Bringing Back Steam Catapults On Carriers Is A Huge Risk

Summary

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Navy and Pentagon to develop a plan within 60 days to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWE) with traditional steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators on the future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), with the expectation that this change would extend to all subsequent Ford-class carriers. This directive is part of a broader White House memo aimed at rebuilding U.S. naval power and strengthening the shipbuilding industrial base, which also includes proposals for a fifth government-owned naval shipyard and increased cooperation with foreign shipbuilders. While Trump's concerns about EMALS and AWE reliability issues are acknowledged as legitimate, experts warn that reverting to older technology would require an extensive and costly redesign that could cause further delays to a carrier program already running significantly behind schedule. The EMALS and AWE systems, despite their well-documented problems, offer meaningful advantages over steam-powered alternatives, including greater precision in aircraft launch and recovery forces, lower reset times, reduced aircraft wear and tear, and enhanced capability to support future carrier-based drone operations. The first three Ford-class carriers — USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy, and USS Enterprise — would retain their current electromagnetic systems, while Doris Miller and future vessels would potentially revert to the older technology.