Trump Orders the Navy to Return to an Older System of Launching Jets Off Aircraft Carriers
The switch could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and would require redesigning the fourth Ford-class carrier, officials said.
- On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed a national security memorandum directing the Navy to replace electromagnetic launch systems with steam catapults on the USS Doris Miller, requiring Pentagon leaders to submit a transition plan within 60 days.
- Trump has repeatedly criticized modern electromagnetic catapults since 2017, claiming they are "not nearly as good, too complex," and frequently urging the Navy to return to steam-powered systems he described as "battle-tested."
- General Atomics, the EMALS manufacturer, warned that changing course on the Doris Miller—which is nearly 50% complete—introduces significant cost, schedule, and integration risks, stating the decision "warrants careful reconsideration."
- Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, criticized the memo, stating he "wouldn't suggest to the Navy how to engineer specific systems," amid concerns about rising costs and personnel requirements.
- The memorandum directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to submit a plan within 120 days for a fifth public shipyard to bolster maintenance capacity for the growing submarine and carrier fleet.
126 Articles
126 Articles
Donald Trump calls for the return of outdated technology to American aircraft carriers. Representatives of the industry are surprised.
This decision by the American president may potentially have consequences for France, including the future aircraft carrier "France-Libre", which was to succeed the "Charles-de-Gaulle" in 2038, must normally be equipped with new American-designed electromagnetic catapulting systems.
‘Very outdated’: Trump’s directive to revert to steam catapults on new aircraft carrier baffles naval experts
President Donald Trump has directed the US Navy to scrap the modern electromagnetic launch system on an upcoming aircraft carrier and instead revert to an older, steam-powered catapult method — potentially adding billions to its price tag and delaying its deployment into the late 2030s.
On Thursday, August 13, Donald Trump announced that future U.S. Army aircraft carriers would again use the old catapult models to launch the aircraft. In question: "an industrial base of atrophied shipbuilding," says the U.S. president. This turnaround of the White House tenant is expected to cost several billion dollars. - U.S.A. Donald Trump orders the Navy a surprising return of the steam catapult on its future aircraft carriers (Internationa…
Possible 2028 candidate hammers Trump for involvement in technical military matter
Reports that Donald Trump has ordered the Navy to return to an older system of launching fighter jets off air carriers led to a rebuke from veteran and possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.
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