On Monday, May 11, 2026, the United States Navy (US Navy) published its updated 30-year shipbuilding plan, with revisions made annually. The document, titled US Navy Shipbuilding Plan. May 2026, revealed that the planned Trump-class missile battleships, to be developed under the BBG(X) program, will be nuclear-powered.
Images: US Navy
“The nuclear-powered Battleship is designed to provide the Fleet with a significant increase in combat power by longer endurance,higher speed, and accommodating advanced weapon systems required for modern warfare.”
It was also stated that these ships will not be successors to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers.
“Adding capability at the highest end of the high-low mix, the Battleship’s primary role is to deliver high-volume, long-range offensive fires and serve as a robust, survivable forward command and control platform, it is not a destroyer replacement.”
It was also revealed that 15 ships of this class are planned to be procured over the next 30 years.
Trump-class battleships
It should be recalled that, according to information from April 21 this year, the request for the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), together with a projection for the FY2028 budget, is to include 17 billion USD for the prototype ship USS Defiant (BBG-1). Such high costs, in addition to the sheer scale of the project and the planned armament, suggested that a naval nuclear power plant should be used, generating high costs but also providing an adequate reserve of electrical power on board. This has now been confirmed in the documents. Subsequent ships will be cheaper, at 13 billion USD and 11.5 billion USD, respectively. The Trump-class battleships are to be part of the so-called Golden Fleet announced by the current administration.
According to earlier statements, these ships will be 260-270 m long, 32-35 m wide, with a draft of 7.3-9.1 m and a displacement of more than 35,000 tonnes. Their maximum speed is to exceed 30 knots (which is another indication in favor of nuclear propulsion ‒ editor’s note). The crew is to consist of 650-800 officers and sailors.
In an earlier graphic, the propulsion system was indicated as CODAG, consisting of a gas turbine and diesel engines
The main sensor will be an AN/SPY-6-series air-defense radar. Integration of the SEWIP Block III electronic warfare system and counter-UAS systems is also planned.
The initially announced armament includes the planned SLCM-N (Sea-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear) nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles, APM (Advanced Payload Module) vertical launch blocks for 12 CPS (Conventional Prompt Strike) hypersonic missiles, 128 cells of the universal Mark 41 VLS vertical launch system, and two launchers for RIM-116 RAM Block II surface-to-air missiles.
In addition, the integration of two 127 mm Mk 45 L62 naval guns, four 25 mm Mk 38 Mod 4 gun weapon systems, and potentially a 32 MJ electromagnetic railgun for HVP hypersonic projectiles, as well as two 300 kW high-energy laser weapon systems, is planned. The ship is to be equipped with two hangars for V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and next-generation rotorcraft.
Naval nuclear propulsion
Currently, in the US Navy, only Nimitz– and Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and Los Angeles-, Virginia-, Seawolf-, and Ohio-class submarines are nuclear-powered. In the past, however, there were five types of surface combatants with such propulsion, in service in total from 1961 to 1998: the one-off cruisers USS Long Beach (CGN-9), USS Bainbridge (CGN-25), and USS Truxtun (CGN-35); the two California-class cruisers, USS California (CGN-36) and USS South Carolina (CGN-37); and the four Virginia-class cruisers, USS Virginia (CGN-38), USS Texas (CGN-39), USS Mississippi (CGN-40), and USS Arkansas (CGN-41).
Apart from this, only Russia currently operates nuclear-powered surface combatants. These are the Project 1144 Orlan missile cruisers (NATO reporting name: Kirov): RFS Pyotr Velikiy (099), which is, however, to be withdrawn from service and replaced by the modernized Project 1144.2M Orlan cruiser RFS Admiral Nakhimov (080), which is being returned to service.