On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, during the Sea-Air-Space exposition in National Harbor, U.S. Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan presented the financial assumptions for the new BBG(X) missile battleship program, announced on December 22, 2025. The ships will be named the Trump class.
Image: US Navy
According to the information presented, the NDAA defense budget request for fiscal year 2027, together with a projection for the 2028 budget, is to include 17 billion USD for the prototype ship USS Defiant (BBG-1), so that its procurement can take place before Donald Trump leaves office as U.S. president.
The prototype is currently included in the five-year budget outlook for fiscal year 2028, in accordance with the fiscal year 2027 budget request.
In the fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, officially presented at the Department of Defense on Tuesday, April 21, the U.S. Navy is initially seeking 1 billion USD in advance procurement funding for the battleship from the shipbuilding budget for surface combatants, as well as another 837 million USD for research and development for the program. Overall, the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding budget is to amount to 65.8 billion USD, 46% more than in 2026.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget Rear Adm. Ben Reynolds said that around 134 million USD has already been spent on the BBG(X) program. Together with the above funds, construction of the ship could begin as early as 2028.
The U.S. Navy then plans to purchase a second ship in fiscal year 2030, when it will seek 13 billion USD for that purpose, and a third ship in fiscal year 2031, when it will ask Congress for 11.5 billion USD. In total, 43.5 billion USD has been planned for the BBG(X) program over the five-year period.
It should be recalled that in 2021, plans called for the purchase of the first next-generation guided-missile destroyer under the DDG(X) program in fiscal year 2028. In 2022, the concept of a large surface combatant was presented, intended to replace the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers in the longer term.
In the justifications for the fiscal year 2026 NDAA defense budget, which did not include a five-year outlook, U.S. Navy documents stated: “The formal DDG(X) acquisition strategy is still under development.”
The Trump-class battleships are to be part of the so-called Golden Fleet announced by the current administration. Before the missile battleship project was announced, Secretary Phelan canceled the Constellation-class guided-missile frigate program, while the new FF(X) program is to be based on the Legend-class National Security Cutter, to be built by HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
.@USNavy BBG(X) is built for the fight ahead—and designed for producibility.
No commander should have to choose between air defense, ASW, ASuW, or long-range strike. This platform delivers all of it—at the highest level.
Battlegroups will integrate unmanned systems, embarked… pic.twitter.com/Yazc3OXX2l
— Archive: Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan (@SecNavPhelan) April 21, 2026
The future fight isn’t manned or unmanned—it’s both, integrated and acting interchangeably.
High-end platforms that command and endure anchor the force. But wars are won by speed, iterating in real time, and scaling combat power without delay.
That’s why we are building a true… pic.twitter.com/okNIB5oVC5
— Archive: Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan (@SecNavPhelan) April 22, 2026
. @POTUS historic FY27 budget delivers $65.8B for Navy shipbuilding—+46% over FY26, +123% over FY25.
To be a superpower, a nation must be a seapower—and this is the opening move to strengthen American maritime dominance.
We look forward to working with Congress to… pic.twitter.com/Du6AR5XBnV
— Archive: Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan (@SecNavPhelan) April 21, 2026