Trump sends the US Navy back to the steam age

President Trump has instructed the US Navy to draft plans to revert to steam and hydraulic systems for aircraft catapults and weapons elevators on future carriers. The directive, issued via presidential memorandum, orders the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy to develop a plan to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) and the electromagnetic Advanced Weapons Elevators with older steam and hydraulic alternatives.

This comes amid broader efforts to revamp shipbuilding within the US Navy, which has been criticized for its slow and outdated methods. EMALS, introduced on the USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78), utilizes a linear induction motor to launch aircraft, but has faced technical issues and has been unable to launch aircraft on the Ford-class carrier.

Additionally, the Advanced Weapons Elevators have also proven problematic. The president's memorandum also calls for establishing a fifth naval shipyard, foreign involvement in building certain classes of US Navy vessels, and implementing a new competitive acquisition approach for surface combatants. The president aims to maintain the same design for the next two carriers in the Ford-class while addressing concerns about the sortie generation rate, which was promised to be higher with EMALS.