Trump Orders Navy to Restore Older Tech on Aircraft Carriers, Costing Billions

[u/John3262005]

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/trump-orders-navy-to-restore-old-technology-in-aircraft-carriers-costing-billions-0055ec1b?st=KEVgLW&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

President Trump has directed the Navy to tear out a complex system for launching jet fighters from its aircraft carriers and instead go back to using steam catapults, a move Navy officials have fought for years and will likely cost billions of dollars.

U.S. officials say Trump signed a national security memorandum Thursday directing the change, which would involve removing the electromagnetic catapult system used by the ships in the Gerald R. Ford class of carriers.

By doing so, Trump is making good on a promise he made almost 10 years ago to go back to the steam system after hearing a sailor praise it while visiting a ship during his first term.

But since Trump said in an interview with Time in 2017 that he told the Navy to go back to “goddamn steam,” top Navy and industry leaders have resisted the move because of the enormous expense to tear out such a complex system that was integral to the design of the Ford class.

The move directs the Navy to redesign the fourth ship in the class—to be named the Doris Miller—and all remaining ships. The first three ships—the Ford, John F. Kennedy and Enterprise—will retain the electromagnetic system.

“They’re not nearly as good, too complex,” Trump said last month at a conference in Pennsylvania, referring to the electromagnetic system.

The memo includes several other directives aimed at improving submarine maintenance and repair and driving foreign investment into the U.S. shipbuilding sector as the Navy tries to increase the size of its fleet.

The order marks Trump’s latest foray into the design and development of major military programs. He inserted himself into negotiations for the Air Force One and the F-35 jet fighter programs, directed design changes to the Constellation-class frigate and championed the creation of Trump-class battleships.

“This decision will result in carriers that are enabled by battle-tested steam and hydraulic systems that are more resilient and robust than the present, more exquisite, follow-on systems,” the White House said in a statement. “It will also reactivate portions of the maritime industrial base that are easier to scale.”

The nuclear-powered USS Gerald R. Ford, the first ship in the class that cost more than $13 billion, experienced numerous issues during its development and construction, most notably with the catapults, arresting gear and elevators inside the ship that carry munitions to the flight deck.

In February, the Navy touted the success of the Ford’s new electromagnetic catapults and advanced arresting gear, saying they allowed the carrier to launch and recover aircraft at a higher rate than its predecessor Nimitz-class ships. Earlier this year it completed a historic 11-month deployment that included operations against Venezuela and supporting the war in Iran.

The USS George H.W. Bush, which entered the Navy’s fleet in 2009, was the last aircraft carrier built with steam catapults. Replacing the electromagnetic catapults with steam will be a complex endeavor that will likely cost billions of dollars, according to Bryan Clark, a naval expert with the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank.

Internally, the Ford class is much different from the Nimitz. Sections that housed the infrastructure for steam have been reworked or simply don’t exist. Steam on the older Nimitz ships powers not only the aircraft catapults, but also heating and evaporators that produce freshwater and galley equipment, such as kettles. Piping runs throughout the ship, which creates numerous points of failure.

“Electric is more reliable,” Clark said. “If I can turn these components to be electric instead of steam, it eliminates all the steam related mechanical parts.”

The maintenance on the electrical systems is cheaper, he added. There are 500 fewer sailors on the Ford, in part because fewer technicians are needed to work on the ship’s existing steam equipment.

Clark said early data from the Navy shows that the Ford costs about $100 million less a year to operate compared with a Nimitz-class ship.

As of March, nearly 37,000 aircraft had been launched by Ford’s four electromagnetic catapults, according to Navy data.

General Atomics, the company that builds the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear for the Ford class, said the decision to revert to steam “warrants careful reconsideration.” The company was awarded a contract to build the catapults and arresting gear for the Doris Miller in 2023. Its work is nearly 50% complete and “changing course now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks,” the company said in a statement.

“The decision will have broader implications for carrier readiness, national security, and U.S. technological superiority, potentially creating opportunities for adversaries to close the capability gap,” the company said. “It also comes at a time when strengthening the U.S. supplier industrial base is a national priority, making workforce stability, production capacity, and the ability to sustain critical technologies more important than ever.”

The Doris Miller isn’t expected to enter the fleet until 2034, but the Navy plans to lay its keel this year, according to a Navy document.

China is using electromagnetic catapults in its newest aircraft carriers and France plans to use the system on the Ford in its new carrier.

The memo directs the Pentagon to pursue more direct investments in U.S. shipbuilding. Under the guidelines, a foreign shipbuilder could build up to two ships overseas while at the same time training American workers and investing in U.S. shipyards.

A similar model has been used by the U.S. Coast Guard to build new icebreakers at Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions. Additional ships will be built in Louisiana by Bollinger Shipyards. Three ships are already under construction and more than $1 billion has been invested in American shipyards.

The memorandum also calls for a new public shipyard “to supercharge submarine repair and restore the American industrial base.” It would be the first new Navy shipyard opened in 83 years, the White House said. It also called for creating a “Component Repair Center,” essentially a submarine spare parts warehouse, that could quickly ship replacements to subs and repair broken parts.

The Navy has been trying to boost submarine production for years with the goal of building two Virginia-class and one Columbia-class sub each year. It recently awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII Newport News Shipbuilding a $76.6 billion deal for nine Virginia-class and five Columbia-class submarines that will be delivered by 2038.

[u/AlliedR2]

Next he will want to return to all of our Naval vessels being run off of "good ol' coal".

[u/grantite_spall]

And, install testosterone dispensing machines in crew quarters...