Trump Orders the Navy to Return to an Older System of Launching Jets off Aircraft Carriers

President Donald Trump has issued a directive ordering the U.S. Navy to remove the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as EMALS, from its newest aircraft carriers and replace it with older steam catapults. The memo, issued Thursday, instructs the Pentagon and Navy to present plans for the removal within two months and calls for replacing the Ford-class carrier's electromagnetic weapons elevators as well.

The changeover would likely cost billions of dollars and require the Navy's most advanced ships to operate a system that demands more sailors and presents greater maintenance challenges.

Trump's opposition to the magnetically powered catapult system dates to at least 2017, when he told Time magazine the new system is "not good" And "doesn't have the power" Of older steam systems. "You're going to goddamned steam," He said at the time, a position he has repeatedly returned to at rallies and public events.

The directive names the USS Doris Miller, the fourth Ford-class carrier, as the first ship to receive the changes. The USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy, and USS Enterprise will remain unaffected by the order.

General Atomics, which manufactures EMALS, cautioned in an email to The Associated Press that work on the Doris Miller's catapults and arresting gear was already halfway complete. The company warned that "changing course now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks."

The memo itself acknowledged that Navy design changes have "resulted in cost growth, delays, and cancellations." Meanwhile, the electromagnetic system offers advantages including faster aircraft launches, easier maintenance, and reduced crew requirements - EMALS requires only two sailors to operate catapults compared to about a dozen under the steam system.

The timing coincides with the Navy's ongoing struggle to fill approximately 20,000 unfilled posts across the fleet despite recent recruiting successes.