US proposes return of the battleship with Trump-class warships

Artist's concept of a Trump-class battleship

US Navy

 

The end of the Age of the Battleship appears to have been called prematurely as

the Trump administration, as part of its Golden Fleet US Navy reform, says it is reviving the giant battlewagons in the form of 35,000-tonne Trump-class battleships.

The battleship was one of the great naval revolutions of 20th century warfare, fundamentally transforming sea warfare as fleets dominated by these giant warships hurling tons of steel at one another from batteries of huge guns.

The ships and their names have become legendary, with the Tirpitz, Bismarck, Yamato, Rodney, Prince of Wales, South Dakota, Missouri, Jean Bart, and Nagato entering the history books. However, by 1945 their day seemed to have passed as air power proved far superior with the ability to destroy battleships seemingly at will while the aircraft carriers remained out of reach of the enemy.

Diagram of a Trump-class battleship

US Navy

By 1961, most of the world's navies had scrapped their battleships, with the only exception being the United States, which modernized a handful of its ships for peacetime duty until the USS Missouri retired in 1992.

That seemed to be the closing of a chapter in the history books, but technology has changed again and the modern geopolitical situation is seeing a return to the age of hard power where a strong military counts more than soft power. In response to this, the Trump administration has announced a major reform program called "Golden Fleet" to modernize the US Navy, and the key part of this is the Trump-class battleship.

That might seem as silly as bringing back Sopwith camels for the Air Force, but this new ship is only colloquially a battleship. Its official designation is a new one, the Guided Missile Battleship (BBG).

The administration claims that this will be the largest battleship ever built, though this is true only in terms of length, which will be over 890 ft (271 m). When it comes to tonnage, it's only half the displacement of the Japanese Yamato-class, which topped out at 65,000 tonnes.

The biggest difference between the Trump class and its predecessors is in terms of complement, hull, and armament. Despite being monsters, the new ships will have a crew of up to 850 officers and ratings, while the hull will be gas-turbine or nuclear powered and built with an emphasis on speed rather than armor.

However, the biggest change is the weaponry. The 20 to 24 Trump-class ships will have integrated tubes for Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missiles, 12 nuclear-capable Surface Launch Cruise Missile-Nuclear (SLCM-N) cruise missiles, up to 128 Vertical Launch System (VLS) missiles, high-powered lasers and electric railguns for both offensive strike and point defense, two Mark 45 5-inch/62-caliber cannons, and possibly experimental larger-caliber gun systems similar to the 155mm Advanced Gun System (AGS). For defense, the class will carry multiple 21-cell Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers and remote weapon systems (RWS).

According to the Navy, The Trump-class ships will have 80 times the range of the previous class. Their primary mission will be to provide force projection and strike capability as they act as part of a Carrier Strike Group or command their own Surface Action Group.

“The President has been clear – we must bring back our American maritime industrial might, and he has told me many times that as Secretary of the Navy it is my job to equip our sailors to win the fight at sea with the finest ships in our history,” stated John C. Phelan, Secretary of the Navy. “Now when a conflict arises, you’re going to ask us two questions: where is the carrier, and where is the battleship.”

Source: US Navy/New Atlas