US President Donald Trump leaves after announcing the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of warships, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Indianapolis (LCS 17) sails with two T-38 Devil Ray unmanned surface vessels (USV) and an Arabian Fox MAST-13 USV, all attached to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s (NAVCENT) Task Force 59, during exercise Digital Talon 2 in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 27, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Marita Schwab)
Seahawk, a Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) prototype, departs Naval Base Point Loma, California, Aug. 6, 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Robert Zahn)
Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) stand watch in the ship’s Combat Information Center during an operation in the Red Sea to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, Oct. 19, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)
Applied Intuition has delivered the first Data Edge Collection Kit to the Navy, which will allow the service to constantly collect AI-ready data from the operational environment.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle met with World War II veterans, 100-year old Paul Robins and 99-year old Eddie Desmond, aboard the Battleship USS New Jersey Museum and Memorial in Philadelphia, Pa., Oct 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Joe J. Cardona Gonzalez).
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Manta Ray Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle (UUV) prototype, completed full-scale, in-water testing in the Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu Sea Range, March 2024. (Photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman via DVIDS)
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle officially announced Tuesday the Navy’s latest approach to investing in and then deploying capabilities for conflict.
The Golden Fleet battleships are expected to be able to carry multiple weapon systems and other technologies that current destroyers do not have space for.