US President Donald Trump announced on Monday a plan to build new battleships, which he defined as the beginning of a "golden fleet" to modernize the Navy. The US President spoke from his residence at Mar-a-Lago, accompanied by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump said he had approved plans to begin construction of "two brand new, very large battleships, the largest we have ever built." He stated that he expects to build a total of 10 ships in the near future, and ultimately between 20 and 25. He made the announcement accompanied by images of ships he referred to as the "Trump class", reported CBS News. The president stated that the US "needs ships urgently" because some of its vessels "have become old, tired, and obsolete." "They are going to help maintain the military supremacy of the United States, to revive the national shipbuilding industry, and to instill fear in the enemies of our country all over the world," Trump said from Mar-a-Lago. The announcement was made this Monday afternoon in Florida, alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio. "The US Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me because I am a very aesthetic person," Trump noted. The new battleships will be equipped with "cannons and missiles of the highest level", hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic railguns, cruise missiles, and "the most sophisticated lasers in the world," as promised by the US leader. Each will weigh between 3,000 and 40,000 tons and will be built in the United States, while "they will be very heavily controlled by artificial intelligence," Trump added. "We envision these ships as the first of a brand-new class that will be produced in the years to come," he stated. Initially, the Navy will build two ships of the "Trump class", followed quickly by eight more. The American president estimated that he envisions between 20 and 25 of these vessels, which would become the "flagship of the US naval fleet".
