Trump orders the Navy to return to an older system of launching jets off aircraft carriers

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Navy to remove the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) from its newest Ford-class aircraft carrier design, switching back to older steam catapults, according to a Thursday directive. The Pentagon and Navy must deliver plans within two months to eliminate EMALS and replace the electromagnetic weapons elevators on the USS Doris Miller, the fourth Ford-class ship. The change could cost billions, require more sailors, and be harder to maintain. General Atomics, the EMALS maker, said the Doris Miller work is already halfway complete and that reversing course would create “significant” cost and schedule risks.