WASHINGTON (dpa)

US President Donald Trump plans to rename the Department of Defence the "Department of War," according to media reports published on Thursday. 

The Republican president plans to sign an executive order to this effect on Friday, the White House confirmed to dpa following the reports.

The move has been in the pipeline for some time, and Trump has publicly voiced the idea before. 

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told broadcaster Fox News earlier in the week that the government wants to revive a "warrior ethos" and send a deterrent signal to the outside world.

The name "Department of War" is not new. According to the New York Times, this name was used until shortly after the end of World War II.

The Department of War was initially created by then-President George Washington in 1789. 

Broadcaster CNN reported that the last time the department's name was changed, it took an act from the US Congress. It was initially unclear whether the name would come into effect immediately after Trump signed his executive order.

The US president has been working on conveying the image of a peacemaker and has made no secret that he would like to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In August, he claimed he "solved six wars in the last six months." 

His attempts to bring an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have so far failed.