Let's talk about Trump and battleships that will never be.... - Belle of the Ranch

[TexasTowelie]

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump and the battleships that will never be.

So, Trump made another major announcement about another pet project that will of course be named after him. And immediately, defense analysts rolled their eyes with some outright mocking the effort. Trump announced the construction of up to 25 new warships. And with the questions that came in, I guess that's as good a place to start as any.

“Belle, why are outlets putting the word battleship in scare quotes? Even military outlets are doing it.” They're making fun of Trump. A battleship isn't just any warship. It's a specific type of warship like a cruiser or a destroyer. A battleship is a heavy armored ship with large caliber naval guns. The US hasn't built one since 1944. Not because the Navy went woke during World War II, but because battleships are obsolete. Currently, the US has no battleships in active service, though there are still a few afloat as museums.

Trump's pet project isn't a battleship by any traditional terminology, so they're putting it in quotes. This whole thing was foreshadowed back in September when Trump said, "The concept of battleship, nice 6-inch side, solid steel, not aluminum. Aluminum that melts if it looks at a missile coming at it, starts melting as the missile is about 2 miles away. No, those ships, they don't make them that way anymore.” He then added, and I'm not joking, “I'm not a fan of some of the ships you do. I'm a very aesthetic person, and I don't like some of the ships you're doing aesthetically.”

But wait, there's more. At the same meeting, he said, "I look at those ships. They came with the destroyer alongside them. And man, nothing was going to stop them. Some people would say, "No, that's old technology." I don't know. I don't think it's old technology when you look at those guns.

Spoiler. The new ships don't have those guns because it's old technology. So, the US has decided to build a thing that isn't a battleship but call it a battleship. And it appears being aesthetically pleasing is super important. Instead of guns, they'll apparently have rail guns and nukes and hypersonic missiles and lasers. Again, I'm not joking.

So, the Dr. Evil class battleship will probably never actually come to be, at least not as depicted. There's currently no money in the appropriations for this project at all, much less the 25 battleships he says could be built. I'd like to remind everybody that the Navy has literally never had 25 battleships on the water. At its peak during World War II, I'm pretty sure the most it ever had was 23.

For the sailors watching or those familiar with the process of defense ship building, I have two more things for you to have a little laugh over. First, he reportedly has another planned project for his version of an aircraft carrier. I can't wait to see it. But while you may think that incorporating nuclear cruise missiles and rail guns into a surface ship battleship, that isn't is an amazing enough accomplishment on its own. Trump has said the Navy will take delivery of the first ship, which reportedly does not yet have any engineering plans, in two and a half years. I have a strong suspicion the Trump class battleship will go the way of the Montana class battleship.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.

[Rhiannon12866]

1. The last US battleship was built in 1944, the Missouri, which has long been retired and has become a museum

To symbolize the end of WWII. The felon-in-chief should consider joining it...

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Plus, how long does it take to build a "battleship?" The felon-in-chief will be long gone before it's barely started