House NDAA Draft Requires Certification Before Trump-Class Battleship Funds

The House draft of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2027 authorizes $1 billion for the Trump-class battleship program while barring contract awards until the Navy secretary certifies that the ships' technologies are sufficiently mature.

The measure responds to administration plans that designate the vessels as the centerpiece of the Navy's Golden Fleet initiative announced in December. The lead ship, USS Defiant, is projected to cost more than $17 billion, with the first three ships together slated to reach $43.5 billion.

The ships are designed to be three times the size of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and to carry nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles, railguns, and lasers. These systems remain in development. Policy analysts have stated that concentrating advanced, unproven systems in a small number of large hulls runs counter to the Navy's stated goal of a more agile and distributed force.

The certification requirement marks a departure from the administration's request to move directly into production. The provision applies only to the House draft; the Senate version of the bill has not yet been released.