Donald Trump has announced a plan for the US Navy to build two new “Trump Class” battleships.
Aimed at cementing US naval dominance, the president said the vessels will be “the fastest, the biggest and 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built”.
Constructed in America, made of steel and complete with missiles, guns, lasers and hypersonic weapons, the vessels will be the “centrepiece” of the US Navy’s Golden Fleet initiative, he said.
Starting with two vessels, Mr Trump said the project would eventually expand to include 20 to 25 new ships.
The first will be christened the USS Defiant, with the US leader personally involved in how it looks.
“There’s never been anything like these ships. These have been under design consideration for a long time,” he said.
“Each one of these will be the largest battleship in the history of our country. The largest battleship in the history of the world.
“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.”
Mr Trump made the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. During the briefing, he stood next to mock-up pictures of the new vessels which had “Trump Class” written in the corner – what a senior administration official said the new class of vessel will be known as.
In addition to the new battleship class, the project aims to increase the number of other types of war vessels, including a smaller, more nimble frigate class.
It comes as the US continues to build a large naval military presence near the coast of Venezuela. Since early September, the US has struck more than 20 vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, which Mr Trump says is to crack down on drug cartels.
The UV Navy has also seized two oil tankers and is believed to be in “active pursuit” of a third, according to officials.
The term battleship has historically referred to a large, heavily armoured vessel armed with guns designed to bombard other ships or targets ashore.
This type of ship reached peak prominence during the Second World War. The largest of the US battleships was the Iowa-class.
The Trump administration has been complaining about the slow and expensive state of the current defence industry.
Just a month ago, the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and overrunning costs. It has also failed to build its other newly designed ships, like the new Ford-class aircraft carrier and Columbia-class submarines, on time and on budget.
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But Mr Trump said the naval expansion would also be paired with renewed pressure on defence contractors to speed up production and rein in costs.
He said he plans to meet with major firms next week to address problems.
