Donald Trump has revealed he will co-lead the design of new US Navy ships. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday (22 December), the US president unveiled plans for a new class of Navy ship - named after himself. He said that the “Trump-class" Navy vessels, which are expected to be ready in the early 2030s, will also see the involvement of secretary of war Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio “along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person”. The first of the ships, named the USS Defiant, will be “the largest, deadliest and most versatile and best-looking warship anywhere on the world’s oceans”, Trump said.

President Donald Trump’s "Golden Fleet" is a bid to revive US shipbuilding.

The Navy vessels would form part of a broader push to expand and modernize the American fleet.

Trump has long held strong opinions on specific aspects of the Navy’s fleet, sometimes with a view toward keeping older technology instead of modernizing.

President says the ships will be bigger, faster and a hundred times more powerful than any previous US-built warship

The US president has vowed to revive American shipbuilding after lagging behind China in naval capacity.

Donald Trump is on a naming spree; Schumer asks Senate to back legal action over partial Epstein files release – key US politics stories from Monday 22 December at a glance

The "Trump Class" vessel will be the "largest, deadliest, and most versatile and best-looking warship," according to Navy Secretary John Phelan.

President Donald Trump announced the Navy will build two battleships as part of the "new Golden Fleet" to "inspire fear" and revive U.S. shipbuilding.

The president, who claimed to be a "very aesthetic person," said he would join the U.S. Navy in designing the vessels named after him.

The US president says the new vessels will ensure naval dominance and include AI and laser technology.

Donald Trump has revealed he will co-lead the design of new US Navy ships. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday (22 December), the US president unveiled plans…

Trump says he will help design a new Trump-class battleship, part of a new 'golden fleet' of warships for the U.S. Navy

Even if it were technically feasible, the cost of building the battleship would be prohibitive.