The US Navy’s Trump-class nuclear-powered battleship programme will cost an estimated $275bn between 2027 and 2056, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The projected cost covers the procurement of 15 next-generation surface combatants, forming the centrepiece of the Navy’s 2027 “Golden Fleet” shipbuilding plan.
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CBO data show that the first ship in the Trump class, a nuclear-powered guided missile battleship designated BBGN, is expected to cost $23.4bn, with each subsequent vessel averaging $18bn.
This represents a roughly 13% increase over a previously considered conventionally powered variant, which the Navy initially estimated would cost $15.1bn for the lead ship, driven primarily by nuclear propulsion integration costs.
However, Navy officials have emphasised that both final cost and technical specifications remain uncertain at this early stage.
The Trump class was announced by the administration in late 2025 and is intended to be the most heavily armed surface combatant in the service’s history.
According to design outlines, the new battleships will integrate an array of missile batteries, hypersonic weapons, nuclear cruise missiles, lasers, railguns, and advanced defensive systems.
The future BBGN’s displacement will be at least 35,000 tons, with a length between 840 and 880ft and a sustained speed of more than 30 knots.
The lead vessel in the class will be named Defiant, breaking usual US Navy naming conventions where class and lead ship names typically match.
The shift to the BBGN class completely supersedes previous plans for a significantly smaller DDG(X) destroyer.
The larger, more capable battleship design was adopted to avoid capability compromises that were foreseen in the smaller ship’s configuration.
With up to 128 vertical launch missile cells and 12 hypersonic missiles per ship, the Trump class is projected to drastically enhance the missile capacity of the surface fleet.
The CBO compares the anticipated procurement costs for these battleships to the Navy’s Ford-class aircraft carriers, which cost around $22bn each but lack an equivalent organic missile armament.
While nuclear propulsion may offer operating cost savings versus conventionally powered alternatives by eliminating fuel purchases, the CBO states there is not enough detail at this point to estimate total lifetime operating expenses.
Industrial implications for the defence supply chain are also substantial. The CBO assessment predicts that by 2035, required annual output tonnage for large surface combatants will more than double.
Shipbuilders will need to raise large combatant production by 60%, while the volume for smaller vessels will decrease by around 40%.
The report cautions that this shift could stretch current shipyard capacity and disrupt other ongoing production lines.
Final assembly of the BBGN class is expected at Newport News Shipbuilding, the only US yard certified to construct new nuclear-powered surface ships.
However, this facility is currently facing delays in both aircraft carrier and submarine construction schedules, leading the CBO to warn that the additional workload from the battleship could further extend existing project timelines and potentially affect naval readiness.
While Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding, both established builders of US Navy surface ships, will contribute modules to the new class, they are neither certified for nuclear work nor free of production backlogs, having recently encountered delays on destroyer deliveries.
Procurement for the Trump class is scheduled to begin with the first order in 2028, followed by subsequent ships at roughly two-year intervals through 2056.
