The proposed Trump-class battleship for the United States Navy has already ignited intense debate within defense and security circles due to its projected cost and technological complexity. Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), argues that the program is unlikely to ever come to fruition. In his commentary published on 23 December, Cancian bluntly stated, “This ship will never sail,” citing financial and developmental obstacles.

US President Donald Trump confirmed initial details of the new large surface combatant class during a press conference on 22 December. According to the announcement, the Trump-class battleship is expected to displace between 30,000 and 40,000 tons, making it significantly larger than any US-built surface combatant in the past 80 years, with the sole exception of aircraft carriers.

Cancian compared the ambitious project to the troubled Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer program. Despite displacing only 15,000 tons and being far smaller in scale, the Zumwalt class required 11 years from program initiation in 2005 to the commissioning of the first ship in 2016, and only three vessels were ultimately built. The proposed Trump-class battleship would be more than twice as large and far more complex, reportedly featuring nuclear-capable systems and directed-energy weapons.

The first ship of the class, tentatively named USS Defiant (BBG-1), is projected to enter service in the early to mid-2030s—assuming the program proceeds at all. CSIS analysts warn that escalating costs could push the price of a single Trump-class battleship into the same range as a Ford-class aircraft carrier, raising serious questions about affordability and strategic value.

For comparison, the current DDG-51 Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers displace around 9,000 tons and carry a unit cost of approximately USD 2.8 billion. Against this backdrop, critics argue that investing in such an expensive and experimental battleship may not align with the US Navy’s evolving operational priorities.