New Trump-Class Battleship To Be Powered By Nuclear Energy, U.S Navy Says

U.S Navy officials confirmed that the future Trump-class battleship will be powered by nuclear energy. The warship, which was redesignated from BBG(X) to BBGN, will be the United States’ first nuclear-powered surface combatant since the Cold War Period.

The 35,000-ton USS Defiant with the A1B nuclear reactor would have an unlimited range, allowing it to sail for longer periods across the Indo-Pacific while generating electricity needed to operate its advanced weapons and sensor systems.

However, the project is riddled with supply chain issues and other difficulties like a shortage of manpower.

U.S has just two shipyards which are fit to build vessels with a nuclear reactor, which is a major issue for the Navy in expanding its fleet to meet future naval defence requirements.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News is the only facility capable of building nuclear-powered ships, and it is already struggling with delays and increasing costs on the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier program.

On the other hand, General Dynamics Electric Boat mainly builds submarines with a focus on high-priority attack and ballistic missile boats. Hence, there are no alternative shipyards for additional nuclear-surface combatants.

The government is concerned that if it adds another major demand, it would divert the reactor parts and workforce from the Ford-class carrier project, the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, and Virginia-class attack submarines.

It would also affect the AUKUS agreement by placing burdens on the main industrial assets, such as already-burdened dockyards, reactor vendor BWX Technologies, and the limited workforce which is tasked with delivering Virginia-class submarines on schedule.

U.S manufactures its reactors on its own, but it depends on the U.S reactor design pedigree and a limited and non-replenishable stockpile of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), over 50% of which originates from the US.

Hence, the decision to make Trump-class battleships, powered by nuclear energy, has led to criticism around the project and raised concerns about construction timelines.

Critics have argued that the 15-battleship goal is feasible for a fleet which has not been projected to hit 355 ships until FY2040. Experts also said that the project could be cancelled by the future government due to these issues.