Trump Orders Steam Catapults
Trump directed the Navy to use steam catapults instead of electromagnetic launch systems.
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Updated Aug 14, 2:34pm ETEvery side, every morning
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The reporting
President Donald Trump signed a national security memorandum directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Navy to replace electromagnetic aircraft launch systems with steam-powered catapults on future Ford-class aircraft carriers. The order targets the USS Doris Miller, the fourth Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, as the first ship to be redesigned. The Ford class uses the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, which debuted on USS Gerald R. Ford to launch jets without steam catapults. Naval experts said the change could add billions of dollars and push deployment into the late 2030s.
Analysis & opinion
Costly Catapult ReversalMostly Left
Trump’s push to put steam catapults back on future aircraft carriers is an unjustifiable step backward to obsolete technology. The change would waste billions of dollars and reflects poor judgment rather than a sound naval need.
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