Trump Orders Navy to Revert to Older Steam Catapult System The US Navy is set to abandon its state of the art Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on new aircraft carriers, reverting instead to the older steam catapult system.
President Donald Trump has ordered this change, citing perceived cost savings as the primary motivation.
The EMALS system uses electromagnetic power to launch planes at faster speeds and with greater accuracy than its steam powered predecessors.