Trump allows Navy to build ships abroad, orders return to steam catapults on carriers
HII•Design change affects the Doris Miller
As of March 2026, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship in the new class of carriers, had completed 36,863 EMALS launches, according to Pentagon documents.
The design change will occur on the Doris Miller, the fourth ship in the planned Ford class. The keel for the Doris Miller is slated to be laid by the end of 2026 with delivery anticipated by the Navy in early 2034.
Trump has frequently criticized the Navy's electromagnetic launch system as being more expensive and not as effective as steam catapults.
"Billions of dollars more they spent on electric catapults and they're not good. They're not nearly as good, too complex," Trump said at a defense summit in Pennsylvania last month.
When the Navy selected EMALS in 2009, it said it would lower overall lifecycle costs, require less maintenance than steam catapults and generate less physical stress on carrier-based aircraft. The system, also selected by France's navy, had initial troubles but has since completed thousands of launches.
