Story perspectives

Trump Orders USS Doris Miller Launch System Swap

8/17/2026

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Trump Orders Carrier Revamp

President Donald Trump issued memorandum August 14, 2026 directing Navy to replace USS Doris Miller’s electromagnetic launch system with steam catapults and hydraulic elevators.
Officer Bryan Clark warned moving carrier’s island would require redesign, adding billions in cost and delaying program.
General Atomics warned changing launch system at 50 % completion would create cost and schedule risks.
Senator Mark Kelly said the island redesign would likely cost billions of dollars.

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Trump Orders Carrier

President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on August 14, 2026 directing the Navy to replace the USS Doris Miller’s electromagnetic launch system with steam catapults and hydraulic elevators.
The change would need a dozen sailors per catapult, yet the Navy has 20,000 unfilled enlisted slots, raising manpower concerns.
Critics warn the order could add billions to the carrier’s construction cost.
General Atomics warned that swapping the launch system would create cost, schedule and risks.

History

Historical Context

Steam catapults, refined in the 1950s and achieving 99.5 % availability, were first deployed on the lead Nimitz-class carrier commissioned 3 May 1975. The Navy later shifted to electromagnetic launch with EMALS on USS Gerald R. Ford around 2015. In 2026 President Trump ordered the Doris Miller’s EMALS replaced by steam catapults, reviving the 1970s launch technology.

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Trump Orders Carrier Revamp

President Donald Trump issued memorandum August 14, 2026 directing Navy to replace USS Doris Miller’s electromagnetic launch system with steam catapults and hydraulic elevators.
Officer Bryan Clark warned moving carrier’s island would require redesign, adding billions in cost and delaying program.
General Atomics warned changing launch system at 50 % completion would create cost and schedule risks.
Senator Mark Kelly said the island redesign would likely cost billions of dollars.

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