Donald Trump has announced that the United States will commission new, heavily armed warships that will be named after him, reports the BBC. The USS Defiant ships will also be capable of carrying various weapons systems, including sea-launched missiles equipped with nuclear warheads. Construction is expected to begin in the near future, and Trump said the ships could enter service within two and a half years.
The innovation is part of Trump’s plan to expand the US Navy, which includes both manned and unmanned assets, including larger missile-equipped warships and smaller units. According to experts, the U.S. navy currently lags behind China’s in terms of both shipbuilding capacity and total output. More than 60 percent of this year’s global orders went to Chinese shipyards, and China’s navy is already the largest in the world.
Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago golf club about the expansion, Trump said he had approved the construction of two new battleships, and that the longer-term plan would allow for the construction of up to 25 such ships. “They will be the fastest, largest, and by far, a hundred times more powerful battleships,” he said.
In his speech, the US president talked about Trump-class ships and surrounded himself with posters depicting visual plans. On December 19, the U.S. Navy announced another class of ships to be developed based on the Legend-class National Security Cutters of the U.S. Coast Guard.
