U.S. President Trump Orders Navy Ford-Class Carriers to Return to Steam Aircraft Launch Catapults.

President Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to return to steam-powered catapults on future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, starting with the future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81). The decision reverses more than two decades of investment in electromagnetic launch technology and could reshape carrier construction, costs and future US naval aviation.

The shift will force the Navy to rework CVN-81’s internal engineering around steam generation, piping and launch equipment that the Ford-class design was built to eliminate. That could drive additional cost and schedule pressure on a carrier already expected to enter service around 2034, while reopening questions over how the older launch technology will support future air wings increasingly combining crewed fighters with unmanned aircraft.

Related News: US Navy awards General Atomics $15 million EMALS contract for USS Enterprise Ford-class carrier

An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to VFA-31 prepares for launch using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System aboard USS Gerald R. Ford in the Atlantic Ocean on March 10, 2023. (Picture source: U.S. Navy)

The decision represents a major engineering reversal because the Ford class was designed from the outset around EMALS rather than the steam catapults used on the preceding Nimitz class. Steam systems require extensive high-pressure piping, accumulators and associated mechanical equipment beneath the flight deck. Those spaces were substantially redesigned on the Ford class, where electrical generation and distribution support a broader shift toward electrically powered auxiliaries. Reintroducing steam would therefore involve more than replacing the launch mechanism itself. It would require changes to internal compartments, energy distribution, and several shipboard services already integrated into the carrier design.

According to the Wall Street Journal in an article published on August 13, 2026, Trump signed a national security memorandum requiring the change from USS Doris Miller onward. The newspaper reported that the first three ships in the class will retain EMALS and that Navy officials had resisted a return to steam for several years because of the cost and complexity involved. Trump has questioned electromagnetic catapults since his first term and has repeatedly argued that the system is too complex and performs less effectively than steam. The White House presents the decision differently, describing steam and hydraulic systems as proven technologies that it considers more resilient in wartime and easier to support through an industrial base capable of expanding production. The administration therefore frames the change not only as a technical choice but also as one linked to maintainability, resilience and industrial capacity.

This reasoning comes after a difficult development period for EMALS. The system experienced reliability problems during the construction and initial testing of Gerald R. Ford, contributing to delays and criticism of the carrier program. Its subsequent operational record, however, provides a different set of data. EMALS uses linear induction motors to accelerate aircraft along the catapult track instead of releasing pressurized steam through a piston system. Four electromagnetic catapults are installed aboard Ford and, by March 2026, they had completed nearly 37,000 aircraft launches. The Navy has also stated that EMALS and the Advanced Arresting Gear allow Ford to launch and recover aircraft at a higher rate than the preceding Nimitz class.

The electrical architecture is also intended to reduce mechanical complexity and maintenance requirements. The Ford class operates with around 500 fewer sailors than a Nimitz-class carrier, partly because fewer technicians are required to maintain steam equipment. Early Navy data cited by naval analyst Bryan Clark indicate that Ford costs approximately $100 million less per year to operate than a Nimitz-class ship. Over a carrier service life measured in decades, this difference becomes relevant when assessing the broader economic consequences of returning to steam.

Modifying Doris Miller at this stage creates another layer of difficulty. General Atomics, which produces EMALS and the Advanced Arresting Gear, received its contract for the ship in 2023 and says the work is already nearly 50 percent complete. Abandoning equipment already in production risks generating sunk costs while forcing the Navy and Huntington Ingalls Industries to redesign sections of a carrier whose keel is expected to be laid before the end of 2026. The problem is compounded by the internal configuration of the Ford class. Spaces used for steam infrastructure aboard the Nimitz class were redesigned or removed, meaning that piping and associated mechanical equipment would have to be reintroduced into a ship conceived around a predominantly electrical architecture.

USS Gerald R. Ford conducts carrier air operations during its 2022 deployment. The ship is equipped with EMALS electromagnetic catapults, while future Ford-class carriers from USS Doris Miller onward are set to return to steam-powered launch systems. (Video source: NATO)

The debate extends beyond the mechanism that accelerates an aircraft to takeoff speed. Carrier effectiveness depends on sustaining sortie generation, maintaining reliable flight deck cycles, and launching aircraft across different weight categories under demanding conditions. Electromagnetic launch provides finer control over acceleration profiles than steam, reducing stress on airframes and potentially facilitating the integration of a broader mix of crewed aircraft and uncrewed systems. Steam catapults, by contrast, have decades of operational experience behind them and an established maintenance culture across the US carrier force. The challenge for the redesigned carriers will therefore be to preserve launch tempo and aircraft availability without creating additional maintenance constraints during prolonged operations.

The memorandum also extends beyond aircraft carriers. It calls for the creation of a new public shipyard to expand submarine and carrier maintenance capacity, together with a Component Repair Center intended to repair and rapidly redistribute parts for the submarine fleet. Washington is simultaneously seeking to increase production of Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines and Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. The objective remains two Virginia-class and one Columbia-class submarine per year, while the wider industrial base must also absorb maintenance requirements and additional construction commitments.

This industrial pressure is particularly relevant to AUKUS. Washington plans to transfer three Virginia-class submarines to Australia from the early 2030s, with the possibility of two additional boats, before Australia fields its future SSN-AUKUS fleet. The United States must therefore increase construction and maintenance capacity while preserving enough submarines for its own force structure. Delays affecting submarine construction make that balance increasingly difficult, as US requirements in the Indo-Pacific must coexist with the need to provide Australia with an interim nuclear-powered submarine capability. The proposed shipyard and repair center should consequently be viewed within a broader effort to increase the depth of the American naval industrial base rather than as isolated infrastructure projects.

The carrier decision also comes as China continues to expand its naval force and invests in electromagnetic launch technology. The Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier, uses electromagnetic catapults rather than the ski-jump arrangement found on Liaoning and Shandong. Displacing more than 80,000 tonnes at full load, the carrier has demonstrated catapult operations involving the J-15T and J-35 fighters as well as the KJ-600 airborne early warning aircraft. The ability to launch heavier aircraft with different mission profiles broadens the composition of Chinese carrier air wings and supports operations at greater distance. More broadly, the development of Fujian takes place alongside a Chinese shipbuilding capacity that is producing surface combatants and other naval vessels at a pace that has become a central factor in the maritime balance with the United States.

For France, the American decision creates a more complex industrial situation. The future Porte-Avions de Nouvelle Génération, expected to replace Charles de Gaulle in 2038, is planned to receive EMALS catapults and the Advanced Arresting Gear from General Atomics. Testing has already been conducted in the United States to verify Rafale compatibility with these systems, while their integration forms part of the PA-NG aviation architecture. If the US Navy progressively reduces EMALS orders after the first three Ford-class carriers, the French program could become one of the main foreign customers sustaining this American industrial capability. Paris could consequently gain greater weight in its relationship with General Atomics while retaining access to a system suited to aircraft of different weights and the future integration of uncrewed platforms, although this would also increase dependence on an industrial chain whose primary domestic customer would be moving away from the architecture. Conversely, if Washington maintains sufficient EMALS demand through other programs or exports, France would retain more secure access to the industrial base and technical support of General Atomics without being exposed to the consequences of a gradual US withdrawal from the system.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.