What is the ‘Golden Fleet’ of navy ships that Trump wants to counter China with?

The Trump administration is advancing plans for a transformative new generation of naval warships.

Tentatively called the “Golden Fleet,” the concept seeks to overhaul the United States Navy’s structure and capabilities, integrating advanced weapons, autonomous systems, and diversified ship designs to confront rapidly evolving threats — most notably from China.

How did Trump come up with the ‘Golden Fleet’?

Discussions between senior White House and Pentagon officials are underway to chart a future course for the US Navy’s surface combatant force.

According to former and current defence officials cited by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in a report on October 24, these talks aim to redefine the fleet under the branding of the “Golden Fleet.”

The initiative reflects US President Donald Trump’s direct involvement in US naval policy, as he continues to advocate for a visible and aesthetically imposing navy.

The “Golden Fleet” label follows a pattern familiar to Trump’s governance style, echoing earlier programmes such as the “Golden Dome” missile defence initiative and the “Gold Card” immigration system.

Trump, who has previously voiced dissatisfaction with the design of current warships, has personally engaged in conversations with Navy leadership to shape the project’s direction.

He has reportedly exchanged multiple rounds of feedback with service officials and often references historical naval power as a model for future designs.

At an address to military officers in Virginia last month, Trump invoked nostalgia for the powerful Iowa-class battleships that served during World War II and were decommissioned in the early 1990s.

“We actually talk about, you know, those ships,” he said.

“Some people would say that’s old technology. I don’t think it’s old technology when you look at those guns, but it’s actually something we’re considering, the concept of battleship.”

This personal interest in naval aesthetics and performance is consistent with his first presidency, when he argued for a return to steam-powered catapults on aircraft carriers and expressed distaste for the angular appearance of certain destroyers.

He also reportedly suggested modifications to the design of the Constellation-class frigates during his first term.

What do we know about the US Navy’s ‘Golden Fleet’ concept?

At its core, the Golden Fleet represents a proposed shift from traditional naval composition toward a “barbell” configuration — a structure with large, heavily armed ships on one end and smaller, agile vessels and unmanned platforms on the other, reported WSJ.

According to current and former US Navy officials, the administration is considering replacing portions of the existing inventory of 287 ships — currently comprising destroyers, cruisers, carriers, amphibious vessels, and submarines — with a fleet that is both more technologically advanced and operationally flexible.

The new blueprint includes plans for large surface combatants weighing between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes, significantly larger than the Navy’s existing Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

These ships would be designed to carry an expanded arsenal of long-range and potentially hypersonic missiles, vastly increasing their striking power compared to today’s vessels.

“The reason we went to battleships in World War II was to get to that longer-range cannon,” Bryan Clark, a retired Navy officer and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who is participating in the planning discussions, told WSJ.

“I think here we’re just saying, ‘well, in the missile age, this is what we need for longer range, it’s these big missiles.’ And so this battleship of tomorrow is going to be this thing that carries really long-range missiles.”

Alongside these super-sized ships, the Golden Fleet would incorporate corvettes and light frigates — smaller and faster platforms optimised for near-shore operations, distributed combat roles, and modular missions.

These vessels would form a mobile network of forward-deployed assets capable of responding quickly to regional contingencies.

Current analysis within the US Navy supports moving away from fleet-size targets, such as the previously proposed goal of 355 ships, and instead focusing on a balanced force of 280-300 crewed vessels supplemented by large numbers of unmanned vehicles.

These robotic systems — surface ships, submarines, and aerial drones — would serve as force multipliers in combat environments.

What role will unmanned naval warfare play in this?

The concept of integrating autonomous and semi-autonomous systems into naval operations is not new, but under the Golden Fleet framework, it becomes a central element of US maritime doctrine.

The Navy has already been experimenting with manned-unmanned teaming through initiatives like “Ghost Fleet Overlord,” which tests robotic surface ships capable of extended autonomous navigation and combat support functions.

Officials believe such systems could be deployed in “hedge” formations — augmenting manned fleets during crises or large-scale conflicts. Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, has been exploring a similar concept dubbed “Hellscape.”

This approach envisions flooding the waters around Taiwan with thousands of unmanned surface and subsurface vessels in the event of a Chinese invasion, buying critical time for allied responses.

Clark stated that the Navy’s ongoing wargames, conducted in collaboration with defence think tanks, have revealed growing gaps in existing surface fleet capabilities, particularly against missile saturation threats and swarming tactics.

The findings suggest a need for rebalancing fleet design to meet emerging challenges such as the Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea and Chinese anti-ship systems in the Pacific.

“What’s fortuitous is that our own analysis, I think the Navy’s own analysis, we’re all kind of leaning in a direction that aligns with the president’s intuition,” Clark said.

“So there’s a way to shape this so that it not only does kind of the broader things the president wants to do, but actually delivers the kinds of capabilities that the Navy needs, at least as we assess it, for future operating environments.”

What are the challenges that this concept may face?

While the strategic rationale for a more distributed and autonomous fleet has gained traction, practical barriers loom large. The American shipbuilding sector is already facing constraints in meeting existing Navy procurement goals.

Major shipyards such as Bath Iron Works in Maine and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi are operating at full capacity with ongoing commitments to the Columbia-class submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers.

Labour shortages, ageing facilities, and material supply issues continue to hinder production schedules.

Reviving US industrial readiness for an initiative as expansive as the Golden Fleet would require not only billions in new investment but also a substantial expansion of the shipbuilding workforce and supporting infrastructure.

Mark Montgomery, a retired naval officer and senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, cautioned against neglecting these foundational issues.

“I’m all for a dramatic reimagining of the fleet, [but] I’m not sure super large surface combatants are the right answer,” he told WSJ. “The president’s aesthetic eye is not the proper paradigm to evaluate tactical ship requirements.”

Montgomery also pointed out the need for steady funding for shipyard modernisation and for reducing maintenance backlogs. Without these steps, the new fleet could face the same readiness issues that have plagued existing ships.

Financially, the proposed large warships would represent a significant escalation in cost.

Modelling data reviewed by Army Recognition suggests that each vessel could cost between $4 billion and $6 billion, depending on its sensor systems and missile loadout.

How will Trump use Hypersonic weapons in his ‘Golden Fleet’ plan?

One of the Golden Fleet’s defining ambitions is to integrate hypersonic missile technology, enabling ships to engage targets at vastly greater ranges and speeds than conventional systems.

These weapons, however, remain in limited production, and current testing programs have faced delays and reliability concerns.

A defence programme manager familiar with Navy research warned that the initiative risks advancing ship design faster than weapons readiness. “There’s a risk of being 30 years ahead in hull design but five years behind in missile availability,” the official told Army Recognition.

Despite these concerns, proponents argue that longer-range missile capability is essential for the United States to maintain its deterrence posture, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, where Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile systems such as the DF-21D and DF-26 are designed to target US carrier strike groups from thousands of kilometres away.

How does the China factor play into this?

The timing of the Golden Fleet initiative underscores Washington’s growing alarm over China’s naval expansion.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) now boasts over 370 ships, making it the world’s largest by number of hulls. Each year, Beijing adds dozens of modern destroyers, frigates, and submarines to its ranks, while also advancing in hypersonic and anti-ship missile capabilities.

American defence planners view this rapid buildup as a challenge to US maritime dominance in the Indo-Pacific, where naval presence underpins freedom of navigation and regional deterrence.

The Golden Fleet concept seeks to give the US Navy greater range, resilience, and adaptability — traits considered vital in operating across China’s expanding anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) envelope.

As Clark noted, the aim is to design a fleet that can survive and strike effectively within high-threat environments rather than relying solely on legacy carrier-based doctrines.

How has Trump emboldened US naval power so far?

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly highlighted several recent initiatives as evidence of Trump’s focus on strengthening US maritime power.

“The president has done more than anyone to bolster America’s maritime dominance—including by securing a $43 billion investment in the Working Families Tax Cut, establishing a White House Office of Shipbuilding, negotiating a historic deal with Finland to construct 11 new arctic cutters, and more,” she said.

“We have no further announcements at this time — stay tuned!”

At the same time, Trump has maintained an unusually active line of communication with his Navy leadership.

US Navy Secretary John Phelan told senators earlier this year that the president frequently messages him late at night with concerns about the fleet’s maintenance and appearance, even complaining about “rusty ships.”

This level of engagement has won Trump praise from some defence analysts for bringing political focus to naval modernization, though critics warn that aesthetic or branding considerations must not overshadow strategic imperatives.

Will Trump’s ‘Golden Fleet’ US Navy concept become reality?

United States Congress is expected to play a central role in determining whether the Golden Fleet concept becomes a reality.

The US Navy is reportedly preparing to submit early planning documents and funding requests by Fiscal Year 2027, including preliminary requirements frameworks to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

Lawmakers will scrutinise the feasibility of the plan, given its cost and industrial implications. A senior committee aide told Army Recognition, “The Navy’s got to prove this isn’t just a vanity project, it has to close kill chains faster and survive in a hypersonic-rich environment.”

To accelerate timelines and offset capacity shortfalls, the administration is also considering co-production agreements with allied shipbuilders.

Discussions are expected with European partners such as Fincantieri and Naval Group to produce smaller variants of Golden Fleet corvettes for both US and Nato use.

The Navy could also explore existing designs for adaptation — such as the Israeli Sa’ar 6-class corvette, which itself is based on the German Braunschweig-class model — offering a faster route to fielding smaller ships within the concept.

Even with presidential backing and potential congressional approval, the Golden Fleet remains in its infancy.

Industry experts estimate that designing and constructing a new large surface combatant could take five years for design and another five to seven years for production, meaning that the first ship might not enter service until well after Trump’s current term.

By contrast, smaller ships and unmanned systems could enter production more quickly, particularly through partnerships with foreign shipyards or modular assembly approaches.

With inputs from agencies