WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Kato Engineering announced a $49.3 million contract supporting the EMALS energy storage subsystem.
- The Navy sought vendors for EMALS components despite Trump’s August order favoring steam catapults for USS Doris Miller.
- Critics said restoring steam production and redesigning Ford-class carriers could require sweeping manufacturing changes at considerable expense.
- The Navy says EMALS offers smoother acceleration, faster resets, aircraft flexibility, and reduced maintenance and staffing needs.
Despite President Donald Trump’s push to revive steam catapults, the Navy appears to be moving ahead with electromagnetic launch technology for the newest class of American aircraft carriers.
Recent contract activity points toward continued support for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as EMALS.
The Navy recently awarded contracts tied to EMALS, which uses electrically generated magnetic fields to send aircraft off Ford-class carriers.
Those awards arrive after Trump ordered the service to pursue an older launch approach for the next carrier still under construction.
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Kato Engineering announced a $49.3 million contract this week to support the EMALS energy storage subsystem.
The award is one concrete sign that the electromagnetic system remains part of the Navy’s current carrier work and procurement activity.
The Navy also issued a sources sought notice on Wednesday seeking vendors for EMALS components, including recirculation pumps.
Together, the contract and vendor search suggest the service is still building support around the system rather than walking away from it.
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The Navy says electromagnetic catapults deliver smoother acceleration and can be adjusted for different aircraft, including drones.
It also says EMALS can reset more quickly for faster launches while requiring less maintenance and fewer personnel than the steam alternative.
Image Credit: DoW
The technology is not limited to the United States. China is equipping its new Fujian-class carriers with electromagnetic catapults, incorporating the newer launch technology into newly built Chinese carriers.
Trump brought the steam versus electromagnetic dispute back into public view in August.
He ordered the Navy to replace EMALS with the older steam system aboard USS Doris Miller, the next Ford-class carrier under construction.
In an August memo, Trump cited a Navy hit by “a series of shipbuilding setbacks stemming from overly complex designs and iterative design change procedures, which have resulted in cost growth, delays, and cancellations.” His complaint focused squarely on complexity and the costly results attached to it.
The president suggested mandating that the Navy provide “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 CVN-81 [ USS Doris Miller ], including timelines and resourcing requirements.”
The White House order baffled naval experts. The Navy has not ordered a steam catapult in 20 years, and its last such order was for USS George H. W. Bush, commissioned in 2009 as the final Nimitz-class carrier.
Critics said finding a manufacturer for steam catapults would be only part of the challenge.
Image Credit: DoW
Redesigning Ford-class carriers to accept the older equipment would likely demand sweeping changes to manufacturing and carry considerable expense.
Steam catapults nevertheless have a proven record. Britain developed the technology in the 1950s to replace the hydraulic catapults used on World War II carriers, and the United States later copied the British system.
The technology emerged as a replacement for an even older carrier launch method.
A 1954 article in the U.S. Naval Institute magazine Proceedings said the decision favoring steam was made in April 1952.
The article also said the United States obtained British manufacturing rights and drawings.
Those drawings were then redrawn to American standards and modified to meet U.S. naval requirements.
EMALS, by contrast, was manufactured for 21st century carriers. It is designed to expand Ford-class carrier operations by launching the full range of current and future carrier air wing platforms, from lightweight unmanned aircraft to heavy strike fighters.
Image Credit: DoW
That range matters as unmanned aircraft evolve and may soon become the backbone of carrier air wings, a shift the source says will likely require a more sophisticated launch system. The latest Navy contracts suggest the service is planning around that requirement.
The result is a stark split between presidential direction and the Navy’s latest procurement signals.
Trump has demanded a plan for steam and hydraulic systems, while the service’s recent spending and vendor outreach continue to support EMALS.
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