This is a clean “physics and industry” reality check on the Trump-class idea: the story runs far ahead of what lasers can reliably do at sea, far ahead of the power margins ships actually have, and far ahead of what the shipbuilding base can deliver on time and at scale. The result is a big narrative promise with a long, predictable gap between headline and hull, which becomes its own strategic liability.
Trump understands the history he lived through very well.
Trump remembers Star Wars/High Frontier/Brilliant Pebbles convinced Gorbachev to really come to the negotiating table with RR and really deal because Gorbachev realized they couldn’t keep up.
Trump may or not know the history of the Washington Naval Treaty (1922) and everyone who signed did because the previous American plan under Wilson was to outbuild every other Navy including the British *and that the Americans absolutely could* … hence the stick behind the carrot, bringing us to the last point… OH YES WE CAN and these Admirals are morons to cross him. OF COURSE we can build it, the question is can the others afford even the R&D to keep up? If the lasers are lesser that misses the point, if the power is inadequate we build an enormous reactor.
Trump says to the naysayers thanks for taking the bait on something that doesn’t exist. You’ll never learn.
“The surest way to get an American to do something is to tell him it can’t be done.”
My curiosity is over the rail-gun envisioned for it. As far as I recall the Americans gave up on the idea years ago with only recently GD coming out with plans for renewed efforts. If this class will ever get to exist I wonder if the Americans would consider adopting the Japanese rail-gun which is already at an advanced stage of development.
Other than that, I won't presume to know better but fiber lasers can be stacked to achieve the envisioned 300kW goal no?
On my part the biggest question mark is the propulsion. This has to be nuclear I can't see how conventional will suffice.
This is a clean “physics and industry” reality check on the Trump-class idea: the story runs far ahead of what lasers can reliably do at sea, far ahead of the power margins ships actually have, and far ahead of what the shipbuilding base can deliver on time and at scale. The result is a big narrative promise with a long, predictable gap between headline and hull, which becomes its own strategic liability.
To begin; Trump is always negotiating.
Trump understands the history he lived through very well.
Trump remembers Star Wars/High Frontier/Brilliant Pebbles convinced Gorbachev to really come to the negotiating table with RR and really deal because Gorbachev realized they couldn’t keep up.
Trump may or not know the history of the Washington Naval Treaty (1922) and everyone who signed did because the previous American plan under Wilson was to outbuild every other Navy including the British *and that the Americans absolutely could* … hence the stick behind the carrot, bringing us to the last point… OH YES WE CAN and these Admirals are morons to cross him. OF COURSE we can build it, the question is can the others afford even the R&D to keep up? If the lasers are lesser that misses the point, if the power is inadequate we build an enormous reactor.
Trump says to the naysayers thanks for taking the bait on something that doesn’t exist. You’ll never learn.
“The surest way to get an American to do something is to tell him it can’t be done.”
- Hermann Balck .
My curiosity is over the rail-gun envisioned for it. As far as I recall the Americans gave up on the idea years ago with only recently GD coming out with plans for renewed efforts. If this class will ever get to exist I wonder if the Americans would consider adopting the Japanese rail-gun which is already at an advanced stage of development.
Other than that, I won't presume to know better but fiber lasers can be stacked to achieve the envisioned 300kW goal no?
On my part the biggest question mark is the propulsion. This has to be nuclear I can't see how conventional will suffice.
On the railgun: https://www.laserwars.net/p/japan-electromagnetic-railgun-us-navy
On the fiber lasers: not sure, but I can look into it!