Trump Orders Navy to Revert to Steam Catapults for Aircraft Carriers

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Trump Orders Navy to Revert to Steam Catapults for Aircraft Carriers

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On August 13, 2026, President Donald Trump issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum mandating the U.S. Navy to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) with traditional steam catapults on future Ford-class aircraft carriers, beginning with the USS Doris Miller. This directive also calls for the reintroduction of hydraulic systems for the ship’s elevators, moving away from electromagnetic advanced weapons elevators.

The decision marks a reversal from the Navy’s current approach with the Gerald R. Ford-class, which utilizes EMALS for launching aircraft. EMALS, developed by General Atomics, employs a linear induction motor to accelerate aircraft, offering advantages such as smoother acceleration, greater precision, and the ability to launch a wider range of aircraft, from lightweight drones to heavy strike fighters. Proponents of EMALS also highlight its reduced weight, smaller footprint, lower maintenance requirements, and potential for cost savings over time due to decreased manning. The system was first installed on the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was commissioned in 2017.

However, the EMALS system on the USS Gerald R. Ford has faced reliability issues since its introduction, with reports in 2018 indicating critical failures during sea trials. While the Navy has reported improvements, some independent assessments in 2023 and 2025 suggested that reliability had not significantly changed and reliance on off-ship technical support remained a challenge.

The President has been a vocal critic of EMALS since his first term, frequently advocating for the return to steam catapults, which he has described as more reliable and simpler to operate. Steam catapults have been used by the U.S. Navy for over 50 years on Nimitz-class carriers.

Naval experts, including Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, have stated that reverting to steam catapults for the USS Doris Miller would necessitate an extensive redesign of the vessel, which is already under construction. This redesign is estimated to cost billions of dollars and could delay the ship’s delivery, originally projected for 2034, until the end of the next decade. Furthermore, the manufacturing infrastructure for steam catapults has largely ceased to exist in the U.S., meaning production lines would need to be re-established, incurring additional time and cost.

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