Trump's Battleship Will Run On Nuclear Power, Carry Futuristic Weapons

The plan was included in the Navy's latest 30-year shipbuilding roadmap submitted to Congress. Unlike destroyers and frigates, which usually rely on gas turbines or diesel engines, the Trump battleship will use a nuclear reactor for propulsion.

12 May 2026, 18:08 · NDTV

The US Navy has decided that the new battleship being developed in honour of President Donald Trump will run on nuclear power, a major shift that is likely to make the project far more expensive and technically demanding.

The plan was included in the Navy's latest 30-year shipbuilding roadmap submitted to Congress. Unlike destroyers and frigates, which usually rely on gas turbines or diesel engines, the Trump battleship will use a nuclear reactor for propulsion. According to the Navy, that would allow the vessel to travel further, move faster and support more advanced weapons systems.

Officials have said the ship could weigh between 30,000 and 40,000 tonnes, making it several times larger than today's destroyers.

The navy has not operated a nuclear-powered surface warship since the 1990s. Those vessels were costly to maintain, and their reactors required frequent refuelling compared to the newer systems now used on aircraft carriers and submarines.

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The upcoming warship is also expected to carry experimental weapons, including lasers and electromagnetic railguns, which fire projectiles using electricity instead of gunpowder. Trump has previously said the ships would also be equipped with nuclear cruise missiles.

"The nuclear-powered Battleship is designed to provide the Fleet with a significant increase in combat power by longer endurance, higher speed, and accommodating advanced weapon systems required for modern warfare," the Navy said in the shipbuilding plan.

Budget documents sent to Congress last month estimate the Navy will spend $43.5 billion on the first three ships.

Bryan Clark, a naval expert at the Hudson Institute, said nuclear power offers operational advantages even if it increases costs. Unlike conventional warships that need to refuel every few days, nuclear-powered vessels can stay deployed for much longer.

"There's no cost savings really to be gained by going nuclear-if anything, it's going to cost a little bit more," he told the Wall Street Journal. "The bigger impact is this operational impact."

Clark added that nuclear-powered ships can maintain high speeds while operating power-hungry weapons like railguns and lasers. Conventional ships may have to slow down to generate enough electricity for those systems.

Still, the costs go beyond construction. Nuclear-powered ships are also more expensive to maintain, and the Navy's shipyards that handle nuclear vessels are already under pressure, Clark noted.

Trump has claimed the first battleship could be completed within two-and-a-half years. However, the Navy has not yet finalised the design or selected a builder for the project.

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