Trump Directs Navy Plan to Replace Carrier EMALS With Steam

President Donald Trump has directed the Defense Department and Navy to develop a plan to replace the electromagnetic launch and weapons-elevator systems planned for the future USS Doris Miller with steam and hydraulic technology.

The memorandum, signed August 13, 2026, gives the Secretary of War, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, 60 days to submit the plan. Counting 60 days from the signing date makes October 12, 2026, the practical deadline.

What the memorandum orders

The directive targets CVN-81, the fourth Ford-class aircraft carrier, identified in reporting as the future USS Doris Miller. It calls for a plan to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, and the Ford-class Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems.

The plan must identify the measures, timelines and resources needed for the proposed change. The memorandum does not itself authorize construction, establish a final cost or confirm that the redesign will occur. It says implementation must comply with applicable law and remain subject to available appropriations.

The first three Ford-class carriers — USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise — are not the initial targets of the directive, according to Associated Press reporting.

Why changing course could be difficult

The proposed change would affect a carrier already being developed around Ford-class systems. General Atomics, the company that makes EMALS, told the Associated Press that work on the Doris Miller’s catapults and arresting gear was already about halfway complete. The company said changing course could create significant cost, schedule and integration risks.

AP reported that reverting to steam technology would likely cost billions of dollars, require more sailors and be more difficult to maintain. Those are reported potential consequences, not a final government estimate for CVN-81.

The White House memorandum refers to Advanced Weapons Elevators. That is a different system from the Advanced Arresting Gear, or AAG, discussed in Navy and Government Accountability Office background about aircraft recovery. The directive’s text does not say that AAG is being replaced.

The technology and staffing tradeoff

EMALS uses electrically generated magnetic force to launch aircraft, while older carriers use steam catapults. The Navy says the Ford-class flight-deck design, including EMALS and AAG, is intended to support greater operational capability and joint interoperability.

In a February 2026 release about the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy said preliminary sortie-generation testing indicated that the ship’s flight-deck design and electromagnetic launch and recovery systems had contributed to a higher sortie-generation rate than a Nimitz-class carrier. The Navy also said the systems were operating as designed while it continued analyzing the data.

AP reported that EMALS reduced the number of sailors needed to operate the Ford’s catapults from about a dozen to two. Moving to steam systems could therefore affect staffing and maintenance requirements, as well as the carrier’s internal design and operating procedures.

Congress and acquisition officials will matter

The next major decision point is the plan due October 12. Congress and Pentagon acquisition officials would then have to evaluate any proposed redesign, including its funding needs, technical feasibility, schedule effects and operational consequences.

Earlier GAO reviews found that Ford-class development experienced cost growth and schedule uncertainty associated with ambitious technology development, testing and construction challenges. A 2017 GAO report said critical technologies including EMALS accounted for a substantial share of the lead ship’s procurement cost growth and documented development problems. That historical analysis provides context; it is not a current cost estimate for CVN-81 or a prediction of the redesign’s final price.

What to watch next

Key indicators will include the Pentagon and Navy plan, technical assessments of the proposed steam and hydraulic systems, contract changes involving General Atomics and the shipyard, congressional funding decisions, and any revised delivery schedule or cost estimate for CVN-81.

For now, the White House has ordered planning rather than completed a carrier redesign. The central policy question is whether the administration believes older systems offer enough reliability or familiarity to justify the potential cost, schedule, integration and staffing risks of changing course.

Sources

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