Bath Iron Works says it is ready and willing to work with the Navy to help design and build the new class of warships that the Trump administration announced on Monday.
President Donald Trump said that the large “battleship” is part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.”
“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump said during the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Charles Krugh, president of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, said in a statement Monday night that the company “stands ready to fully support the Navy in the design and construction of this important new shipbuilding program.”
Krugh outlined the reputation and qualifications the shipyard brings to the table.
“As a leading shipbuilder for the Navy for more than 140 years, GDBIW has the capacity, capability and engineering expertise to design and build the world’s best warships,” Krugh stated. “America’s warfighters deserve the most advanced, lethal and survivable combat ships we can deliver to protect our country and our families.”
The shipyard has recently been constructing Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, including the USS Louis H. Wilson Jr., which was christened in September.
According to Trump, the new battleship, the first of which will be named the USS Defiant, will be longer and larger than the World War II-era Iowa-class battleships and will be armed with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns, and high-powered lasers — all technologies that are in various stages of development by the Navy.
The announcement comes just a month after the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and cost overruns, and decided instead to go with a modified version of a Coast Guard cutter that was being produced until recently.
The Navy has also failed to build its other newly designed ships, like the new Ford-class aircraft carrier and Columbia-class submarines, on time and on budget.
A newly created website for the “Golden Fleet” says the “guided missile battleship” will be roughly the same size as Iowa-class battleships but weigh only about half as much, around 35,000 tons, and have far smaller crews — between 650 and 850 sailors.
Its primary weapons will also be missiles, not large naval guns.
BIW, the Midcoast region’s largest employer, recently broke ground on the construction of 84 units across three apartment buildings in Bath for shipyard workers who have struggled to find affordable housing in the area. The location at 150 Congress Ave. is within walking and biking distance of the shipyard.
This report contains reporting by The Associated Press.