US President Donald Trump’s new battleship plan, apparently aimed at deterring China, faces huge implementation hurdles and could cause Beijing to double down on its anti-ship weapons, according to analysts.
Trump unveiled a new class of navy battleships on Monday. These “Trump-class” ships will be larger, faster and “100 times more powerful” than any previously built, according to the American leader, forming the centrepiece of what he called an expanded “Golden Fleet” aimed at cementing US naval dominance.
In an announcement from his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump declared that the new class of vessels would “inspire fear in America’s enemies all over the world”, though he did not name any specific countries.
Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, said the battleship plan was “completely targeting” China. If realised, Shi said, it would strengthen America’s already advanced naval capabilities and significantly increase its control over the oceans.
Liselotte Odgaard, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said the new fleet involved “long-term strategic signalling and industrial base politics”.
“If funded and built, it would add a future flagship with hypersonic and nuclear-cruise options, but in the near term, Indo-Pacific deterrence still depends on distributed kill webs, littoral denial, and submarine and carrier readiness.”
According to Trump, the ships will be armed with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, railguns, and high-powered lasers, and will be “very AI-controlled”.
Initially, the US Navy will build two Trump-class ships, with the goal of building 20 to 25 in total. The ships are still in the design phase, with construction of the first battleship, the USS Defiant, targeted for the early 2030s.
Trump has vowed to revive the US shipbuilding industry since he returned to the White House earlier this year, as warnings grow that the US lags behind China in both shipbuilding capacity and total output.
Odgaard said Trump’s announcement “signals industrial and military overmatch aspirations at a time of concern that China’s shipbuilding capacity has outstripped the US”.
China continues to be the world’s leading commercial ship producer. In 2024, China captured over 53 per cent of the global market share in commercial shipbuilding, while the US accounted for only 0.1 per cent, according to the Washington-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

分析人士指出，美国总统特朗普的新战舰计划显然意在威慑中国，但面临巨大实施障碍，并可能促使北京方面加倍发展反舰武器。
特朗普周一公布了一款新型海军战列舰。据这位美国领导人称，这些"特朗普级"战舰将比以往建造的任何战舰都更大、更快、"威力强100倍"，成为他所谓的扩大版"黄金舰队"的核心，旨在巩固美国的海军主导地位。
特朗普在其海湖庄园宣布，这款新型战舰将"让全世界的美国敌人都感到恐惧"，但他没有点名具体国家。
中国人民大学国际关系学教授时殷弘表示，该战舰计划"完全针对"中国。时殷弘称，如果得以实现，将增强美国本已先进的海军能力，并显著提升其对海洋的控制力。
华盛顿哈德逊研究所高级研究员莉斯洛特·奥德加德表示，新舰队涉及"长期战略信号和工业基础政治"。
"如果获得资金并建成，将增加一款具备高超音速和核巡航选项的未来旗舰，但近期印太威慑仍取决于分布式杀伤网、近海拒止以及潜艇和航母战备状态。"
据特朗普称，这些战舰将配备高超音速导弹、核巡航导弹、电磁轨道炮和高功率激光武器，并将"高度由人工智能控制"。
美国海军最初将建造两艘特朗普级战舰，目标是总共建造20至25艘。这些战舰仍处于设计阶段，首艘战舰"无畏号"的建造目标定于21世纪30年代初。
自今年早些时候重返白宫以来，特朗普誓言重振美国造船业，而有关美国在造船能力和总产量方面落后于中国的警告日益增多。
奥德加德表示，特朗普的宣布"在中国造船能力已超越美国的担忧时期，发出了工业与军事优势抱负的信号"。
中国仍是全球领先的商业船舶生产国。据华盛顿智库战略与国际研究中心数据，2024年中国占据全球商业造船市场份额的53%以上，而美国仅占0.1%。

China boasts the world’s largest navy, with a battle force of over 370 ships and submarines. According to the Pentagon’s annual report to the US Congress, released this week, the Chinese navy aims to produce six aircraft carriers by 2035, bringing its total to nine.
But while the People’s Liberation Army has a numerical advantage, the US still holds a qualitative edge, including in destroyers, aircraft carriers and combat experience.
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, noted that there remained a “huge question mark” over whether the ships would eventually be built. He cited the “chequered” history of cancelled US Navy programmes and the “fundamental systemic issues” within the US naval shipbuilding industry – even with support from allies such as South Korea.
Trump signed an executive order in April to bolster and rebuild the domestic maritime industry and workforce, while also inking deals with South Korean shipbuilders.
“Even if the programme gets off the drawing board, how many could be built? [Is] there sustained funding support, which will be heavily dependent on dynamics within the US Congress? And it’s all up in the air until the midterm elections,” Koh said.
In October, reports surfaced that the US Navy’s next Ford-class aircraft carrier was facing a two-year delivery delay, pushing its arrival to March 2027. The delay is attributed to persistent developmental issues with its technologies, compounded by workforce and supply chain problems.
“[America’s] naval power has declined quite significantly, its defence-industrial capabilities have declined even more,” said Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel in the pla.
“Restoring these capabilities is not something that can be done quickly; it involves a large amount of personnel training, financial investment, technological recovery, and even innovation,” he added.
“The next administration will just stop talking about it, and that’s it. Technically, the difficulty is extremely high and complex. Coordinating so many elements together is almost impossible.”
Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo, said that the battleship announcement signalled a “return to visible power projection and a rejection of distributed operations doctrine”.
“[This] will likely prompt China to accelerate its anti-ship ballistic missile programme and deepen military coordination with Russia,” Nagy said.
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military analyst, said that it was questionable whether battleships could survive when faced with extensive anti-ship capabilities.
“It will be very difficult for the US to change the balance of naval power through this move,” he said.

中国拥有世界最大规模的海军，作战舰艇和潜艇总数超过370艘。根据五角大楼本周向美国国会提交的年度报告，中国海军计划到2035年建造6艘航空母舰，使其航母总数达到9艘。
但尽管中国海军在数量上占优，美国仍在质量上保持优势，包括在驱逐舰、航母和作战经验方面。
新加坡拉惹勒南国际研究院国防与战略研究所高级研究员柯林·高指出，这些战舰最终能否建成仍存在"巨大问号"。他列举了美国海军项目被取消的"曲折"历史，以及美国海军造船业存在的"根本性系统问题"——即使有韩国等盟友的支持。
特朗普今年4月签署行政命令以加强和重建国内海事产业及劳动力队伍，同时还与韩国造船企业签署了协议。
"即使该项目脱离图纸阶段，能建造多少艘？是否有持续的资金支持（这在很大程度上取决于美国国会内部动态）？在中期选举之前，一切都悬而未决。"柯林·高表示。
今年10月有报道称，美国海军下一艘福特级航空母舰面临两年交付延迟，将推迟至2027年3月。延迟归因于其技术持续存在开发问题，加之劳动力和供应链问题。
"（美国的）海军力量已显著下降，其国防工业能力下降更甚。"中国人民解放军退役大校周波表示。
"恢复这些能力不是一朝一夕能完成的；涉及大量人员培训、资金投入、技术恢复乃至创新。"他补充道。
"下届政府可能就不再提这事了。从技术上讲，难度极高且复杂。协调这么多要素几乎是不可能的。"
东京国际基督教大学政治与国际研究学教授斯蒂芬·纳吉表示，战舰计划的宣布标志着"回归显性力量投送，并摒弃分布式作战理念"。
"（这）可能会促使中国加速其反舰弹道导弹计划，并深化与俄罗斯的军事协调。"纳吉说。
中国军事分析人士宋忠平表示，战舰在面对广泛反舰能力时能否生存值得怀疑。
"美国很难通过此举改变海军力量平衡。"他表示。