The first proposed Trump-class battleship now has a price tag: $23 billion. A glance at America’s shipbuilding capacity suggests that the construction timeline for the battleship program is also unrealistic. The Navy’s current fleet of 289 ships is already far short of the legally required 355 ships . The fact that the battleship program is projected out over the next 30 years also deserves scrutiny. A $23 billion American battleship will be an inviting target for submarines, anti-ship missiles, and hypersonic weapons.