On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a new “Trump-class” battleship, declaring it would be “the fastest, the biggest, and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” He
hailed the ships as “some of the most lethal surface warfare ships,” promising they would “help maintain American military supremacy [and] inspire fear in America’s enemies all over the world.”
But there is one glaring problem: battleships have been obsolete for decades. The last was built more than 80 years ago, and the U.S. Navy retired the last Iowa-class ships nearly 30 years ago.
Once symbols of naval might with their massive guns, battleships have long since been eclipsed by aircraft carriers and modern destroyers armed with long-range missiles.
