President Trump announced development of new Trump-Class battleships.

 

Trump stands next to concept art of a Trump class battleship. Politico/AP. 

President Trump has announced development of a new Trump-class battleship. Politico. The new ships would field powerful new weapons, including railguns, laser defenses, cannons and guided hypersonic missiles. The ships would also have the capability to launch nuclear weapons. Two ships would be ordered at first, with the first of the class being named USS Defiant, with 25 more ships being planned. Building the ships could prove problematic given a lack of capacity and constant overruns on budget for similar shipbuilding programs, like the Zumwalt cruisers, Littoral Combat Ships and Constellation class frigates. Though the Trump-class is called a battleship, it is more accurately considered a heavy cruiser or battlecruiser as opposed to the last generation of World War II battleships. The ships would be larger and longer than World War II ships but would also displace only 30,000 tons and would rely on defensive systems as opposed to armor. 

My Comment:

Very interesting proposal from President Trump here. The United States Navy hasn't had a battleship since the 1990's when we finally got rid of the last of our World War II battlewagons. Obviously carriers are now the most powerful ships in our fleet but there absolutely could be a niche for these ships to fill. 

To be fair, these aren't proper battleships under the old definition. They don't have anywhere near the armament, armor or displacement to be considered a real one. A much more accurate definition would be a battlecruiser. Battlecruisers have the armament that a battleship would have, but are more focused on speed and power than armor. I am guessing Trump named them battleships for the same reason he named them after himself, it sounds better that way to him. Though, to be fair, the ship would have a similar role in the fleet as an actual battleship, even if it doesn't really qualify as one. 

Indeed, there is a similar class of ship in the Russian fleet, the Kirov class battlecruiser. Indeed, the Kirov's would be a good inspiration for these ships as they would have a similar role, even though the Trump class would obviously be a lot more advanced. The primary weapons would be the missiles the ship carries, not the guns.  

The technology of a fully realized Trump-class would be amazing. Rail guns would be an incredible weapon and could destroy enemy ships beyond the horizon. And the hypersonic missiles would be useful as well, and if they were nuclear armed, doubly so. Indeed, instead of a nuclear triad, we would have another prong with these Trump-class battleships.

The laser defenses would be extremely useful and I will use the Red Sea Conflict as a great example. Our destroyers and cruisers did a good job in that conflict but the problem was that they simply ran out of ammo at many points and the cheap drones and missiles the Houthis in Yemen were using were a lot cheaper than the expensive interceptors we used to shoot them down. Lasers would be a much more efficient weapon to use against these kinds of weapons and would have been a boon in the Red Sea Conflict. 

Of course, none of this matters if the ships aren't built and that is a real concern here. Getting congress to approve these ships could be an uphill battle given how close control of each house is and the fact that Democrats would likely vote against it just out of spite. And fiscal conservatives like Rand Paul and Mike Lee could be hard sells. I am guessing a couple of ships might be funded, but the 25 ship plan? I doubt it. 

Procurement is going to be a nightmare too. Like I said, we have the examples of the Zumwalt class, the Littoral Combat Ship classes, and the Constellation class Frigates. All of these programs made similar promises and all of them are failures. Only three Zumwalt's were ever built, only two Constellation's will be built and while the LCS's have had a lot more hulls put down, many of them have been already mothballed. 

I have zero doubt that this kind of thing could happen again. The program might not fail, but I am sure it will go over budget and behind timelines. The idea that we could have these ships in 2.5 years is pretty laughable, even as soon as 2030 is pretty questionable. And that's assuming that the new technology like the laser weapons and railguns, are perfected in time. To be fair, they could launch the ships before the weapons are ready, but it is a real problem. 

Trump does seem to have a plan for this. He said he was going to demand the shipbuilders to invest heavily in new production. I doubt they are going to be happy about being forced to invest in new shipyards as opposed to executive bonuses, but even if the Trump-class never happens, this is probably the most significant outcome of this story. China has been eating our lunch when it comes to shipbuilding and it's absolutely something America needs to invest in. That alone is a strategic win for America, even if the Trump-class is just the next Zumwalt. 

Finally, I do wonder if that these plans could force a new "battleship" buildup. Russia only has their two Kirov's, both of which are ancient and obsolete. China does not have any ships that are anywhere close to these ships. Both countries could be forced to build up forces, and neither side can really afford to do so. Russia can't do much as they are mostly investing in their ground and air forces, their navy has always been the "redheaded stepchild" of their armed forces. But China may need to develop a larger cruiser to counter the Trump-class. And both will have to react to the nuclear armed ships...