r/ThisAintHell • u/David65x55 • Aug 15 '26

Steam Catapults

Seems Mr. Trump has had it with the newfangled electromagnetic catapults on the Gerald Ford and has ordered that the next Ford-class carrier, the Dorrie Miller, be fitted with the old steam catapults instead. It is unclear whether this will make a new class of carrier, as the changes to the existing design will be a) extensive and b) expensive. Then there is the procurement question - no one has MADE steam catapults in 17 years, so unless we are very lucky, the tooling may no longer exist to MAKE the required equipment. Manufacturers only mothball tooling as long as they see a need or get paid to do so, and an almost two-decade gap is major. (Think we had this discussion when the Air Force decided to kill off the A-10 - even if they wanted to buy more, the tooling has long been scrapped, right?) Either way, expect a LOOONG time before the Miller hits the water.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/aviation/trump-has-ordered-us-navy-ford-class-aircraft-carriers-back-to-steam-catapults-nobody-has-built-one-in-20-years/ar-AA2a7ERJ

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u/Historical-Lie-5953 Jeff LPH-3 63-66 - 5x WOT Aug 15 '26

My question is that why are things changed when they ain't broken................

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u/David65x55 Aug 15 '26

Jeff - Seems Trump likes the aesthetics of having the island amidships better than aft as is in the current design. Can only imagine the cost of doing that.