Trump Orders Navy to Swap Steam Catapults Into New Carrier

The White House on Thursday released the full text of a presidential memorandum from Donald Trump to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordering a change in the construction of a new Navy aircraft carrier, replacing its electromagnetic aircraft launch system with steam catapults.

The memorandum, titled "Rebuilding the United States Navy and America's Shipbuilding Industrial Base," says it is meant to address "a series of shipbuilding setbacks stemming from overly complex designs" in Navy shipbuilding.

Section 2 of the memo specifically targets the USS Doris Miller, a Ford-class carrier designated CVN-81 that is already two years behind schedule. It directs the secretary of war, in consultation with the secretary of the Navy, to deliver within 60 days a plan to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems, including timelines and resource requirements.

Trump has criticized the Navy's electromagnetic launch technology since 2017, when he said a single conversation with a Navy officer persuaded him the modern system was too complex compared with the steam catapults used on older carriers.

The order came amid a broader day of developments in Washington. The Trump-appointed Kennedy Center board voted to temporarily close the building for renovations and to inscribe Trump's name at the site. Hegseth also said concerns about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln were "completely misrepresented," after U.S. Central Command posted a social media "fact check" disputing reports of a mental health crisis on the carrier. A Guardian review found that three of the six headlines Centcom labeled as false originated from Iranian state media outlets, while the post did not identify the outlets or clarify that reporting from the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes on sailors attempting to jump overboard was separately sourced.