President Donald Trump has ordered the Navy to replace high-tech electromagnetic aircraft launch systems on its newest aircraft carriers with older steam-powered catapults, a move that could reportedly cost billions of dollars.
Trump signed a national security memorandum Thursday directing the change for the Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The last U.S. carrier built with steam catapults was the USS George H.W. Bush, constructed in 2009. One expert cited by the Journal estimated that converting the newer carriers back to steam technology could cost billions.
Brian Clark of the Hudson Institute said electromagnetic systems have become more reliable and eliminate mechanical components required by steam technology.
“Electric is more reliable,” Clark told the Journal. “If I can turn these components to be electric instead of steam, it eliminates all the steam-related mechanical parts.”
That was not always the case.
During Trump’s first term, electromagnetic technology suffered reliability problems. Trump made his frustration clear in a 2017 interview with Time, pledging to get the Navy to return to “goddamn steam.”
But returning to steam today could present major engineering challenges.
Navy Outlook reported that the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as EMALS, is deeply incorporated into the Ford-class design and crosses 48 separate ship construction zones.
Steam catapults would require high-pressure steam from the propulsion plant along with extensive pipework and additional systems for water, condensation and maintenance. The infrastructure necessary for those systems was deliberately eliminated from the Ford design.
The decision drew immediate criticism from Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a retired Navy captain and astronaut who logged more than 5,000 flight hours and 375 carrier landings during his military career.
“I’ve launched off the front of aircraft carriers hundreds of times, have a Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, and am a test pilot and even I wouldn’t suggest to the Navy how to engineer specific systems on its ships,” Kelly wrote on X before taking a personal shot at Trump.
The White House defended the president’s directive, telling the Journal that returning to steam would provide carriers with “battle-tested steam and hydraulic systems” that are more resilient and robust.
The administration also said the decision would “reactivate portions of the maritime industrial base that are easier to scale.”
Navy Outlook, however, argued that electromagnetic technology has now demonstrated its maturity during sustained real-world deployments off South America and in the Middle East.
Trump’s directive comes as the Navy faces separate scrutiny over reported conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The Nimitz-class carrier left San Diego on Nov. 21 with roughly 5,000 people aboard for a deployment originally scheduled to end in May. It remains in the Arabian Sea supporting the war in Iran.
Families have reported concerns involving hygiene supplies, food and the extended deployment. The Navy has denied claims of increased mental health problems aboard the Lincoln, while Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that conditions aboard the carrier had been “completely misrepresented.”
One woman whose 19-year-old spouse spent an hour in the water after leaping from the Lincoln accused the Navy of handling the incident poorly and said she believed officials were “trying to cover this up.”
[READ MORE: Trump Makes Major Changes To Aircraft Carriers]
