A diagram illustrating the USS Defiant, the first proposed Trump-class battleship. The ship’s extensive use of directed energy weapons makes a reliance on nuclear power inevitable. (US Navy)

The US Navy’s Trump-Class Battleships Will Be Nuclear Powered. Uh-Oh.

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The use of nuclear power aboard the future Trump-class vessels may seem prudent now, but is likely to become a financial and logistical albatross for the Navy.

The US Navy’s future Trump-class battleships will be nuclear-powered, the service announced on Monday in its 30-year shipbuilding blueprint.

“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,” read the plan, first published on Monday. “Adding capability at the highest end of the highlow mix, the battleship’s primary role is to deliver high-volume, long-range offensive fires and serve as a robust, survivable forward command and control platform; it is not a destroyer replacement.”

However, critics have warned that powering the vessels with nuclear reactors will inflate the cost, add to the complexity, and possibly even delay their construction—if the warships are ever built to begin with.

The Trump-Class Battleship Could Have Unlimited Range and Endurance

President Donald Trump has personally pushed for the construction of the battleships, arguing they are necessary for future conflicts. There has been speculation that the decision to fire former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan last month was the direct result of his failure to get the program........

© The National Interest