the new "Trump class," including one named the USS Defiant.
"We haven't built a battleship since 1994. These cutting-edge vessels will be some of the most lethal surface warfare ships … other than our submarines."
Trump said the Navy would immediately start procuring two ships, working up to 10 and eventually 20 ships to 25 ships in total, and would aim to have the first two within two and a half years.
Trump described the ships as heavily armed platforms combining missiles and traditional naval guns, arguing that gun-based firepower could deliver combat effects at a fraction of the cost of missiles. Each ship would displace more than 30,000 tons to 40,000 tons and serve as a flagship of the U.S. fleet, he said.
Trump aims to have the first two of his new "Trump class" of Navy battleships operational within 2.5 years. (Jessica Koscielniak/Reuters)
The president said the battleships would be equipped with advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles, electric rail guns and high-powered laser systems, as well as nuclear-capable sea-launched cruise missiles currently under development. Trump also said the ships would feature state-of-the-art defensive systems and carry what he described as "tremendous numbers of missiles."
Trump denied that the ships were meant to counter China.
"It’s a counter to everybody. It’s not China, we get along great with China," Trump said. "I have a great relationship with President Xi and it’s not China. It's, just everybody you don't know who comes along, but, we just wanted peace through strength."
The announcement comes amid an ongoing debate within defense circles over the future of the U.S. fleet, with recent naval strategy emphasizing submarines, unmanned systems and more distributed surface forces.
Some defense planners have argued that large surface ships can be more visible and vulnerable targets in modern, missile-heavy conflicts, while others argue larger platforms can provide greater firepower, endurance and command-and-control capabilities.
He pointed to World War II-era shipbuilding as a model, noting that the U.S. once produced multiple ships per day, compared with what he described as today’s slower production pace.
Image displayed behind Trump showed an example of his new "Trump class" battleships.
Trump also tied the battleship announcement to a broader push to accelerate U.S. defense production. He said he plans to meet next week with major defense contractors to demand faster delivery timelines, increased capital investment in new factories, and limits on stock buybacks and executive compensation.
"We make the best equipment in the world, but they don’t make it fast enough," Trump said, arguing that companies should reinvest profits into production capacity rather than dividends and buybacks.
"I mean, I have sold more planes than any president by far times, probably 20. So every time I go someplace, I sell 100 planes," he said. "And I'm always having to say five years, six years, seven years helicopters, Apache helicopters, many years."
The announcement comes at a time when the Trump administration has elevated shipbuilding to a White House–level priority, establishing a dedicated office to oversee maritime industrial policy and signaling a broader push to expand U.S. naval capacity.
Defense leaders for years have warned that the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base has struggled to keep pace with demand, citing workforce shortages, fragile supplier networks, aging infrastructure, and persistent delays at major shipyards.
Navy leaders have long pointed to shifting requirements and design changes after construction has begun as another factor driving delays and cost growth in major shipbuilding programs.
Navy leaders have long pointed to shifting requirements and design changes after construction has begun as another factor driving delays and cost growth in major shipbuilding programs. (James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
In April, Trump signed an executive order declaring the erosion of America’s shipbuilding and maritime workforce a national security risk, directing a government-wide overhaul aimed at expanding domestic shipbuilding, stabilizing long-term funding, strengthening the workforce and countering China’s dominance in global ship production.
Inside the Navy, Phelan has echoed that urgency, warning that the service must "act like we’re at war," with shipbuilding and weapons production speeds. He has moved to overhaul the Navy’s acquisition culture, launching a new Rapid Capabilities Office designed to cut development timelines, enforce accountability and push new technology into the fleet faster than traditional Pentagon procurement allows.
TRUMP WANTS TO REVIVE THE LAGGING US SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY. HERE ARE THE HURDLES HE FACES
Navy Sec. John Phelan has warned that the service must "act like we’re at war," with shipbuilding and weapons production speeds. (Israel Defense Forces)
U.S. officials warn the shipbuilding crunch is colliding with an enormous capacity gap with China: the Office of Naval Intelligence has assessed that China has roughly 230 times the shipbuilding capacity of the United States, a disparity that has helped Beijing expand its fleet far faster than American yards can produce new hulls.
While U.S. officials say the Navy retains a technological edge in areas such as undersea warfare and carrier operations, they warn that China’s growing fleet size and industrial capacity are narrowing that advantage.
The U.S. Navy currently operates about 294 warships, while China now fields the world’s largest navy by hull count, with more than 370 ships in service.
At the same time, several of the Navy’s marquee programs have struggled with delays and cost growth, including the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine, the Virginia-class attack submarine and the Constellation-class frigate, which has faced schedule pressure amid design and requirements changes.
"Listen to me, boy: cure my twins and I'll adopt you." The billionaire laughed... and the street child only touched them; then a miracle happened..
"Listen to me, boy: cure my twins and I'll adopt you." The billionaire laughed... and the street child only touched them; then a miracle happened...

Richard Vale had everything the world admired: iron gates, private jets, a business empire built on numbers that never slept. His name opened doors. His firm ended wars in boardrooms.
But inside his mansion, silence reigned.
Since the accident, her twins—Evan and Elise—moved through life like fragile glass. Metal splints hugged their legs. Crutches scraped the marble floor. The doctors spoke in careful tones, avoiding words like “never” when they meant exactly that.
No laughing in the courtyard.
No running in the hallways.
Just medical appointments, tests, and a father drowning in guilt he couldn't buy to get out of it.
His wife, Margaret, had grown distant: not cruel, just empty. When she looked at the children, her eyes filled with a sorrow too heavy to speak aloud. When she looked at Richard, there was a question neither of them dared to ask.
Why weren't you there that day?
Then destiny arrived —not in a tailored suit, not in a luxury car.
But barefoot. Thin. Seven years old.
His name was Kai.
A child who slept under park benches and spoke to the sky as if the sky were answering him.
The gala night glittered like a lie. The chandeliers burned brightly. The champagne flowed. The donors smiled with rehearsed pity as the twins were wheeled into the ballroom: symbols of tragedy wrapped in wealth.
Richard smiled all night. He nodded. He thanked everyone.
Until something inside him broke.
He saw Kai near the back —silent, invisible— looking at the twins with an expression that was not one of pity.
And Richard, drunk with pain and arrogance, said the words that would either destroy him… or redeem him.
"Look, kid," she laughed loudly, her voice echoing through the room. "Heal my children and I'll adopt you. How about that? Now that would be a miracle, wouldn't it?"
Some guests giggled. Others froze.
Kai didn't laugh.
He advanced calmly, as if the marble floor belonged to him.
"Can I try?" he asked gently.
The room fell silent.
Richard made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
—Go ahead. Do me a favor.
Kai knelt before the twins. He didn't ask their names. He didn't touch the splints. He didn't say a word anyone would recognize.
She simply closed her eyes… and gently placed her hands on their knees.
The air changed.
Not dramatically. Just… strange. Like the moment before a storm.
So-
Evan's crutch slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a thud.
"I-I... I feel hot," Evan whispered, his eyes wide. "Dad... it doesn't hurt."
Elise stood up.
One step.
Then another.
A collective gasp tore through the room.
Margaret screamed.
Richard couldn't breathe.
The twins stood there—trembling, crying, standing—while the guests recoiled as if witnessing something forbidden.
And Kai?
Kai staggered.
He collapsed.
The doctors rushed toward him, shouting orders. Security panicked. Richard fell to his knees beside the child.
"What did you do?" she demanded, her voice breaking.
Kai smiled weakly.
—I shared.

That night, the tests showed the impossible: nerve activity restored, damage reversed beyond any medical explanation. The twins slept peacefully for the first time in years.
Kai lay unconscious in a private room at the hospital.
And Vivien Vale —Richard's sister— made her move.
He called lawyers. Doctors. Board members.
"It's a fraud," he insisted. "Or it's dangerous. We can't let it stay."
When Kai finally woke up, Vivien was alone by his bed.
"You don't belong here," he said coldly. "Tell me your price. I'll make you disappear."
Kai looked at her calmly.
—I already have a home.
—You live on the street.
—I used to live where I was needed —he replied—. Now I'm here.
Vivien smiled barely, her smile thin and sharp.
—Do you think my brother will choose you over the family name?
That night, Richard gathered everyone together.
To the council. To the press. To the doctors.
And to Kai.
Richard stood in front of them, his hands trembling—not from fear, but from clarity.
"I made a promise," he said. "In public. Cruelly. And a child kept it."
Vivien stepped forward.
—Richard, think about—
"No," he said firmly. "That's what I'm doing."
He turned to Kai and knelt down.
"I don't know what you are," Richard said, his voice rough. "But you saved my children. And I failed mine."
He extended his hand.
—If you accept us… we would like to be your family.
Kai looked at the twins —who were now running, still unsure, but laughing.
Then he nodded.
Years later, people were still arguing about Kai.
Angel.
Medical anomaly.
Inexplicable coincidence.
But Richard Vale didn't care anymore.
Because every night, as I passed by the twins' room, I heard laughter echoing in hallways that once felt like a tomb.
And sometimes… just sometimes… Kai still spoke to the sky.
Only now, the sky seemed to answer him.