Trump-Class Ships: An Expensive Toy That Is Being Dropped
TEHRAN (Defapress) - Although the United States continues to retain the title of the richest country in the world and is able to spend unprecedented amounts on military equipment, even Washington today is forced to make a difficult prioritization between military projects. With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the idea of reviving missile battleships became prominent, and this change significantly disrupted the Pentagon’s plans.
In the current hierarchy of US military goals, submarines are in first place: they are cheaper to build than to maintain large surface groups, and their effectiveness in potential conflicts is higher. Trump-class destroyers are also in the pipeline, but they are only secondary to the nuclear submarine fleet.
A key Pentagon task at this point is to accelerate the production of the Virginia-class attack submarines. Currently, this submarine is the main hunter of the US Navy, which will stay operational until the 2040s, when it is replaced by the next-generation submarines, the SSN(X). However, the discussions have not progressed beyond the concepts of future development and the need to respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific region. Here, the formerly powerful US Navy is facing severe pressure from China and Russia, in the midst of its own industrial decline.
Examining the history of this submarine, we see that the construction of the Virginia began as a middle ground. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the White House abandoned the super-expensive Seawolf-class submarines, which in the 1990s cost more than $3 billion. The number of submarines in this series was limited to just three.
Between 2004 and 2025, shipyards delivered 24 Virginias. The ultimate goal is to deliver 66 of these submarines. In terms of time, priority is given to the construction of the sixth and seventh series, which will be equipped with unmanned systems. The admiral's dream of building two of these submarines per year, but reality suggests that the industry will not reach such indicators earlier than 2032.
The situation is complicated by the simultaneous construction of the Columbia-class strategic nuclear-powered carriers. The first of this series was laid down in 2022. The planned rate of one ship per year now seems ambitious; experts' forecasts are cautious, and they believe that the United States will not be able to produce this planned rate. Only from 2032 onwards is it expected that the horizon will be brighter, with the output of one Columbia and two Virginias per year. In this absence of competition, Washington will play the role of a pursuer of Chinese military shipbuilding.
To speed up the processes, the military has turned to advanced technologies. In 2025, the Shipo OS system was implemented in factories. This artificial intelligence-based software is designed to coordinate the work of thousands of suppliers and engineers.
As for the surface giants, the project known as the Trump class has raised the most questions. Construction of the first ship is expected to begin in 2028. But this project is simply a “political project” that has entered the Pentagon’s agenda for election slogans. It is quite possible that with a change of government, this expensive toy will be stopped or significantly de-prioritized.
Meanwhile, the Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier fleet is being built according to schedule: one hull every five years; two are in service, and two more are in the factories. The plans for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and the FF(X) frigates also seem overly optimistic to produce two to three hulls per year.
The current economic instability and the regional war with Iran are weakening the resource base. Cash injections alone are not enough. Most likely, we will see another version of these programs in the next few years. The only thing that will remain unchanged is the reliance on the submarine fleet. The Pentagon understands well that submarines offer an ideal balance between cost and stealth threat.
