Trump Pushes Design Overhaul for Ford-Class Aircraft Carriers

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Navy to examine two design changes for the Ford-class carriers under construction: reinstating steam-powered catapults and relocating the flight-deck “island” toward the ship’s mid-section. The review is part of a Navy study and a White House-mandated plan due within two months.

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The Ford class was intended to replace the Nimitz fleet with systems such as the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), advanced weapons elevators (AWE) and advanced arresting gear (AAG). The island was placed toward the stern to free deck space and support higher sortie rates. Trump’s preference for a more traditional appearance has prompted the proposed island shift and revival of steam catapults, which have not been used on U.S. carriers since the Nimitz class.

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• USS Gerald R. Ford cost about $13 billion.

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• USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise each cost roughly $15 billion.

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• USS Doris Miller is projected at $18 billion.

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• Analysts say moving the island could add “billions” in engineering and labor costs and delay delivery of ships already under construction.

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Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, issued a memorandum ordering Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to submit a plan to replace EMALS with steam and hydraulic systems for CVN-81. Vought called the Ford class’s rising expenses and timeline “not acceptable.”

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Rep. Joe Courtney, ranking member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, called the steam-catapult proposal “ludicrous,” saying it undermines efforts to avoid delays and cost overruns and that moving the island “adds risk for personnel.”

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Navy officials note that preliminary data from the Sortie Generation Rate test program show the current flight-deck design, combined with EMALS and AAG, already increases sortie generation compared with Nimitz-class carriers.

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• “I think the idea with this and with the electromagnetic catapult is to do the studies and maybe do some of the redesign work, but not actually incorporate it into the ships, because the actual construction part of those ships is far enough in the future that they could wait it out, right, and wait until the president’s out of office and then just not implement the change,” — Bryan Clark, Hudson Institute

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• “It’s all part of the same review. So, the president has a view. He … wants things to be more grand,” — Brent Sadler, Heritage Foundation

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The Navy’s internal review will assess engineering impacts, man-hour requirements, and potential disruptions to other shipbuilding programs. Within two months, the White House expects a detailed plan outlining how—if at all—the carrier design could be altered to meet the president’s directives. The outcome will determine whether the Ford-class fleet proceeds with its current EMALS-centric configuration or pivots to a hybrid approach that reintroduces steam catapults and a repositioned island.

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