United States to build new Trump-class battleships starting with USS Defiance

Key facts

• President Donald Trump announced plans to build a new 'golden fleet' of naval war vessels, starting with two battleships.
• The first 'Trump class' battleship will be named the USS Defiance, followed by another eight and then 10 to 15 more.
• These 30,000- to 40,000-ton vessels will be the flagships of the American naval fleet.
• The battleships will be partially funded by $26 billion allocated by a defense spending bill passed by Congress this month.
• The vessels will carry sea-born nuclear cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, and utilize artificial intelligence.
• The first battleship will take about 30 months to construct and will be 100 times more powerful than World War II-era battleships.