U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works on Monday as part of his nationwide "Arsenal of Freedom" tour of domestic defense manufacturing facilities. However, Hegseth's speech in the City of Ships was thick on MAGA pride, and thin on details about the President's plans for a new, more advanced class of battleship.
Around 1,000 Bath Iron Works employees welcomed Secretary Hegseth with enthusiasm to the shipyard where they build destroyers for the U.S. Navy on the banks of the Kennebec River.
Between chants of "Bath Built is Best Built," pipefitter Alexander White said he loves his job at BIW and was excited to hear what Hegseth had to say. He was especially curious about plans for the new class of advanced battleship that President Trump announced late last year.
"It would definitely be neat to see if we had any contracts for new gen ships, that would be neat to have," White said. "It would kind of put us on the world map and be like, 'Hey, we're creating the new future of naval warfare.'"
During Hegseth's speech, which had the air of a pep rally, he reiterated his tour talking points about the need to "go hard and go fast" in domestic defense manufacturing, and how the Trump administration wants to build "peace through strength".
"See, our job is to have the backs of those warriors, to ensure that they have everything they need so they're never in a fair fight. But we can't do that without you," Hegseth said. "What you're building here in Bath, is essential to the arsenal of freedom. And nobody builds it better than you guys."
Aside from praise, however, Hegseth offered no details regarding plans for the "Golden Fleet", or the new, advanced Trump-class. Instead, he referenced only Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyers, also called DDGs — the class of warship that BIW currently builds.
"President Trump, you may have heard, has announced the goal of $1.5 trillion for our national security budget in 2027," Hegseth said. "And I don't know if I'm supposed to say this yet, but yeah, we're maxing out on DDGs, okay?"
BIW President Charles Krugh has previously stated that the company is ready to support the Navy in the design and construction of the new battleship, which according to the U.S. Navy and President Trump, will be "the most lethal surface combatant ever constructed."
