The BLUF - December 23rd

Good morning everyone,

This is Atlas, and you’re reading the Bottom Line Up Front, where we cover the top geopolitical stories from around the world every Tuesday!

Today’s topics:

• Trump Unveils ‘Golden Fleet’

• Pakistan To Sell $4 Billion In Arms To Libyan Forces

• Russian General Assassinated In Moscow

Trump Unveils ‘Golden Fleet’

_{By: Atlas}

Trump unveils 'Golden Fleet' initiative with new battleship class bearing his name

President Donald Trump announced Monday that the Navy will begin construction on a new class of battleships named after himself, marking the first such vessels since World War II and the centerpiece of what the administration has dubbed the "Golden Fleet."

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said the new warships would be "the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built." He was flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The first vessel in the Trump-class line will be named the USS Defiant. Trump said construction on two ships will begin "immediately," with plans to eventually build between 20 and 25.

"We haven't built a battleship since 1994," Trump said. "These cutting-edge vessels will be some of the most lethal surface warfare ships... other than our submarines."

According to the president, the new battleships will weigh between 30,000 and 40,000 tons, considerably larger than the Navy's current fleet of destroyers. They will be equipped with hypersonic missiles, electromagnetic rail guns, high-powered lasers and nuclear-capable sea-launched cruise missiles.

Breaking with Navy tradition

The announcement represents a significant departure from the Navy's longstanding ship-naming conventions. Aircraft carriers are traditionally named after presidents, while battleships have historically been named after states.

The Iowa-class battleships of World War II were the last true battleships built by the United States, displacing roughly 60,000 tons. The USS Missouri, the final ship of that class to see active service, was decommissioned in 1992 and converted into a museum at Pearl Harbor.

Trump indicated he will play a personal role in the design process.

"The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I'm a very aesthetic person," he said.

The president has long held strong opinions about the appearance and capabilities of Navy vessels. During his first term, he unsuccessfully called for a return to steam-powered catapults on aircraft carriers instead of the electromagnetic systems used on the Gerald R. Ford class. He has also complained about rust on Navy ships, with Phelan telling senators at his confirmation hearing that Trump "has texted me numerous times very late at night, sometimes after one o'clock in the morning" about the issue.

Technical challenges and questions

The Navy has struggled to field several of the technologies Trump says will equip the new battleships.

The service spent hundreds of millions of dollars and more than 15 years attempting to deploy electromagnetic rail guns aboard ships before abandoning the effort in 2021. Laser systems have seen more success in recent years, but deployment remains limited. One system designed to blind or disable drone sensors is now aboard eight destroyers after eight years in development.

Developing nuclear cruise missile capabilities or deploying them on ships may also raise questions under non-proliferation treaties the United States has signed with Russia.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing plans, told the Associated Press that design efforts are underway and construction is planned to begin in the early 2030s. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Navy plans to launch a competition to find a vendor and procure the first ship in 2030.

The announcement comes just weeks after the Navy scrapped its Constellation-class frigate program, citing growing delays and cost overruns. The service decided instead to pursue a modified version of the Coast Guard's Legend-class national security cutter.

Defense industry pressure

Trump said he plans to meet with major defense contractors in Florida next week to address production delays and cost overruns. He indicated the discussions would cover executive compensation, stock buybacks and dividends.

"We don't want to have executives making $50 million a year, issuing big dividends to everybody, and also doing buybacks" while production of F-35s and other aircraft languishes, Trump said.

Reuters reported last week that the administration was planning an executive order to limit dividends, buybacks and executive pay for defense contractors whose projects are over-budget and delayed.

"We're going to be discussing the pay to executives, where they're making $45 and $50 million a year and not being able to build quickly," Trump said. "They're going to make that kind of money. They have to build quickly."

The announcement follows Trump's signing of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which unlocks $26 billion in federal funds for shipbuilding, along with $17 billion for Navy aviation procurement and $5.8 billion for Navy weapons procurement.

Broader fleet expansion

The Trump-class battleships are part of a larger Golden Fleet concept that would pair these offensive vessels with smaller unmanned ships and corvettes.

Last week, Phelan announced plans for a separate new class of frigates based on a proven Coast Guard design. The Navy expects the first ship of that class to be in the water by 2028.

"This new class, these new investments, will be the types of things that for decades, for centuries, the American people will look back and thank President Trump for having the vision and the willingness to invest right now in capabilities we need today, tomorrow, and long into the future," Hegseth said.

Phelan described the new battleship as the "largest, deadliest, most versatile, and best looking warship anywhere on the world's oceans." He said the vessels would carry "the biggest guns of our era" designed not to "swat the arrows" from the sky but to "reach out" and eliminate threats at their source.

When asked whether China was the intended adversary for the new ships, Trump said no, citing his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He described the expansion as "a counter to everybody."

The Golden Fleet branding aligns with Trump's inauguration-day pledge to usher in a new "Golden Age" for the country. He has similarly branded a new missile defense initiative the "Golden Dome" and redecorated the Oval Office and Cabinet Room with gilded touches.

According to a newly created government website for the Golden Fleet, the new guided missile battleship is designed to carry crews of between 650 and 850 sailors, significantly smaller than the roughly 1,900 required for World War II-era battleships.

Trump said Monday that construction would rely heavily on "robotic factories" alongside traditional workforce, though he emphasized that human workers would still be necessary to operate and improve the automated systems.

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