US Navy Chooses Nuclear Reactors for Trump-Class Battleships: 15 Ships Planned

The US Navy has officially selected nuclear power plants for the Trump-class battleships.

USNI News reported on this, citing the US Department of the Navy’s published annual shipbuilding plan, as reported by The War Zone.

The order for the first ship in the series, named USS Defiant, is scheduled for fiscal year 2028, and its commissioning is expected in 2036. The transition to nuclear power effectively transforms the project into a new class of BBGN—nuclear-powered guided-missile battleships—bringing the battleship concept into the digital age.

In total, the Navy expects to receive 15 Trump-class ships between fiscal years 2028 and 2055. Construction is planned at a rate of approximately one ship every two years, with the exception of 2030 and 2031.

The preliminary cost of a single such battleship is approximately $17 billion. This figure exceeds the construction costs of the most modern Ford-class aircraft carriers, which typically range from $13 to $15 billion per unit, making the new battleships the most expensive surface combat ships in history.

The command emphasizes that the new class is not a replacement for destroyers but will serve as a platform for massive long-range strikes. In addition to offensive functions, the ships will serve as command centers, allowing them to deploy directly in the open ocean.

The future battleship will have a displacement of approximately 35,000 tons, nearly three times that of modern Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyers. The hull length will range from 256 to 268 meters, with a maximum speed of over 30 knots, enabling it to operate with aircraft carrier strike groups.

The ships’ arsenal will include universal vertical-launch systems for nuclear, conventional, and hypersonic missiles. The ships will also be equipped with an electromagnetic railgun, two 127-mm artillery mounts, and combat lasers for intercepting air targets.

A nuclear power plant is necessary to power electronic warfare systems and powerful directed-energy lasers. This will allow the fleet to reduce its dependence on limited stocks of expensive anti-aircraft missiles when repelling massive attacks by drones or cruise missiles.

The decision to use nuclear power was made following the resignation of Navy Secretary John Fallon, who had previously called such an option unlikely. President Donald Trump’s administration insisted on maximum technological superiority for the new ships, despite earlier military reservations about the complexity and cost of such systems.

Implementing the project will place a significant burden on the US industrial base, as Newport News Shipbuilding is currently the only facility capable of building nuclear-powered surface ships. The shipyard already has an extremely tight schedule due to the simultaneous construction of aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines of the Columbia and Virginia classes.