Is Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Fleet’ the Right Plan for the US Navy?

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Even if the Trump-class battleships are as effective as their namesake claims, they will take the place of dozens of smaller warships that could be built for the same cost.

President Donald Trump’s mammoth proposed FY2027 budget includes $65.7 billion specifically for future shipbuilding—the largest increase since World War II and the peak of the Cold War. The goal of the massive new investment in America’s shipbuilding sector is to build a tranche of new vessels—which Trump has described with characteristic humility as the “Golden Fleet.”

The purpose of the exercise is to uphold and renew US naval dominance. But as modern warfare trends towards distributed, cheaper platforms, is building bigger, more expensive ships the proper way to address China’s growing, numerous fleet?

The Golden Fleet Will Need Better Shipbuilding Infrastructure

The new funding allocations would fund 34 planned vessels—18 battle force ships and 16 support vessels. Key programs include the first........

© The National Interest