Trump-class warship may be among costliest military vessels
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WASHINGTON – The first of the Navy’s proposed “Trump-class” battleships could cost up to US$22 billion (S$28.3 billion), a price tag that would make it one of the most expensive US military vessels in US history, according to an early analysis.
The initial cost estimate for the ship was released on Jan 15 by Congressional Budget Office naval forces analyst Eric Labs at a Navy surface warfare conference in Virginia. He acknowledged that the final price for the first vessel will depend on decisions that still have not been made around tonnage, crew size and weapons. His lowest-cost scenario was US$15.1 billion.
The guided-missile battleship would be twice as large as any cruiser or destroyer the US Navy has built since World War II, but about one-third the size of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which is now the most expensive US warship. The Ford was delivered in 2017 at a cost of about US$13 billion.
Dr Labs said weaknesses in the US shipbuilding industrial base, including skilled labour shortages and supply chain challenges, could make the eventual cost even higher. The average cost of follow-on ships could range from US$10 billion to US$15 billion, depending on the factors, he said.
US President Donald Trump announced plans for the new vessel at Mar-a-Lago in December 2025, saying the ship would be part of his “Golden Fleet” plan to revive US shipbuilding and overhaul the Navy.
While Mr Trump has criticised the US defence industry for delivering weapons late and over-budget, he said the Trump-class ships would be “more expensive but not even comparable in terms of the importance and the strength”.
For now the battleship remains only a concept. A poster displayed at the Mar-a-Lago estate event featured an artist’s rendering of a sleek-looking warship dubbed the USS Defiant, cutting through choppy waters with a laser beam shooting from its deck and smoke billowing from a target in the background.
A Navy fact sheet released at the time suggested the vessel would weigh about 35,000 tonnes and hold a crew of up to 850 people. The fact sheet – which was later taken down – suggested it could be equipped with nuclear-tipped and Tomahawk missiles, hypersonic weapons and lasers. BLOOMBERG
