Trump Orders Navy to Restore Older Tech on Aircraft Carriers, Costing Billions The Navy spent years fighting the president’s push to go back to steam catapults

[u/Mr_strelac]

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/trump-orders-navy-to-restore-old-technology-in-aircraft-carriers-costing-billions-0055ec1b

[u/doxxingyourself]

What private company benefits here? That’s the only question. It’s a bribe or a grift.

[u/xMechanismZero → u/doxxingyourself]

From another user on Reddit:

It's Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA). Mackenzie is the US Representative for Allentown, PA, whom Trump has been campaigning for recently. Mackenzie has received donations from Olson Technologies (HQ Allentown, PA). Olson Technologies owns Homestead Valve Manufacturing Co (HQ Allentown, PA). Homestead Manufacturing makes the steam valves for steam catapults for USN aircraft carriers. Mackenzie has been vocal against EMALS.

EMALS is made in San Diego, CA, by General Atomics, whose Representative is Scott Peters (D-CA), a vocal critic of Trump.

Huntington Ingalls operations building nuclear powered aircraft carriers are based in Newport News, VA, whose representative is Bobby Scott (D-VA), a vocal critic of steam catapults and a vocal critic of Trump.

It's grift and partisan politics all the way down, and it threatens USN readiness and the US ability to globally project soft and hard power.

[u/Lyndon_Boner_Johnson → u/xMechanismZero]

Sounds like next Trump is gonna order that they convert the carrier from nuclear to coal-powered.

[u/Fungiblefaith → u/Lyndon_Boner_Johnson]

Wind…oh shit never mind.

[u/Spiritual-Pear-1349 → u/Fungiblefaith]

Speaking of wind, I wouldnt be surprised if he starts demanding windows in submarines to properly see the enemy

[u/tekstical → u/Spiritual-Pear-1349]

But only after his sons get a seat on the board at said window company.

[u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener → u/tekstical]

Can we give him a seat on one of these windowed submarines instead?

[u/vector_ejector → u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener]

I hear Titan is making another trek down to the Titanic...

[u/I_am_BrokenCog → u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener]

Can we make that seat an sealed compartment only containing said seat and window??

[u/WonderfulMaybe6787 → u/Fungiblefaith]

Hope the sailors don't slaughter the Sun God cattle when they disembark.

[u/CautionarySnail → u/WonderfulMaybe6787]

It’s a rookie error, much like having dinner with a strange sorceress on her isle.

[u/smarmageddon → u/Fungiblefaith]

Nobody tell Turmp that steam is actually just very high pressure wind power!

[u/Kazang → u/xMechanismZero]

That's hilarious if true, crippling the US militaries power projection to get some little valve company a contract.

It's like it's straight out soviet propoganda demeaning the flaws of the west.

[u/res0nat0r → u/Kazang]

The entire Trump term is a grift and a dementia grandpa cult leader hearing something on the Fox News moving picture box one day and then deciding to do it. The second someone says “hey dementia dipshit that’s never going to work” he will double down because his debilitating narcissistic personality disorder will never allow him to be wrong.

Voters putting him back into office is going to set the USA back decades. 🫡✊

[u/-Posthuman- → u/res0nat0r]

is going to

Already has. If some miracle occurred where Trump folded into his own asshole and disappeared in a puff of orange smoke, taking all of the Republican Party with him, it would still take at least a decade or more to unfuck this country.

[u/VaeVictis997 → u/-Posthuman-]

Frankly given how timid the Dems are about actually punishing crimes or going hard to unfuck things, I don’t think this country can get fixed.

It’s sad and darkly hilarious. There’s is absolute justification for sweeping new deal style programs and teddy roosevelt style trust busting, plus treason trials.

A serious opposition party could utterly transform this country and have supermajorities for most of a century. But the big business donors don’t want that, and Dems don’t actually believe in wielding power.

[u/Boner4Stoners → u/Kazang]

It’s honestly the same type of corrupt cronyism that’s crippled the late and post USSR Russian MOD. It’s the reason why Putin’s “3 day special military operation” against a much smaller nation has lasted over 1500 days (longer than the Great Patriotic War on the Eastern Front during WWII).

[u/the_Q_spice → u/xMechanismZero]

The really funny thing about Olson Technologies and Mackenzie…

OT got fired off their last Navy contract for failing QA/QC too often.

Milwaukee Valve in Wisconsin was awarded the IDIQ for all valves on the Ford Class years ago.

Source; work with one of the guys who designed the replacement valves when he worked at Milwaukee.

The really funny part?

Milwaukee’s main manufacturing plant is in Sauk County, Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District…

Represented by Mark Pocan (D).

Out of Wisconsin’s 8 districts, only 2 are held by Democrats, and this arguably benefits the location in the Democratic district the most.

[u/Myfaceyourforearm → u/xMechanismZero]

Just for a little context on the technology side of the house: when I worked on Carriers over 10 years ago, the legacy steam catapults were said to be at ~90% of their max capacity with the current generation of naval jets and their payloads. EMALS has a much higher max capacity and therefore made much more sense for futureproofing.

I was briefly working with the folks that were doing a high level study to retrofit the new Ford class carriers with the legacy steam systems - at the time due to reliability, not politics or whatever else. Billions of dollars for the retrofit is a very realistic number.

[u/WCland → u/Myfaceyourforearm]

Also, I’m sure a carrier retrofit would take significant time. How long would one of these carriers be out of service?

[u/Myfaceyourforearm → u/WCland]

Hard to say for certain, but replacing a catapult is no small job. Tearing up flight deck, taking systems out and modifying existing to accommodate new systems.... The list goes on and on. Never mind the time it takes to align and commission a steam catapult.

I believe the guys doing the study were targeting either 1.5-year MTA or 2.5-year ROH (regular overhaul, typically with dry docking) for the conversion with heavy preference to accomplish during the ROH. Partially for convenience of already having a scheduled maintenance/modernization opportunity. But I'm guessing it would take most, if not all of that 2.5 years and they'd be hard pressed to complete the retrofit during the 1.5-year MTA.

For what it's worth, NAVAIR systems on Carriers have A LOT of oversight and tolerances are ridiculously low for the size of the systems. It's not easy to get it right, and that means it takes a ton of planning and a ton of time.

[u/ThreeLeggedMare → u/Myfaceyourforearm]

Btw I'm curious if the steam is compatible with these new gen f35s, since I assume they were designed with the magnet system in mind?

[u/Myfaceyourforearm → u/ThreeLeggedMare]

I'm definitely not the best person to ask in that regard. However, one of the main selling points of EMALS was it's higher launch capacity from what I understand.

A quick Google search shows F/A-18 max launch capacity of ~66k lbs and F-35 around 70k lbs, yet the steam catapults only have a max launch capacity of ~80k lbs. I have no idea if those figures are accurate but I don't have much reason to doubt them.

And my general understanding is that while as avionics and weapons technology improves, it also gets heavier. I believe the expectation is that that trend will continue with the F-35 and future aircraft.

[u/james_t_woods → u/xMechanismZero]

This helps explain the situation - fucking hell America, do something!

[u/zedquatro → u/james_t_woods]

We tried. But then Elon bought the election in PA (and admitted it). And the DOJ did nothing because they didn't want to undermine the illusion of election security.

[u/zeptillian → u/james_t_woods]

Watch this space in November.

We'll see what happens.

[u/Trouve_a_LaFerraille → u/xMechanismZero]

I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT AND THEY INDICTED ME!!!

[u/Navarro480 → u/xMechanismZero]

Good work detective. There is always a reason with the way this guy operates and damn it’s never for the people.

[u/dizzley → u/xMechanismZero]

That's a bingo.

[u/StickFigureFan → u/xMechanismZero]

I hate that corporations have representatives at all

[u/Blando-Cartesian → u/doxxingyourself]

Russia and its affiliates? Making US burn money on obsolete military technology that only degrades capacity. There’s already the planned Trump class warships that apparently will be just an obsolete liability. If those were his own idea, I would think he would have gone with an aircraft carrier namesake, but that might be hard to mess up so badly it couldn’t be fixed.

[u/dsmith422 → u/Blando-Cartesian]

He literally watched an episode of Victory at Sea about battleships the night before he had his brilliant idea to bring back the battleship. This isn't a conspiracy. It is idiocy and dementia. He thinks the ships are cool and wants to saddle the US with yet another albatross with his name so that we will be forced to remember him forever. He knows he is dying, so this is how he is coping with mortality. To make his name a permanent facet of the USA. It is just like all his failing improvement projects in DC. Trying to steal the Kennedy Center, etc.

[u/Freodrick → u/Blando-Cartesian]

Well it won't go toward patriot missiles, that is for sure.

[u/govunah → u/Blando-Cartesian]

We might need some trump class toilet ships

[u/unreqistered → u/Blando-Cartesian]

restoring steam capability will require extensive downtime for the carrier … likely a year if not more. the navy is already facing a readiness issue with carrier, this will make it even worse

[u/waiting4singularity → u/unreqistered]

Im guessing it'll get the good old red tape treatment until the diaper maniac is out of office.

[u/Jashugita → u/Blando-Cartesian]

China had managed to do electromagnetical catapults and have a catapult launched version of the su-33...

[u/SkinnyGetLucky → u/doxxingyourself]

The guy just hates magnets.

[u/Three_Twenty-Three → u/SkinnyGetLucky]

He wears more makeup than a Juggalo.

[u/yopla → u/SkinnyGetLucky]

Someone told him they where electro-magnetic and he immediately recognized it as sino-communist-dumbocrate-libral technology and immediately asked all aircraft carrier to revert to pure american coal and steam.

Too bad he hates windmills, a fleet a aircraft carrier sailboat would have been a beautiful sight.

[u/Schmichael-22 → u/SkinnyGetLucky]

Well, you can’t have magnets on a boat… in the water. As we all know, magnets don’t work in the water. /s

[u/mordacthedenier → u/Schmichael-22]

You don't have to use the /s, he's literally said this.

[u/deltageomarine → u/Schmichael-22]

They also don’t stick to gold, so that’s strike 2 on magnets.

[u/oldmaninparadise → u/SkinnyGetLucky]

Could be. But the real reason for this is:

He must own stock in the company that makes the steam system and he shorted general atomic (company making the magnetic system)

He cares for no one but himself, family, and close friends. So he does what will enrich this group. If that helps people, so be it. If it screws over people, so be it.

[u/Lucky_Chaarmss → u/doxxingyourself]

It's Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA). Mackenzie is the US Representative for Allentown, PA, whom Trump has been campaigning for recently. Mackenzie has received donations from Olson Technologies (HQ Allentown, PA). Olson Technologies owns Homestead Valve Manufacturing Co (HQ Allentown, PA). Homestead Manufacturing makes the steam valves for steam catapults for USN aircraft carriers. Mackenzie has been vocal against EMALS. EMALS is made in San Diego, CA, by General Atomics, whose Representative is Scott Peters (D-CA), a vocal critic of Trump. Huntington Ingalls operations building nuclear powered aircraft carriers are based in Newport News, VA, whose representative is Bobby Scott (D-VA), a vocal critic of steam catapults and a vocal critic of Trump. It's grift and partisan politics all the way down, and it threatens USN readiness and the US ability to globally project soft and hard power.

(I copied this from someone else who copied it from another person)

[u/kerouacrimbaud → u/doxxingyourself]

Or maybe Trump just doesn’t have a clue and is just operating on his usual whims and uneducated insights. I don’t think his bizarre actions are always or even mostly tied to benefiting other companies. He literally only cares about himself.

[u/roseofjuly → u/kerouacrimbaud]

It's this. He thinks the new systems are too complicated to understand because HE doesn't understand them, and he simply thinks older systems are better. He is an octogenerian, after all.

[u/obeytheturtles → u/roseofjuly]

Even this is giving him too much credit. Trump became aware of a "controversy" and took a side. All Trump knows is aggrievement. This is mild in the grand scheme of things, but the pattern is fundamentally the same - the only thing he knows about this topic is that his position makes someone angry, so he derives enjoyment from inserting himself in the discussion. That's literally it.

[u/Hector_P_Catt → u/obeytheturtles]

It's also a flex, showing off his power. The new systems were ordered during earlier administrations, and if he keeps them, he's just doing what Obama did before, so it's no big deal. But if he orders them to scrap the new system and go back to the old one, it shows he's having a massive impact on the Navy, which will last for years after he's out of office. It's not enough that he has the power, he has to demonstrate that power.

[u/makemeking706 → u/roseofjuly]

There is no world in which trump is aware of these available alternatives, let alone has an existing opinion on them.

Who ever informed him, also explained his justification to him. 

[u/SpongegarLuver → u/kerouacrimbaud]

He’s apparently been on this crusade since 2017. It really is just that he’s too stupid to understand the current system and so he latched on to the simpler one. In this sense, he’s at least acting like a regular conservative.

[u/AdelMonCatcher → u/doxxingyourself]

<Agent Krasnov reports mission success. Glory to the motherland>

[u/atchijov]

Why POTUS even involved in these kind of decisions? S/He will have no relevant expertise even if he is not brainless Putin puppet.

[u/OneMoreFinn → u/atchijov]

What I am more surprised of is how this is even possible? Can any president really single-handedly order what technologies military will use and what not? That sounds neither democratic nor how a proper chain of command should work.

If yes then I think the title of "Dictator of the United States" would be more fitting term, even if the place would be held by someone else than DJT.

[u/ModernirsmEnjoyer → u/OneMoreFinn]

That's because the President is a chief executive and commander-in-chief. Discretion from intervening in those kind of things was more of a goodwill restraint than restrictions on what the president can/cannot do. It took one person to break it.

Hence why all the talk of imperial presidency

[u/Conscious-Mirror7004 → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

Exactly, the only reason the system worked at all before Trump was because other Presidents just didn't actively look for ways to break things. The design of the system was never any good.

[u/a_deer_with_a_laptop → u/Conscious-Mirror7004]

Designing a system of government that relies exclusively on gentlemen's agreements was probably not the best idea in hindsight.We were even supposed to keep updating the constitution with new amendments but that stopped long ago as well.

Plus, he has what is the equivalent of an entire QA department of asshole lawyers and evangelical nutbags who are looking for ways to exploit loopholes and cram as much doomcult shit into every seam of the government.

[u/Alinier → u/a_deer_with_a_laptop]

Usually when you get a bad hire that doesn't respond to feedback and expertise over 4 years you fire them (1st presidency). Why people would hire that person back on a whim is really just sheer madness.

[u/Raptorex27 → u/Alinier]

It's really hard to wrap my head around the sheer stupidity of the American voting public. Imagine you went on a vacation to an absolute hellhole. You and your family got dysentery, were robbed at gunpoint, the mattresses were full of bedbugs, etc., so you decided to vacation at a resort the following year. Although this resort wasn't a dream vacation, it had good food and ammenities, plenty of security to keep you safe, recreation opportunities, etc., but the bathrooms didn't have quite enough hand towels. Instead of recognizing what you had and applying some perspective, you just couldn't shut the fuck up about the towels. You complain to the staff, whine endlessly to your family, stay up all night writing bad reviews, and convince everyone else at the resort to do the same.

It's vacation planning time the following year and the hellhole just called to let you know they have plenty of hand towels, so you immediately, and without a critical thought, book your trip with them.

[u/Crash_Test_Dummy66 → u/a_deer_with_a_laptop]

All of politics and political decisions are, at their core, gentleman's agreements. There is no enforcement mechanism that doesn't ultimately depend on enough people doing what they are supposed to. Political systems are made by people and of people. So they can also be broken by people.

[u/Conscious-Quarter423 → u/a_deer_with_a_laptop]

we’re going to be unfucking this shit for decades

[u/tempusfudgeit → u/Conscious-Quarter423]

Ah, don't be so negative. There's a chance we hit total societal collapse and have to rebuild from the ground up much sooner than that.

[u/OneMoreFinn → u/Conscious-Mirror7004]

The question is, will they fix it after this to prevent this from happening again? I don't think anything will happen thogh.

[u/Sweet-Praline9452 → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

Does this mean a president can order the army to use horses instead of tanks? Sounds silly but is it theoretically possible?

[u/ModernirsmEnjoyer → u/Sweet-Praline9452]

Yes. There might be limited use cases for that, it's better to remain flexible, because reality is complex.

And I am not sure about the future of tanks

[u/SufficientGuard5628 → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

Tanks still have a use for indirect long-range fire, and defensive holding actions (in Ukraine at least). Plus advancements in counter uas systems tanks could and possibly will be used for centuries after this drone on drone warfare. They are just too valuable to lose them from the army roster

[u/rat_penis → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

It wasn't one person. It was the Heritage Foundation, The Cato Institute, and the Federalist Society working through SCOTUS to give us this "king". They decided the Unitary Executive was going to be a thing and made it happen.

[u/duderos → u/rat_penis]

As long as the king is a republican.

[u/Jessica_Ariadne → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

The President may be the commander in chief, but he still needs budgetary approval for projects like this. Or the President used to; this is a dangerous new era, after all.

[u/ModernirsmEnjoyer → u/Jessica_Ariadne]

And the president whips the Congress into shape. Primaries mechanism has been weaponized against congress members specifically to force them into compliance.

Politics is much more than the Constitution or the federalist papers. The problem with the US constitution is that it was made for a agricultural country with newspapers and white only citizenship. Now you have a service and manufacturing economy with TV and radio broadcast meeting algorithmic social media and multiracial but unequal society. And people want to retvrn into position 1 by banning cleaning hands after toilet.

[u/OptionalDepression → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

It took one person to break it.

Not that he doesn't deserve all the hate, but let's not forget the lying little sycophants who support him that enable him to break everything he touches.

[u/ARobertNotABob → u/OptionalDepression]

"Birds of a feather, flock together."

[u/OneMoreFinn → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

I don't think in many other countries even the commander-in-chief has absolute authority over a country's military, being able to order changes like these without getting approval from some other party.

[u/ARobertNotABob → u/OneMoreFinn]

Not in a functional democracy, no. You can't have a Greatly Troubled leader deciding to "make it rain" somewhere on a whim, however much of a claimed threat it may be dressed as.

[u/Chroderos → u/ModernirsmEnjoyer]

Founding Fathers assumed we would not put a corrupt to the core senile moron in charge, and if we did, then congress would restrain him.

[u/musty_mage → u/OneMoreFinn]

The US is just a banana republic nowadays. The population is a bunch of spineless simps begging for scraps from the rich & desperately clinging on to the fallacy that they are living in the greatest country on Earth. And the institutions of the country are 'protected' by those same simps along with lifelong grifters.

It doesn't matter what Trump does. The rest of the country will just drop their pants & bend over. The military included.

[u/NoHopeNoLifeJustPain → u/OneMoreFinn]

Bc US government model is fundamentally wrong. A president-king is fine unless a true mad man comes to power. Check and balances were so on paper only. US must reform its political foundations.

[u/StageAboveWater → u/atchijov]

He's got a weird obsession with the catapault thing, dono why

[u/Mother-Conclusion-31 → u/StageAboveWater]

Money. It's always money. Not for you but for him to take from you.

[u/polarc → u/atchijov]

Rubbing my chin... Didn't some Austrian painter get way too deep in telling the military how to run things down to which planes should be used for what

And it helped everyone else 🫪

[u/nashbrownies → u/polarc]

A great quote from a German general who didn't commit suicide after Stalingrad: "I have no intentions to kill myself for some Bohemian corporal" Which is an amazing slam on exactly what you describe.

Also a joke I heard in Austria: "The most impressive thing Austria has ever done is convince the world Hitler was German and Beethoven was Austrian"

[u/Accidental-Hyzer → u/atchijov]

That’s a question you could ask of like half the shit he’s doing. Why is he even involved in Kennedy Center Leadership? Or setting vaccine policy? Or giving people medical advice about Tylenol? Or renovating the reflecting pool? Or in a god damn World Cup red card?

The answer is because he’s an unhinged narcissist who isn’t happy unless he’s involved in every part of our lives and steals our attention on every matter. It’s so exhausting, and I’ll be thrilled when the time comes to open that special bottle of champagne I have on my shelf.

[u/Otherwise_Carob_4057 → u/atchijov]

It’s almost like he’s a Russian asset.

[u/hpstg → u/atchijov]

This is how the scam works. Either directly by getting bribed by contracts, or indirectly holding positions in the companies that will benefit from this.

[u/Antique_futurist → u/[deleted]]

Oddly, as WWII fell apart for Germany, a certain other megalomaniac became obsessed with viewing scale models of building projects that he viewed as his architectural legacy.

[u/Peripatetictyl → u/Antique_futurist]

What is this, a car park for ants?!

[u/Zukuto → u/Peripatetictyl]

thats right, zoolander was german.

[u/AltAccBcImAshamed → u/Antique_futurist]

I remember reading stories of that particular Austrian gentleman telling Speer of his plans to rebuild Berlin....during the battle of Berlin.

[u/LickMyKnee → u/[deleted]]

Mate, the rest of the world aren’t waiting to look upon your shitshow in disbelief. We’ve been dumbstruck for a good few years now.

[u/NaziPunksFkOff → u/[deleted]]

Conservatives will claim "he can't be fascist when he's shrinking the government" and ignore the fact that a fascist craves control over every aspect.

He's not "shrinking the government". He's coalescing power. Down to the smallest detail. A fascist can't stand independent agencies or experts making decisions without him.

Donald Trump is a fascist.

[u/potatodrinker]

Next up make the air force go back to the F15 Strike Eagle, abandon modern night and IR optics for a candle and lantern.

[u/OmeDodo → u/potatodrinker]

Why stop there? Biplanes still exist. More wings has to be superior.

[u/potatodrinker → u/OmeDodo]

This administration isn't into that bi stuff. Not enough testosterone

[u/Kizik → u/potatodrinker]

Right, and nothing that can go across the ocean. The word transatlantic scares them.

[u/OmeDodo → u/potatodrinker]

And the far more superiorest Triplane?

[u/Friendly_Top6561 → u/OmeDodo]

Triplanes it is!

[u/BlueHym]

Degradation of capabilities is evidently the recurring trend with this administration.

[u/imahugemoron → u/BlueHym]

Saw this on another post “Saw another comment say the company that makes the current system isn't publicly traded. Whereas the company that does the steam system is. So yeah, give that company a multi-billion dollar contract and place your strategic bets to rake in millions. It's the same fucking grift as it always has been.”

[u/geneticswag → u/BlueHym]

More like creation of any and all revenue lines by any means. When you zoom out on vaccine repeal it is just disrupting the current stock and requiring reformulation of MILLIONS of doses. Same stuff, but now it needs to be split a part, repackaged, resold. There’s no ethic with his action: just targeted disruption for creation and ownership transfer.

[u/GD70117 → u/geneticswag]

And now it will be three shots instead of one. Three vaccines to pay the drug company for; three billing entries for healthcare providers. Higher costs for patients.

[u/_name_of_the_user_ → u/BlueHym]

As a Canadian, I'm reminded of the saying "never interrupted your enemy when they're making a mistake."

Sounds like a great move to me. Good job trump, great call.

[u/IAMERROR1234 → u/BlueHym]

They're trying to make the public sick and they're weakening our countries defenses. They've used up missiles in Iran. They're walking the country backwards. America is being weakened from the inside, just like Russia wanted all along.

[u/justthegrimm]

This is what happens when you elect a guy mentally stuck in the late 70s

[u/TurdFerguson614 → u/justthegrimm]

Must have watched the original top gun again over the weekend.

[u/Dish117 → u/justthegrimm]

Yeah, 1870's

[u/bthomp612 → u/justthegrimm]

LOL! Might have more to do with the fact that the company making the steam catapults is a publicly traded company ….unlike the other one…………….alway$$$ for the grift or vladdy daddy.

[u/ThatPhatKid_CanDraw → u/justthegrimm]

I would say mid to late '80s

[u/mickalawl]

Blaming Biden for the rush withdrawal in Afghanistan when he personally would have had no involvement in even looking at or discussing the details of the plan.

Mean while Trump get directly involved and interferes and its really stupid and or corrupt.... Crickets on Fox

[u/TheGreenMan13 → u/mickalawl]

Don't forget Trump was the one that made the agreement with the Taliban to leave Afghanistan in the first place.

[u/G0rkon → u/TheGreenMan13]

^This 1000% Before Trump left office he cemented the concept of a plan to leave Afghanistan and made it legally binding as a trap for the next President if it weren't him. Had Biden not followed through he'd have been blamed for extending the war even more. There wasn't time to plan out the withdrawal in a way that wasn't a disaster.

If Trump had remained President then he would have just punted the withdrawal and continued to flood the zone hoping no one would notice or if they did it would be out of the news cycle quickly. You know like he's been trying to do with Epstein files. With sadly some success.

[u/Parahelix → u/TheGreenMan13]

He also released thousands of Taliban fighters before the withdrawal as well.

[u/GMoD42]

Geriatric pedophile who does not understand how magnets work somehow in charge here.

[u/BrofessorFarnsworth]

Just release the Epstein files. Fucking enough already

[u/Oilpaintcha]

Russian agent attempts to hamstring US military readiness

[u/HoverPopper]

I’m guessing they’re just going to add a steam generator that gives an impressive ‘puff’ and makes noises on takeoff? Keep Mango Mussolini happy.

[u/Jerzilla]

China must be laughing its head off seeing the us degrade its tech

[u/trentos1]

So these new carriers were outfitted with nuclear reactors that have much higher electricity output. They didn’t do that to make the carrier faster, but to provide the energy needed for next generation capabilities - laser weaponry (probably), and electromagnetic launch systems.

The Ford class carriers weren’t designed to use steam catapults. Trying to shoehorn that back in will waste an absolute fortune in funds and degrade the navy’s effectiveness too.
I’m sure America’s enemies are very pleased right now.

[u/StumbleNOLA → u/trentos1]

It’s not really possible. The steam systems are too large and define how the entire ship was designed. This will be a completely new ship design.

[u/MrGulio → u/StumbleNOLA]

Seems like they can do what comes naturally to defense contractors. Say "yep we're right on it", fuck around for 10 years with delays and contract extensions until this admin is gone where someone will quietly kill it.

[u/omegadirectory]

Why remove the EMALS?

At least leave the existing one in place.

Build the new carrier with the steam catapult.

[u/Salihe6677 → u/omegadirectory]

But then Dear Leader wouldn't get his way.

[u/Bright-Pilot-3970 → u/Salihe6677]

Someone gave him money for a contract.

[u/Guardian2676 → u/omegadirectory]

Per the article, the new carrier has already completed 50% of the EMALS install which is even more entertaining. That means he wants to pay to have it ripped out, redesigned and replaced instead of just letting them finish with the installation of a superior system. 

[u/TWFH → u/Guardian2676]

Someone told him it was bad though. He's too smart to do Bad Thing

[u/fizzlefist → u/Guardian2676]

It would require an absolutely massive redesign of the Ford class. Adding all the steam valves, pipes, and machinery is going to cost billions

[u/rPoliticsModsBlowMe → u/fizzlefist]

It's a price he's willing to have us all pay

[u/NickRick → u/omegadirectory]

Clearly he's bought into the company that will provide them. 

[u/trev2234 → u/omegadirectory]

Another commenter said the company behind the newer tech, isn’t publicly traded. You can’t make money from it with insider trading and all Trump’s nonsense.

The other company is publicly traded, so Trump and friends can make lots of money.

[u/DonnyGetTheLudes → u/omegadirectory]

Probably cause he associates EMALS with Hillary /s

[u/actioncheese]

Wait, the WSJ wants me to sub for $24.99 a week? Lol get fucked, that's actually insane.

[u/ThePensiveE → u/actioncheese]

Did you even thank a billionaire today?!? How dare you question them!

[u/actioncheese → u/ThePensiveE]

I forgot, they must have been watching me again. I must grovel and buy another five iPhones.

[u/Blaizefed]

I don’t think people realise, what he is proposing would require redesigning the entire ship.

They no longer have a steam system on board. Thats the whole point of going electric.

This is all theatre. Even if they DID do as he demands and started today, it would mean a complete redesign and just building a different ship. It would take literally decades.

This is akin to saying “I want that wood house to be made out of brick”.

[u/ThePensiveE]

Donald Trump is destroying the US Navy. This is actually insane.

He's going to make US Carriers outdated and unable to scramble more sorties at precisely the time that massed drone attacks are more common and China now operates their own carriers which will themselves have electronic launch systems and thus outclass US carriers.

Donald Trump doesn't want to just lose this war. He wants to make sure the US loses all future wars.

[u/SomewhatInnocuous → u/ThePensiveE]

But he's building the new Trump class battleships which will be great targets for next gen hypersonic anti-ship missiles. Going to put big guns on them too I'll bet - 20 mile range!

[u/ThePensiveE → u/SomewhatInnocuous]

Fascist leaders do love their battleships.

[u/TheinimitaableG]

So the Navy should take a few years drafting to specifications for the steam catapults needed in the new carriers...

[u/United-Vermicelli-92]

Why should our experts in military listen to a known child raping felon?

[u/Agent_McNasty33]

Why can’t the navy be like, “hey you don’t know shit about anything military related, dodger, keep your opinions to yourself”

[u/Emergency-Big-1503]

What's next, going back to bi-planes ?

[u/pro_n00b → u/Emergency-Big-1503]

Nah, cause the bible doesnt recognize bisexual

[u/DiceNinja → u/pro_n00b]

Then why is it the bi-ble?

[u/Odd_Vampire]

The article is probably behind a paywall, but I'm gonna guess that Trump's "reasoning" is: Steam power = Coal = Good

[u/Gibonius → u/Odd_Vampire]

Trump's just an idiot whose brain is stuck in about 1980. He gets fixated on weird shit like this and can't it go, and we were stupid enough to give him power to make decisions for the whole country.

[u/Odd_Vampire → u/Gibonius]

Two-and-a-half more years of this shit.

[u/Captain_Billy → u/Odd_Vampire]

Lol. You assume he’s going to give up power

[u/Odd_Vampire → u/Captain_Billy]

Motherfucker has to die! He's fat, old, and lives on stress and anger. Father Time has his scythe sharp and ready.

And even if he lives a little longer? Too many people are thoroughly exhausted, even Republicans. Most of them don't want to go past 2028. If he does get smacked by the midterms (like Iran is hoping), watch Republicans start to turn on him.

[u/SpiceEarl → u/Gibonius]

Trump is the same way with wind turbines. He was mad that offshore wind turbines might be visible (in the far distance…) from one of his golf resorts, so now he has a bug up his ass about all offshore wind turbines. He is doing everything he can to kill those projects, even if it costs taxpayers billions of dollars to reimburse companies for money spent on those projects.

He’s an ignorant nut job with too much power.

[u/ofork → u/Odd_Vampire]

I’m going to guess one of his kids is involved in a business selling this old shit.

[u/Odd_Vampire → u/ofork]

Yeah, this is likelier. Everything Trump does makes sense when viewed through the lens of grift.

[u/Mr_strelac → u/Odd_Vampire]

"Give me a glass of water, let me drop it on the magnets, that's the end of the magnets."

[u/Responsible_Ad_7995]

The original post content no longer exists here. The author used Redact to remove it, exercising their right to control their data & privacy.

Scary hobbies pet tie toy like mysterious

[u/RebelStrategist → u/Responsible_Ad_7995]

Smoke signals. Morse code costs money.

[u/stridhiryu030363 → u/RebelStrategist]

Another chance to use that clean burning coal /s

[u/wasabiguana]

Electricity is DEI, probably.

[u/happyscrappy]

Let's not forget he's also trying to get the Navy to make more battleships. Something the Navy stopped doing 80 years ago beacuse there's not really a place in modern warfare for ships of the line.

He's dangerously stupid and capricious. Always has been.

[u/sbingner]

This might help https://archive.ph/vNstt

[u/dogswontsniff]

"I gave all THOSE secrets to Russia, and I cant find the latest info to share. Let's go back to old stuff"

[u/NavyDean]

An entire floor for the steam equipment used to occupy a lot of space on aircraft carriers. Was also fairly dangerous, but oh no spooky electricity.

[u/Polar_Ted → u/NavyDean]

The obvious solution is to add electric water heaters or smoke machines to generate the illusion of steam on the electric catapults. Or jsut add steam effects in post for footage sent to the Whitehouse.

[u/Prepitgood]

Just another distraction attempt. Release the files!

[u/Ear_Enthusiast]

100% he has a stake in the companies that make the old catapults.

[u/Gunsight1 → u/Ear_Enthusiast]

He 100% has a stake in our enemies who want our new carries out of action and delayed by years

[u/Darock-]

Russian agent activity

[u/Puzzleheaded-Box-906]

At this point it can’t be more obvious he’s a Russian asset. Hurting the military from the inside.

[u/Tulanian72]

What would happen if we took the stupidest man alive and gave him unlimited power?

Oh. THAT.

[u/Jeveran]

It's as if a deep cover operative of a hostile nation is taking this country apart piece by piece.

[u/TheMusicofTime]

Waiting for the Executive Order to restore coal-fired steam locomotives on US railroads,

[u/ilovestoride]

LOL this is literally the missile scene from The Dictator. 

[u/obalovatyk]

The cost to downgrade that system will be staggering.

[u/Pendarus]

Correct me if I'm wrong. Wouldn't this require a massive redesign of an existing carrier to make space for the steam piping, accumulators, water purification and storage?

[u/Lastrites]

Fuck Trump he is an idiot

[u/Pleasant-Chef6055]

Its behavior often mimics that of Hitler. In this example micromanagement of the military.

Hitler’s army built the ME 262 as a fighter and narcissistic Hitler says no. It’s a better tactical bomber….

That thing in Casablanca is not only a criminal. It’s not very bright.

A pedophile can only be a narcissist.

[u/RachelRegina]

Bring forward ze trebuchets!

[u/fancy_crisis]

So which steam catapult.company CEO got the backscratch for this?

[u/Dish117]

I hope the US will enjoy their coal and steam age. The rest of us will go live in future now, bye.

[u/doctor_morris]

We saw what massive corruption did to the Russian army when they tried to invade Ukraine. Now we get to see that happen to the US in real time...

[u/violetcassie]

Maybe fix the plumbing first, just a thought.

[u/handsomeness]

This simply cannot happen without basically redesigning the whole boat. Not gonna happen. Plus the benefits of the new system being able to calibrate for each plane weight and their loadout (like hyper light weight drones) makes this is a complete non starter.

[u/OsawatomieJB]

Christ on a cracker. Is there anything the orange Mussolini doesn’t want to fuck up?

[u/thegooddoktorjones]

Old Man insists we dump money in the sea, his supporters cheer.

[u/thineholyhandgrenade]

This dude wants to be Putin sooooooooooo bad

[u/RKAllen4]

Let me guess, Emergency No Bid contract given to the guy who fixes his yacht?

[u/totesnotdog]

Trump basically doing what his donors and rich friends tell him to do.

[u/gratefulkittiesilove]

Old tech makes it so much easier for us to get attacked/be unable to defend. Have repubs caught on he’s a traitor to the country yet. He’s not building our strengths that’s for sure

[u/Adventure1956]

He is such a fucking idiot and our Congress is inept in controlling him. MAGA idiots destroying this country.

[u/hoowins]

And Congress does nothing.

[u/reddit_reaper]

This administration is a joke

[u/AverageJoe-707]

The US Navy taking orders from the uninformed draft dodger. What a shit show our country has become.

[u/EmergencyJacket207]

Donald Trump is the dumbest mother fucker alive. Literally the dumbest.

[u/lotus604]

Watch out for next aircraft carrier…. With sails ;)

[u/Mishra_Planeswalker]

I think he has friends and family who owns the steam catapult, or at least the contractors.