Trump Orders US Aircraft Carriers to Stop Using Advanced System, Why?

United States President Donald Trump has ordered that future US aircraft carriers no longer use the advanced system for launching fighter jets. Trump has proposed that US aircraft carriers return to using the older, ‘proven’ launch technology. Trump’s order is considered likely to increase military costs drastically. What are the reasons? Trump’s order, as reported by AFP on Saturday (15/8/2026), was announced as part of a presidential memorandum on national security to ‘fix critical long-term problems in the Navy’s shipbuilding and repair programme, and restore capacity and competition in the maritime industrial base’. The US Navy has dominated the seas since the Second World War. However, recent conflicts, including the war against Iran, have highlighted problems related to ageing ships and lengthy procurement processes. Trump lamented the condition of a ‘declining shipbuilding industrial base’, which he said has caused the process of building and repairing warships to become slower and more expensive. Trump’s latest order instructs the Pentagon, or the US Department of Defense, to draw up plans to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems on future US aircraft carriers. The first ship to be affected by the order is the USS Doris Miller, the fourth aircraft carrier of the Gerald R Ford class, which is scheduled for completion in 2034. The change in launch systems, according to a report by leading US media outlet the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), is expected to cost billions of dollars. In addition, the operation and maintenance of steam systems will also require more personnel. General Atomics, the company that won the contract to build the electromagnetic launch system for the USS Doris Miller, stated that the decision to switch systems ‘needs to be carefully reconsidered’. US Senator Criticises Trump’s New Order: It Is Unnecessary! US Senator Mary Kelly, a former astronaut and retired US Navy fighter jet pilot, criticised Trump’s latest order. Kelly called Trump’s order an unnecessary form of interference in US military operations. ‘I have taken off from the decks of aircraft carriers hundreds of times, have a Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, and am a test pilot, yet I would not dictate to the Navy how to design specific systems on their ships,’ said Kelly, a Democratic Senator from Arizona. Trump has complained about what he calls the shortcomings of the EMALS system since 2017, which he said is ‘not good’ and ‘does not have the power’ of the steam launch system. Trump’s latest order was announced as other countries, such as China and France, use electromagnetic launch systems on their aircraft carriers.