Navy plans to buy 15 costly Trump-class battleships by 2055

The Navy had previously said it would purchase three of the so-called Trump-class battleships, with the first arriving in 2036. But the Navy now projects buying more than a dozen of the vessels through 2055, the service said in a congressionally mandated, long-range plan released on Monday.

The new Trump battleships — unveiled and personally approved by the president — could cost at least $14.5 billion apiece given a five-year Navy budget plan requests $43.5 billion for the first three vessels. That would make them even costlier than the $13 billion USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the most expensive US warship. The lead vessel of a new class of warships has historically cost much more than planned.

While Trump previously said the Navy aims to build as many as 25 battleships, the Navy plan represents an authoritative assessment that has gone through the service’s formal requirements process.

Still, the ship-buying is no sure thing. The Navy’s 30-year plans are generally seen as aspirational documents, with this plan containing no clear figures for the cost of a 15-ship fleet. And Trump’s planned 44% boost for the Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion 2027 budget is likely to meet significant pushback in Congress. 

“All items beyond” the Navy’s current five-year plan to 2031 “are under review by the Administration,” according to a footnote in the document.

The Trump-class battleship program is so attached to the current president — and so costly — that it’s also likely to be one of the top defense programs targeted for cancellation if Republicans lose the House of Representatives in November midterm elections. The long-term program is even more at risk if a Democrat is elected president in 2028.

Trump fired the previous Navy secretary, John Phelan, after the appointee clashed with top leaders at the Pentagon — including over administration efforts to revive US shipbuilding, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.

“The United States is at a strategic inflection point, and rebuilding American maritime dominance requires urgency, accountability, and sustained commitment,” Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, who replaced Phelan, said in a statement on Monday as the plan was released.

The first Trump battleship due in 2036 is currently expected to be delivered roughly eight years after it’s contracted. The second and third deliveries are envisioned in 2038 and 2039, with the fourth and fifth ships expected in 2041 and 2043. 

Overall, the Navy projects it will have 299 battle ships in its fleet by 2031, well short of the service’s own requirement of 355 ships, according to the newly released plan. That’s up from 291 ships today.

“This is a persistent problem and one that is not just industrial,” according to the Navy plan. “It is structural and the result of how we buy, how we plan, and how we manage risk in Navy acquisition.”