Trump has suggested steam catapults every year since 2017, saying digital systems are too ‘complicated’
After nearly a decade of loudly complaining about the fact that modern US aircraft carriers use electromagnetic systems to launch fighter jets instead of steam-powered catapults, Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to redesign a new aircraft carrier to replace the modern system with the old-fashioned catapults he prefers.
Trump signed a national security memorandum on Thursday directing the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the acting navy secretary, Hung Cao, to make the change he has had his heart set on since at least 2017, when he first described his idea to Time magazine.
The memorandum gives the Pentagon leaders 60 days to come up with “a plan on the required measures to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems for the construction of” the USS Doris Miller, a Ford-class aircraft carrier, which is already two years behind schedule.
They don’t actually. Steam catapult is operated with completely separate steam supply, and major design goal of ford class was to remove it so even if pedo in chief wanted, retrofit is physically impossible. That separate steam supply needs extra freshwater because it’s not condensed and recovered. EMALS is much milder on plane and pilot because it’s a big linear motor that gives constant acceleration instead of spike then decreasing like with steam. Efficiency of steam catapult is also dogshit compared to turbine + energy storage system
Oh, good to know! Thank you for explaining!