Trump steam catapults Navy order targets USS Doris Miller
Trump ordered plans to put steam catapults on USS Doris Miller; General Atomics says its EMALS production is nearly 50% complete.
By Dominic Okoye · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon and Navy to develop plans to replace electromagnetic launch gear with steam catapults on the future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), along with hydraulic weapons elevators. The Trump steam catapults Navy order singles out one carrier rather than directing an immediate fleet-wide conversion, but it could force a redesign of a ship built around electrical systems and add schedule risk to an already complex program.
The National Security Presidential Memorandum gives the Defense Department and Navy two months to present the plans, according to the Associated Press. It would make CVN-81, the fourth planned Ford-class carrier, the first vessel affected. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the forthcoming USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise would remain equipped with their existing electromagnetic systems, AP reported.
What would change on USS Doris Miller?
The Ford class uses the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, to propel aircraft from the flight deck. Instead of using steam pressure and a piston, EMALS uses a linear induction motor. The order also calls for the Ford-class Advanced Weapons Elevators, which use linear motors to move munitions, to be replaced on CVN-81 with hydraulic versions used on earlier carriers.
That distinction is more than a swap of deck equipment. Bryan Clark, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, told Breaking Defense that Ford-class ships use electricity for functions including heating, cooking and water purification as well as launch and recovery gear. Reinstalling steam lines for the catapults would require extensive redesign, he said.
Clark also said the Navy has not bought a steam catapult in more than 20 years. In his assessment, suppliers would likely need substantial upfront investment and time to establish production lines for new equipment. No program cost or revised delivery date was disclosed in the reporting.
Why is the Navy changing the carrier design?
Trump has criticized EMALS for years and said in October 2025 that future carriers should have steam catapults and hydraulic elevators. The newer systems have had reliability problems during the Ford program’s development, according to The Register. But AP reported that EMALS requires fewer sailors and less space than steam gear, while a February Navy release said the USS Ford had achieved a higher aircraft launch-and-recovery rate than Nimitz-class carriers.
General Atomics, the EMALS manufacturer, said abandoning the system on Doris Miller “warrants careful reconsideration.” The company says production is nearly 50% complete and that changing course would create cost, schedule and integration risks. Those are the supplier’s claims, and the company has a direct commercial stake in keeping the existing plan.
The carrier provision sits inside a broader shipbuilding memorandum. The directive also calls for a proposal within 120 days on improving submarine and aircraft-carrier readiness through private-sector capacity and an additional public shipyard. The US currently has four public yards that typically handle overhauls and modernization of nuclear-powered carriers and submarines, Breaking Defense reported.
The administration has yet to disclose the technical design, budget or construction timetable for the CVN-81 change. For shipbuilders and suppliers, the immediate issue is a policy reversal at a point when the affected carrier’s launch-and-recovery equipment is already in production, rather than an order to retrofit the existing Ford-class fleet.
This story draws on original reporting from The Register.
