Trump battleship plan risks AUKUS submarine delays, Congress committee warns

A congressional committee is raising concerns that Donald Trump's plan to build a fleet of 15 new battleships could strain the US Navy's shipbuilding capacity and delay crucial submarine production for the AUKUS security pact. The committee wants assurances that the "Trump-class" battleships will not impede the construction of nuclear-powered submarines, which are already facing delays.

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The committee is concerned about the possibility of strain on US nuclear shipyards and maritime industrial base posed by the aggressive schedule proposed for producing a nuclear powered BBG(X) platform.

The US is committed to providing Australia with at least three Virginia-class submarines under the AUKUS agreement, a deal already threatened by existing shipbuilding backlogs. The House Armed Services Committee's amendment to a defense budget bill highlights worries about the "aggressive schedule" for the new battleships, dubbed BBG(X), and its potential impact on the US maritime industrial base.

Committee members, including key AUKUS proponent Joe Courtney, have voiced opposition to the battleship plan, calling it an "expensive, premature acquisition" that lacks a finalized design. Navy documents revealed the battleships would be nuclear-powered, raising further concerns about the single supplier of nuclear reactors, which could create a bottleneck for both the battleships and submarines. The amendment requests a report detailing the Navy's strategy to build the BBG(X) without disrupting current nuclear shipbuilding schedules, emphasizing that reactor procurement typically requires a 2-to-3-year lead time and 6-to-8-year production timelines.

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The program has gone from an AI-generated poster board in Mar-A-Lago in December to an expensive, premature acquisition of steel for a ship that still does not have a design yet.

Trump announced the "Golden Fleet" concept in December, envisioning "Trump-class" ships as "the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built." The Navy's latest roadmap outlines acquiring 15 such battleships by 2055, with the first, named "Defiant," expected in 2036. However, the committee's primary concern remains the potential impact on surface-vessel production, including nuclear-powered ones.

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The committee is concerned that the accelerated procurement timeline for the BBG(X) program will result in a negative impact on this supply chain.