On his visit to Newport News, Va., this month, President Trump met with executives from Huntington Ingalls Industries, prime contractor for the USS Gerald R. Ford, the first in a new class of American supercarriers.

In a speech to sailors and shipbuilders aboard the soon-to-be-commissioned Ford, Trump proclaimed, “I just spoke with Navy and industry leaders and have discussed my plans to undertake a major expansion of our entire Navy fleet, including having the 12-carrier Navy we need.”