The US Navy has incorporated unmanned surface and underwater vessels into its 30-year shipbuilding plan for the first time.

The fiscal year 2027 update, released May 12, calls for a fleet of 450 vessels by 2031, consisting of 299 warships, 68 auxiliary ships, and 83 unmanned robotic vessels.

“Our success will be measured by one metric: a larger, more capable fleet—manned and unmanned—ready to defend our homeland and project power globally,” Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao stated in the report’s foreword.

US Navy’s new shipbuilding plan highlights automated warships

Unlike previous shipbuilding plans, which mentioned unmanned systems only in broad terms, this update provides specific procurement targets and timelines for the first time.

The plan calls for the procurement of 47 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSVs) by 2031, with a long-term goal of maintaining an inventory of 72 by 2056. It also commits funding for Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (XLUUVs). This including $135.8 million in fiscal year 2027 to acquire the first two XLUUVs, and a total of $1.1 billion through 2031 to reach 16 vessels.

The new plan aligns with the US military’s broader plans for combining high-value human crewed platforms with lower-cost autonomous vehicles that can provide cover and draw enemy fire.

At the high end, the shipbuilding plan calls for 15 nuclear-powered Trump-class battleships (BBG(X)) by 2055, including three within the next five years. These vessels will provide long-range offensive fire, command and control, and endurance. The Navy projects $43.5 billion for the first three ships through FY2031, with advanced procurement beginning in FY2027.

Scepticism over sky-high cost estimates

Those cost estimates have raised several eyebrows. In an interview with Defense One, Bryan Clark, who leads the Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, said: “the battleship the Trump administration is envisioning [will] be more expensive than they estimate because it will be nuclear powered and incorporate several new technologies that have not been integrated into a new ship before, such as high-power lasers and electromagnetic railguns.”

“Those elements will drive the cost up toward $20 billion for the first ship and will make it hard to design and build the first ship in 10 years,” Clark continued. “Normally a ship like this would take five years to design and seven or more to build and deliver.”

Traditional surface shipbuilders lack nuclear certification, while existing nuclear yards such as Newport News face capacity constraints from carrier and submarine programs.

The shipbuilding plan does present a potential workaround. It promotes expanded modular and distributed shipbuilding, aiming to increase work at secondary sites from roughly 10 percent to 50 percent.

Still, the cost of the Trump administration’s shipbuilding plan remains a major concern. A prior Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report of the 2025 plan estimated $1 trillion for ship construction; updated figures are expected later this year.