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US may cancel Trump-class battleship project after war with Iran — expert

Alexander Stepanov suggested that the US Navy would rely on the use of new-generation destroyers equipped with high-precision long-range weapons systems, as well as the widespread deployment of autonomous underwater vehicles

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Washington will review its naval construction concept and may abandon the previously announced Trump-class battleship project, taking into account the experience gained during the war with Iran, military expert Alexander Stepanov at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) told TASS.

"The United States is highly likely to revise its naval construction concept, specifically shifting its focus away from carrier strike groups and large-tonnage surface ships. Trump previously announced a project for the largest warships in modern history (the Trump-class). The US will likely also move away from this concept given the increased threats from precision weapons, including combined strikes involving drones and hypersonic systems," the expert said.

According to him, the need to revise the US naval construction concept is dictated by the experience of the war against Iran, which revealed the vulnerability of carrier strike groups to long-range anti-ship systems. "The changes will be the result of an analysis of the Iranian campaign, which effectively paralyzed the carrier strike group’s offensive capabilities. Given the range of Iran’s anti-ship systems, deploying a carrier strike group within the operational range of naval aviation became impossible," he emphasized.

Stepanov suggested that the US Navy would rely on the use of new-generation destroyers equipped with high-precision long-range weapons systems, as well as the widespread deployment of autonomous underwater vehicles that could carry both torpedoes and missiles.

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