Aircraft carriers are heading back toward an older era after President Donald J. Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to abandon the electromagnetic aircraft launch system on future Ford-class carriers and return to traditional steam catapults. The directive, issued through a national security memorandum, represents a striking reversal for a Navy that spent years developing and installing the electromagnetic system—and has now been told, in effect, that perhaps the old machinery was not so bad after all. The change begins with the future USS Doris Miller, where work on the electromagnetic system was already well underway.
Trump Orders Navy to Dump High-Tech Catapults and Bring Back Steam
Trump has long expressed doubts about the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, arguing that it is too expensive and complicated compared with the steam-powered technology used on older Nimitz-class carriers.
His latest directive turns that longstanding criticism into policy, ordering the Navy to develop a plan to replace EMALS on future Ford-class ships with steam catapults. The administration’s argument is essentially that a proven mechanical system is preferable to a newer system whose reliability, cost and complexity have generated controversy.
The decision is not quite a return to the entire aircraft-carrier fleet of decades past. The USS Gerald R. Ford and other early Ford-class ships will retain EMALS, while the reversal is aimed at future vessels beginning with the Doris Miller. That distinction matters because the Navy has already invested heavily in the new technology, meaning the government is not simply choosing an old button over a new button—it is potentially redesigning major sections of a multibillion-dollar warship while construction is underway.
Trump’s Old-School Carrier Strategy Sparks a Billion-Dollar Technology Battle
EMALS was developed to replace the steam catapult and provide smoother acceleration, more precise control and greater flexibility for launching different aircraft, including future unmanned systems. The Navy has described the technology as capable of improving reliability, efficiency and launch performance, while also reducing stress on aircraft. The system was specifically designed for the Ford class as part of a wider effort to make America’s newest carriers more automated and technologically advanced.
But the technology has not escaped criticism. The Ford-class program has faced years of development and reliability challenges, and questions remain over whether the additional complexity has delivered all the expected advantages. The financial argument is particularly awkward: replacing a system after substantial investment could itself create enormous costs, delays and engineering complications. Meanwhile, the wider strategic environment is moving in the opposite direction, with China’s Fujian aircraft carrier also using electromagnetic catapult technology. Washington is therefore preparing to resurrect steam while another major naval power is embracing the technology America is stepping away from.
The aircraft carriers themselves will ultimately determine whether the decision becomes a practical correction or an expensive technological detour. Supporters will argue that reliability at sea matters more than technological fashion; critics will counter that replacing an advanced system midway through a carrier’s development risks paying twice for yesterday’s solution. For now, the Navy has been ordered to begin working out the details, leaving taxpayers, sailors and engineers to discover whether America’s newest carriers are truly going backward—or simply taking a very expensive detour toward what their commander-in-chief considers a more dependable future. OGM News will continue following the redesign, its cost and its effect on America’s naval strategy.
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