• The order: Trump signed a memorandum directing the Navy to redesign the Doris Miller carrier and all future Gerald R. Ford-class ships with steam catapults instead of electromagnetic launchers (EMALS); the first three ships — Ford, JFK, Enterprise — retain their electromagnetic systems.

  • The dispute: Trump has criticised EMALS since 2017 without evidence, including a debunked 2024 claim that magnets fail in water, while the Navy says electromagnetic launchers actually let Ford-class carriers launch and recover aircraft faster than older classes, with steam requiring costlier, more labour-intensive maintenance.

  • The cost and pushback: Naval expert Bryan Clark estimated the switch would cost billions; the White House called steam "resilient and robust" and framed it as reviving scalable industrial capacity, while Navy officials and industry have resisted removing a system integral to the Ford class design.