The U.S. Navy has released a major new shipbuilding plan that calls for 34 manned ships and five unmanned platforms to be funded in fiscal year 2027 alone, as Washington pushes to expand fleet size and rebuild domestic shipyard capacity. The programme forms part of the Trump administration’s “Golden Fleet” initiative, a long-term strategy aimed at reversing years of delays, shrinking fleet numbers, and rising construction costs in U.S. naval shipbuilding.
The U.S. Navy plans to invest $65.8 billion in shipbuilding programmes in 2027. Over the next five years, it wants funding for 122 ships and 63 unmanned systems.
According to the Department of the Navy, the U.S. Navy currently operates 291 battle force ships, well below the official target of 355 vessels.
The plan includes five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, 10 Virginia-class attack submarines, seven Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, four frigates, two amphibious assault ships (LHA), five amphibious transport docks (LPD), 23 Medium Landing Ships, seven fleet oilers, and five ocean surveillance ships.
One of the most closely watched proposals is a new class of nuclear-powered battleships designated BBGN. The U.S. Navy says the ships would carry long-range strike weapons, expanded power-generation capacity, and future combat systems. Officials describe the concept as a new high-end surface combatant rather than a replacement for destroyers.
The programme also puts heavy emphasis on unmanned systems. The 2027 budget includes three Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSV), while the five-year plan includes 47 MUSVs and 16 Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles.
The U.S. Navy also wants to overhaul how ships are built. Officials admitted that although naval shipbuilding budgets have roughly doubled over the past two decades, the fleet has not grown compared with 2003 levels.
To speed up production, the Department of the Navy plans to expand modular construction and increase the amount of work carried out at distributed facilities across the country. Currently, only about 10% of U.S. naval shipbuilding work is performed outside major yards, but the target is to raise that figure to 50%.
The programme also includes major investment in shipyard infrastructure and manufacturing capacity. One example highlighted in the report is Hadrian’s Factory 4 facility in Alabama, backed by $900 million in U.S. Navy funding and $1.5 billion in private investment.
The wider expansion plan comes as the U.S. Navy faces increasing operational pressure in the Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, Arctic, and Middle East, while continuing to struggle with submarine construction delays and aging repair yards.
The success of the “Golden Fleet” programme will depend heavily on Congressional funding approvals and on whether U.S. shipyards can expand production capacity quickly enough to meet the Navy’s targets.
