US to Build New Warships, President Trump: There Has Never Been Anything Like This

Illustration of the US Navy's 5th Fleet warship. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet)

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump said the new warships to be built by the United States would be the Navy's main force, claiming that no one had built a similar ship before.

President Trump said on Monday he had approved plans for two new warships, saying they would be the largest and most powerful navy vessels ever built.

"It is a great honor for me to announce that I have approved two very large new warships, the largest we have ever built," President Trump said, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan, to reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, launching Anadolu (23/12).

"These ships will be the fastest, largest, and much more powerful, about 100 times, than any warship ever built," he added.

President Trump added that the ships would weigh between 30,000 to 40,000 tons or more.

"Once completed, these new 30,000 to 40,000 ton vessels will be the main vessels of the American Navy fleet," he said.

"No one has ever built (a ship) like this," he said.

The Republican politician said the ships would form the core of what he called an expanded "Golden Fleet" aimed at strengthening the dominance of the US Navy, Al Arabiya reported from Reuters.

"This program will start with two ships and is expected to grow to between 20 and 25 ships," said President Trump, with the first ship of the Trump Class to be named USS Defiant.

"We haven't built a warship since 1994. These sophisticated ships will be some of the deadliest surface warships in addition to our submarines," he said.

In addition to carrying conventional naval cannons, the new warship will be equipped with sea-launched cruise missiles and nuclear weapons, US Navy Secretary John Phelan said.