Price Tag for Trump-class Battleships Estimated at $275 Billion

WHO:

Alternet - President Donald Trump has pushed to build a fleet of battleships.

CNN - The report was composed at the request of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee.

WHAT:

Alternet - The estimated cost for the “Trump-class” battleships is roughly $275 billion.

CNN - Each of the 15 nuclear-powered surface combatants will cost more than $18 billion.

Alternet - The first “Trump-class” battleship, the USS Defiant, is estimated to cost around $23.4 billion.

CNN - The Navy's total procurement budget for surface combatants is projected to increase from $11 billion in 2025 to $18 billion in 2027.

CNN - The first ship's cost has increased from an original estimate of $15.1 billion to $23.4 billion.

CNN - The battleships would carry nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, making them among the most powerful vessels in the US arsenal.

WHERE:

CNN - The two key builders of surface combatants are Bath Iron Works in Maine and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi.

CNN - Assembly of the new battleships would fall to Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.

WHEN:

CNN - The Navy plans to acquire 15 of the battleships between 2028 and 2056.

CNN - The Navy's 2027 shipbuilding plan was released in May.

WHY:

Alternet - Senator Jeff Merkley stated that Congress cannot commit to the battleships at a time when families are struggling with basic expenses.

CNN - The CBO report indicates that the shipbuilding industry may struggle to accommodate the production of the new battleships.

HOW:

Alternet - The CBO warns that the U.S. shipyards lack the capacity to build the proposed battleships.

CNN - The CBO report notes that building a new class of ships from scratch presents challenges due to the steep learning curve involved.

(UPDATED August 7, 2026 01:00 UTC)

President Trump is advocating for the construction of a fleet of nuclear-powered battleships, known as the "Trump-class," with an estimated total cost of around $275 billion. The Navy plans to acquire 15 of these powerful vessels, which will be equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, between 2028 and 2056, but faces challenges due to the shipbuilding industry's capacity and the rising costs of the first ship, the USS Defiant, which has jumped from $15.1 billion to $23.4 billion. Senator Jeff Merkley has expressed concerns about committing to such expenditures while many families are struggling with basic expenses, highlighting the complexities involved in the shipbuilding process.