Trump has ordered the US Navy to replace EMALS with older steam catapults on the USS Doris Miller.
The switch could cost billions and create additional costs, delays and integration risks.
EMALS requires fewer sailors and has enabled the USS Gerald R. Ford to launch and recover aircraft at a higher rate.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the Navy to abandon the electromagnetic system used to launch fighter jets from its newest Ford-class aircraft carrier and return to older steam-powered catapults, a move that could cost billions of dollars and require major changes to ships already under construction.
According to AP, a directive issued Thursday instructs the Pentagon and the Navy to submit plans within two months to remove the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) from the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller. The directive also calls for the carrier’s electromagnetic weapons elevators to be replaced.
The order revives Trump’s long-standing criticism of EMALS, which uses electromagnetic power to launch aircraft from carrier decks. He has repeatedly argued that the older steam catapult system is more effective, despite the Navy’s adoption of the newer technology.
The USS Doris Miller will be the first ship to undergo the changes, while the USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise will remain untouched. However, redesigning a ship at this stage could introduce significant costs, delays and integration risks.
Trump’s opposition to EMALS dates back to at least 2017, during his first term. In an interview with Time magazine that year, he described the system as “not good” and said it “doesn’t have the power” of steam catapults.
“You’re going to goddamned steam,” Trump said at the time.
According to AP, Trump has continued to raise the issue at rallies and other events. His latest directive comes as the Navy faces pressure over shipbuilding costs, staffing shortages and competing demands for military funding.
General Atomics, which manufactures EMALS, said in an email to The Associated Press that the decision to abandon the system on the Doris Miller “warrants careful reconsideration”. The company said work on the carrier’s catapults and arresting gear was already about halfway complete.
“Changing course now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks,” General Atomics said.
The decision comes despite the operational advantages the Navy has cited for the electromagnetic system. EMALS can launch aircraft at faster speeds, requires less space and needs fewer sailors to operate and maintain than the older steam technology.
On the USS Gerald R. Ford, EMALS reduced the number of sailors needed to operate the catapults from about 12 to two. AP reported that the Navy said in a February press release that the system enabled the Ford to launch and recover aircraft at a higher rate than the older Nimitz-class carriers.
The return to steam catapults would require more sailors to operate the system at a time when the Navy is already struggling to fill positions aboard its ships. At the start of the year, the service had about 20,000 unfilled posts across the fleet, despite recruiting successes over the past year.
The proposed change also comes as Trump’s memo identifies repeated design changes by the Navy as a problem, saying they have contributed to “cost growth, delays, and cancellations”. General Atomics has argued that changing the Doris Miller’s catapult system now would itself bring additional cost, schedule and integration risks.
The decision also puts the US at odds with the direction taken by other naval powers. China’s newest aircraft carriers use electromagnetic catapults, while France has said it plans to install the technology on its next aircraft carrier.
The order comes as Congress considers funding sought by the Trump administration for the Pentagon and the war in Iran. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated last month that the cost of the war had risen to $37.5 billion as Republicans prepared a $95 billion package to fund the military and other White House priorities.
Hegseth described the supplemental war funding as an “urgent, necessary” injection of money and Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget as a generational investment in the military.
The House narrowly approved the two measures, but the Senate still must act when it returns in September.
