Recent government estimates indicate that former U.S. President Donald Trump's project for a "golden fleet" of 15 warships could rise to approximately $275 billion. A report by the Congressional Budget Office projects this new class of vessels to exceed initial
estimates by over 50%. The first ship, the USS Defiant, is estimated to cost about $23.4 billion, an $8 billion increase over previous Navy figures. Each of the other 14 ships may surpass $18 billion, compared to earlier estimates of
$10.2 billion. The report noted that building the first of these ships could take eight years or more, despite Trump's December statement expecting two ships within two and a half years. Trump justified the project to enhance military superiority, revitalize shipbuilding,
and send a deterrence message. However, his subsequent decision to equip them with nuclear reactors instead of gas turbine engines caused this significant cost increase. The report also mentioned Trump's potential desire to build up to 25 nuclear warships as part
of the "golden fleet," a project potentially costing around $455 billion. Doubts about its feasibility persist, given the U.S. Navy's history with new ship programs experiencing delays and budget overruns, such as the Constellation frigates, littoral combat ships, and Ford-class
aircraft carriers. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley criticized the project, arguing Congress should not spend hundreds of billions on Trump's fleet while American families face rising living costs. Trump's interest in warships aligns with a broader push to strengthen the U.S. fleet;
he also ordered the construction of 11 new Coast Guard icebreakers at a cost of $7 billion. Despite Trump's admiration for old warships prominent in World War II, the U.S. Navy later abandoned them for smaller, more advanced vessels. The last
American battleship, the USS Missouri, was decommissioned in 1992, becoming a floating museum in Pearl Harbor.
