Trump Orders Navy to Bring Back Steam Catapults on New Aircraft Carrier

Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to redesign a new U.S. aircraft carrier around decades-old steam catapults, potentially triggering major cost, schedule, and engineering problems.

Trump has turned a years-long complaint about the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers into a formal Pentagon directive, ordering officials to replace the modern electromagnetic system used to launch fighter jets with traditional steam catapults.

The national security memorandum signed Thursday targets the future USS Doris Miller, the fourth Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The directive requires the Pentagon to develop a plan to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and advanced weapons elevators with steam and hydraulic technology.

The move could trigger a costly redesign of a ship already deep into development, with industry officials warning that changing course now could create significant financial, scheduling and integration risks.

Trump Has Hated EMALS for Years

Trump’s opposition to electromagnetic catapults is hardly new.

He first publicly attacked the technology during a 2017 interview with Time, arguing that the system was unnecessarily complicated and expensive. Since then, he has repeatedly returned to the subject during speeches, military events and conversations with sailors.

Trump has consistently portrayed steam technology as simpler and more dependable, including recalling conversations with Navy personnel who supposedly favored the older system.

That long-running complaint has now become policy.

Under the new directive, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao must develop the required measures for the redesign.

The Navy’s Newest Carrier Could Be Reworked

The Ford-class was specifically designed around advanced electrical technology.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise will retain EMALS. The USS Doris Miller would become the first Ford-class ship affected by the proposed reversal.

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System uses electromagnetic forces generated by a linear induction motor to accelerate aircraft down the carrier deck. Unlike steam catapults, it can be precisely adjusted for different aircraft weights and is designed to reduce stress on airframes.

The Navy has also highlighted the Ford-class’s broader reduction in manpower and maintenance requirements compared with older carriers.

Trump, however, argues that steam is more reliable and easier to repair.

Billions of Dollars Could Be at Stake

The biggest controversy may not be the technology itself but the timing.

General Atomics, which produces EMALS, said work on the system for the Doris Miller is already nearly 50% complete. The company warned that changing the design could introduce substantial cost, schedule and integration risks.

Reuters reported that reverting to steam could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and complicate the carrier’s construction.

The decision has also drawn criticism from lawmakers with military and aviation experience.

Sen. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, test pilot and naval aviator, questioned whether Trump’s preferences should dictate highly specialized engineering decisions for America’s most complex warships.

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. Donald Trump should stick to what he knows best —… https://t.co/qLkdRNRrer

— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) August 13, 2026

Why Steam Catapults Are Controversial

Steam catapults have successfully launched aircraft from U.S. carriers for decades. They use pressurized steam to drive pistons connected to a shuttle that accelerates an aircraft to takeoff speed.

But the system requires extensive steam infrastructure, more manpower and significant maintenance.

EMALS was designed as part of a broader transformation of carrier operations, reducing reliance on steam systems while offering greater control over aircraft launches.

The Navy has already recorded tens of thousands of EMALS launches, while other countries, including France and China, have embraced electromagnetic carrier launch technology.

That makes Trump’s decision particularly striking: as other advanced navies move toward electromagnetic launch systems, America’s newest carrier could be redesigned to use technology the Navy stopped buying for new carriers years ago.

Trump’s Steam-Catapult Fight Is Far From Over

The Pentagon now faces a difficult engineering question: how to retrofit a fundamentally electrical carrier design around technology from an earlier generation.

Trump has spent nearly a decade arguing that steam is better.

Now the Navy must decide whether turning that belief into a shipbuilding requirement is worth the potentially enormous price.