President Trump and Pete Hegseth rolled out a bold naval plan called the Golden Fleet, unveiling a new Trump-class line of ships meant to sharpen U.S. maritime power and push back on China’s growing presence in the Pacific. The announcement names the first ship USS Defiant and sets a goal for a modest initial build ramp with room to expand. This is pitched as both a capability and a messaging play, emphasizing heavier missiles, modern designs, and a focus on long-range deterrence.
The White House framed the Golden Fleet as a straightforward fix to a Navy they say has been undersized and poorly prioritized. Supporters see it as a necessary expansion and modernization — a way to regain strategic advantage in contested waters while deterring adversaries. The plan ties new, larger warships together with a revived small-ship program, aiming for a balanced force able to project power at range.
President Trump will announce Monday that the Navy is to build a new “Trump-class” battleship, which will become the centerpiece of the president’s vision for a new “Golden Fleet,” according to a U.S. official.
The news follows the Navy’s announcement last week that it will commission a new class of frigates. Trump has for years advocated for revamping America’s fleet of warships, which he has said are “terrible-looking” and covered in rust. In his first term, he called for a return to steam-powered catapults to launch jets from aircraft carriers, in a move that wasn’t successful, and complained about the aesthetics of the Navy’s destroyers. He has been personally involved in crafting plans for the Golden Fleet, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. The first ship in the class will be the USS Defiant, the official said.
The new battleship will be an upgrade to the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which are the workhorse of the current fleet and which Trump has compared unfavorably to rival navies, according to the U.S. official and another person familiar with the discussions. The “battleship” name harks back to the ships with large main guns used until the end of the Cold War, but the new ships will feature a next-generation design.
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A White House and Navy team earlier this year began planning for a new fleet that will be better suited to counter China, manage the Western Hemisphere and deal with other threats, the Journal earlier reported. The Navy proposed the name “Golden Fleet,” following other similarly branded Trump-era initiatives such as the Golden Dome missile defense system he ordered the military to build soon after returning to office.
Golden Fleet will comprise a number of large warships outfitted with more powerful long-range missiles, even potentially hypersonic missiles, along with a larger number of a new small ship, the frigate. The new frigate will be based on the Coast Guard’s Legend-class National Security Cutter, which Ingalls builds in Pascagoula, Miss., and will replace the Constellation-class frigate that the Navy canceled last month after years of delays.
The Navy has 287 ships in its inventory, mostly destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers, amphibious ships and submarines.
The description of the new vessels leans on proven hull forms and upgrades rather than starting from scratch, which makes sense for speed and cost control. Officials point to lessons learned from Arleigh Burke destroyers while promising next-generation sensors and weapons. A big selling point is the ability to carry larger long-range missiles, with hypersonics explicitly mentioned as a future capability to ensure overmatch.
Trump and Hegseth cast the program as a corrective to years of drift, arguing America needs visible, credible sea power to defend allies and secure sea lanes. That message resonates with those worried China’s navy and missile forces are eroding deterrence in the Western Pacific. The plan mixes national pride with practical force design, wrapping capability goals in a clear brand name that supporters say will cut through bureaucratic fog.
The administration says the Golden Fleet will pursue an initial target of 10 ships, with two already in production and a broader hope of building 20 to 25 vessels over time. Those numbers are intentionally modest so the program can be started quickly and scaled based on results and budgets. Backers argue a focused, phased approach will avoid costly, open-ended program creep and deliver combat power faster.
Critics will call it political theater, but proponents note the strategic logic: more ships with longer reach change an opponent’s calculus and buy time for diplomatic and coalition efforts. Investing in both larger surface combatants and more numerous frigates is meant to create a layered fleet that can operate across the Pacific and beyond. The emphasis on missile reach and ship survivability reflects the reality that modern naval competition is as much about standoff fires as about close-in gun duels.
There will be questions about cost, industrial capacity, and timelines, and honest debates should follow. Still, the administration is making a clear bet: a visible naval buildup and a named program can rally industry, lawmakers, and public support for a sustained push to regain maritime superiority. For those who favor a stronger posture, Golden Fleet is a tangible next step.
