Aviation News – Pentagon Directed to Replace EMALS with Steam Systems
President Donald Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum on August 13, 2026, directing the Pentagon to strip the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) from the future USS Doris Miller. The directive orders the US Navy to install traditional steam catapults instead, fundamentally reversing a pivotal launch-technology decision made in 2009.
Titled “Rebuilding the United States Navy and America’s Shipbuilding Industrial Base,” the executive order sets a strict timeline for defense leadership. The memorandum gives the Secretary of War—the administration’s title for the Defense Secretary—exactly 60 days to present a comprehensive execution plan detailing measures, timelines, and required resourcing. Beyond the flight deck catapults, the order mandates the replacement of the vessel’s Advanced Weapons Elevators with legacy hydraulic systems.
The decision target, the USS Doris Miller, is the fourth supercarrier in the Gerald R. Ford class of nuclear-powered warships. By shifting back to steam-driven technology, the White House establishes a sharp departure from the US Navy‘s multi-decade effort to electrify capital ship operational systems. The administrative command directly impacts primary defense contractors and naval architects who designed the modern Ford-class hull specifically around high-output electrical distribution architectures rather than steam piping.
Steam catapults operate by channeling high-pressure steam generated by onboard nuclear reactors into sub-deck pistons that rapidly propel aircraft to takeoff speeds. Converting the USS Doris Miller back to mechanical steam and hydraulic loops requires substantial structural re-engineering of internal compartments, piping routes, and thermal shielding. Operationally, the shift aims to trade the high-tech digital flexibility of electromagnetic acceleration for the mechanical simplicity and proven resilience of mid-century launcher designs.
“The memorandum calls for a plan on the required measures to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems for the construction of aircraft carrier Doris Miller,” stated White House officials regarding the directive given to the Secretary of War.
The forced transition signals major engineering challenges and schedule adjustments for American naval shipbuilding. Structural integration of heavy steam infrastructure into an existing electric-carrier baseline will require massive capital reallocation and design revisions before ship construction proceeds. Defense officials must now reconcile legacy physical machinery with modern hull blueprints, setting up a complex operational realignment across the military shipbuilding sector.
The Pentagon now faces an intense 60-day deadline to deliver its structural implementation plan to the executive office. Defense engineers at the US Navy must quickly determine the financial and temporal costs of stripping out sophisticated electromagnetic power systems.
