The U.S. Navy placed a proposed next-generation battleship program, known as BB(X) or the “Trump-class,” at the center of its $377.5 billion Fiscal Year 2027 budget request as it seeks to speed fleet modernization and respond to the rapid expansion of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
Released by the Department of the Navy, the FY27 request is roughly 23 percent larger than the previous year and is part of an overall $1.5 trillion national defense topline. The package mixes large-scale shipbuilding, aircraft buys and munitions purchases, with the BB(X) design and development highlighted as the most prominent new element.
Former Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan described the effort at the Sea-Air-Space 2026 conference as strategy-driven and built around producible, generational capabilities. He said the BB(X) is intended to avoid trade-offs among air defense, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and long-range strike, operating with embarked command teams and unmanned systems while fielding layered defenses and long-range fires. Shortly after the budget release and Phelan’s remarks, the Navy announced he had stepped down and Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as Acting Secretary.
Shipbuilding is a major focus of the request: $65.8 billion is proposed to procure 34 vessels (18 battle force ships and 16 auxiliary platforms) while continuing BB(X) design work. Alongside submarines, destroyers and amphibious ships, officials portray BB(X) as the linchpin of a “Golden Fleet Initiative” intended to revitalize the maritime industrial base.
President Donald Trump announced the battleship program on December 22, approving a new class of 30,000–40,000-ton warships and signaling a shift toward heavier surface combatants. The planned lead ship, USS Defiant, is expected to begin construction in the early 2030s, with long-term goals for a fleet of 20–25 vessels. The BB(X) is intended to supplant the previously planned DDG(X) destroyer concept while incorporating advanced weapons and sensors.
Navy leaders have emphasized the platform’s offensive focus, drawing an analogy to historic battleships. The service says the ships will combine heavy naval artillery with modern systems such as hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic railguns and directed-energy defenses.
Beyond BB(X), the FY27 package includes continued procurement across the force. Ship buys planned in FY27 include one Columbia-class submarine, two Virginia-class submarines, an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer, a new FF(X) frigate, and various amphibious and logistics vessels. Funding is maintained for Ford-class carriers CVN 80 and CVN 81.
Aircraft procurement is budgeted at $34.4 billion and would buy 47 F-35 fighters, 12 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, six E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning planes, 22 CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters, three MQ-25 carrier-based refueling drones and five MQ-9A Sea Guardian drones. Weapons procurement is set at $22.6 billion for systems including Standard Missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Marine Corps is slated to receive $6.3 billion for ground systems such as NMESIS launchers and Naval Strike Missiles.
Operational readiness receives strong emphasis: roughly $150 billion is allocated for maintenance and training to push toward an 80 percent combat-ready posture. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle described the budget as a decisive move to shift the Navy from a peacetime posture to a warfighting footing and to provide tailored, credible forces meant to deter conflict.
Reviving a battleship-class program marks a break with decades of carrier-centric doctrine. Battleships last saw combat in shore bombardment roles in the Gulf War and historically ceded dominance to aircraft carriers during World War II. The U.S. built 59 battleships between 1888 and 1947; USS Missouri was the last U.S. battleship.
The BB(X) push comes amid growing concern in Washington about the PLAN’s pace of expansion. A congressional report observed that China already operates the world’s largest navy with more than 370 platforms and projected growth to about 395 by 2025 and 435 by 2030. By comparison, the U.S. Navy counted 296 battle force ships as of September 30, 2024, with a modest projected decline to 294 by 2030.
In its budget statement the Navy said the investments tied to the Golden Fleet Initiative are intended to revitalize America’s maritime industrial base and restore American maritime dominance.
