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Trump Orders the Navy to Return to an Older System of Launching Jets Off Aircraft Carriers

  • 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.
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President Trump orders the Navy to return to an older system of launching jets off aircraft carriers

President Trump is ordering the U.S. Navy to remove the advanced system used to launch fighter jets from its newest aircraft carriers and return to an older system that he has long said he prefers.

·Pittsburgh, United States
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Donald Trump wants steam catapults on American aircraft carriers. A step backward that would cost the navy billions of dollars, but one that the US president has been advocating for years.

·Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
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Bloomberg broke the news in New York, United States on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
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