'Trump Class' battleships plan already has major 'cultural shift' problem: analysis

A proposed battleship line named after Donald Trump has already hit a snag according to a professor of war.

Professor Alessio Patalano of King's College London says the production of battleships named after Trump faces several problems, and that is before production has even started. The professor of war and strategy says the US may have the infrastructure necessary to building the new fleet, but it lacks the space and money necessary.

Speaking to CNN, professor Patalano said, "The question is … whether the US has a sufficient shipyard capacity and workforce to translate a visual gold fleet into a real sailing one."

"The US Navy is not known for being at the forefront of automation and innovative solutions in terms of more compact crew management." The professor of war and strategy has also suggested bringing these battleships up to speed with the rest of the US navy will require more than money.

It will also need a "cultural shift - in light of other new classes being built - of no trifling proportions," Patalano added. Fellow expert and former US Navy captain, Carl Schuster, agrees that a cultural shift is necessary for the project to be a success.

He said, "A national scale recruitment and training program for shipyard, electrical, information and sensor system workers (would be) required to support this program."

"This project will be managed by NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command), an organization and staff that has screwed up every surface warship program of this century. I believe Trump must clean house in that organization if he wants any shipbuilding program to succeed."

Schuster would go on to suggest there is a comparison to be made between Trump's military plans and that of JFK's space program.

The ex-Navy captain said, "I think Trump is trying to achieve a maritime equivalent to JFK’s call for a space program. Remember, the Soviets seemed to be ahead of us in space, a direct threat to our national security."

"The PLAN is nearing the ability to challenge our access to the Western Pacific, a direct and clear threat to our national security. Since it also poses a threat to Japan and South Korea, enlisting their help to meet that challenge is a necessary solution to the problem."