President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare for a major redesign of one of America’s newest aircraft carriers, demanding that the Navy abandon its electromagnetic jet-launching system and return to traditional steam catapults beginning with the USS Doris Miller.
The president is also pushing for a significant change to the Ford-class carriers, which would move the ships’ command tower, known as the “island,” farther forward so the enormous warships more closely resemble older American aircraft carriers.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN) 78 and the USNS Laramie (T-AO-203) conduct a refueling-at-sea in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Oct. 11, 2023. USS Gerald R. Ford is the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, representing a generational leap in the U.S. Navy’s capacity to project power on a global scale. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, at direction of the Secretary of Defense. The U.S. maintains forward deployed ready and postured forces to deter aggression and support security and stability around the world.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins)
The Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550) transit the Atlantic Ocean March 20, 2021, marking the first time a Ford-class and Italian carrier have operated together underway. As part of the Italian Navy’s Ready for Operations (RFO) campaign for its flagship, Cavour is conducting sea trials in coordination with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office’s Patuxent River Integrated Test Force to obtain official certification to safely operate the F-35B. Gerald R. Ford is conducting integrated carrier strike group operations during independent steaming event 17 as part of her post-delivery test and trials phase of operations.
The Navy is now studying the proposal, which has already faced backlash from analysts who say it will likely require extensive structural modifications and cost billions of dollars.
The changes, if they go ahead, would reverse engineering decisions made years ago and would come after construction of the Doris Miller has already begun.
They also come as the Navy says the electromagnetic catapult launchers aboard the first Ford-class carrier are finally demonstrating their intended benefits.
Trump has left the Navy with a strange problem: it must either substantially redesign ships already in production to meet the president’s demands or conduct the required studies while delaying irreversible changes that might eventually be abandoned.
Trump Orders the Navy to Go Back to Steam
On Thursday, August 13, President Trump signed a national security memorandum directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to produce a plan within the next 60 days to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as EMALS, with traditional steam catapults aboard the future USS Doris Miller.
The decision is the product of the fact that the EMALS technology is complex and carries potential reliability issues.
Trump has criticized EMALS since his first administration, repeatedly arguing that the computerized electromagnetic system is unnecessarily complicated and that the Navy would be better served by the proven steam technology it has used for decades.
The administration has also presented the decision as part of an attempt to reduce costs.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 21, 2024) The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), sails in formation with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Kashima-class training ship, JS Kashima (TV-3508), middle, and Hatakaze-class guided missile destroyer JS Shimakaze (TV-3521) while conducting routine operations in the Atlantic Ocean, September 23, 2024. The U.S. Navy and JMSDF continue to train together to improve interoperability and strengthen joint capabilities. For more than 60 years, the U.S.-Japan Alliance has been the corner stone of stability and security and is crucial to the mutual capability of responding to contingencies at a moment’s notice. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob Mattingly)
Both systems perform the same basic job: they accelerate a heavily loaded aircraft from zero to flying speed on the short flight deck of an aircraft carrier. They differ, however, in how they achieve it.
The Nimitz-class carriers, for example, use high-pressure steam that is generated by the ship’s nuclear propulsion plant to drive pistons connected to an aircraft along a track in the flight deck.
It is a powerful, well-understood system, but it requires extensive steam plumbing and maintenance.
EMALS, meanwhile, uses electromagnetic energy to propel the aircraft along the deck, allowing more precise control of launch force.
That means it’s possible to launch aircraft across a wider range of weights. EMALS can also reduce stress on airframes.
It was expected to be a vital part of the modernization of American carriers as the Navy introduced lighter unmanned aircraft to serve alongside heavier fighters.
What’s the Problem?
EMALS has been plagued by problems since its inception, first being installed aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. Early failures have shaped the president’s skepticism, although the system has since improved substantially.
It has now performed more than 36,000 launches, and preliminary testing by the Navy indicates that the Ford’s EMALS and Advanced Arresting Gear are finally contributing to higher sortie-generation rates than those seen aboard older Nimitz-class carriers.
It looks, then, that the technology is finally beginning to pay off – but the president still doesn’t see the vision for the future.
Returning to steam technology may seem like a money-saving endeavor, but it carries a number of its own problems. It would require significant reworking of new designs and would also remove much of EMALS’s flexibility and automation, which would benefit future fighters and lighter aircraft.
It could also require more sailors on the ships and ultimately increase operating costs in the long run.
Early Navy data cited by naval experts indicates older steam-equipped carriers may cost roughly $100 million more annually to operate than the newer Ford-class ships.
And then there is the immediate issue of timing. The first three Ford-class carriers – the USS Gerald R. Ford, future USS John F. Kennedy and future USS Enterprise – are all retaining their EMALS.
The change would begin with Doris Miller, but construction of that ship is already underway, and making the change now would be enormously costly and almost certainly cause significant delays.
Major Delays Incoming
According to Reuters, General Atomics is nearly halfway through manufacturing its EMALS equipment, meaning the Navy would have to redesign portions of a carrier around steam equipment that the Ford-class was never intended to accommodate.
If Trump is trying to maintain a tight schedule, this decision is unlikely to do so.
The Navy now has 60 days to present Trump with its plan to replace EMALS aboard the future USS Doris Miller, and given the president’s longstanding opposition to the technology, it may take significant pushback to convince him to change course.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
