Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security
Synopsis: The proposed Trump-class warship, informally dubbed USS Defiant, is framed as a 35,000-ton “battleship,” but the argument here is that it’s closer to...
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Synopsis: The proposed Trump-class warship, informally dubbed USS Defiant, is framed as a 35,000-ton “battleship,” but the argument here is that it’s closer to...
Synopsis: The Alaska-class emerged from a pre–World War II scramble to counter rival “pocket battleships” and super-cruiser threats with a fast, hard-hitting “tweener.” -On...
Summary and Key Points: We compare the proposed Trump-class “USS Defiant” concept with the Iowa-class ships built for World War II. -The Trump-class is...
Synopsis: The Battleship Missouri (BB-63) entered service in 1944 as a fast Iowa-class battleship built for carrier-era warfare—high speed, heavy armor, and nine 16-inch...
Summary and Key Points: Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Fleet centers on a new Trump-class guided-missile battleship envisioned as a massive magazine ship for hypersonic...
Summary and Key Points: At the Surface Navy Association symposium in January 2026, Daryl Caudle argued that future warships tied to Donald Trump’s “Golden...
Synopsis: The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Musashi—sister ship to Yamato—was among the largest warships ever built, displacing about 73,000 tons and mounting 18.1-inch guns...
Summary and Key Points: The U.S. Navy’s F/A-XX—built to replace the F/A-18E/F and fly beside the F-35C—has regained momentum after a pause inside the...
A $22 Billion Trump-Class Battleship? Inside the BBG(X) Debate In December 2025, President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a new type of “battleship” which...
Summary and Key Points: The proposed Trump-class battleship is intended to restore “mass” in naval firepower as the U.S. Navy faces a fleet-size gap...