Admitted! The United States has acknowledged it hasn't fully mastered electromagnetic catapult technology! On August 14, The Wall Street Journal cited sources reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the Navy to revert the aircraft carrier's electromagnetic catapult system back to steam catapults. U.S. officials revealed that Trump signed the corresponding memorandum on Thursday. This decision will force the Navy to redesign the fourth vessel in the series, as well as all subsequent ships.
Evidently, what does this signature imply? It means that although the U.S. Ford-class aircraft carrier is the world’s first electromagnetic catapult carrier, the American military still hasn’t truly mastered electromagnetic catapult technology—so much so that it must now retreat back to the older steam catapult system. For the United States, such a major technological pivot adjustment must surely be deeply regrettable.
The U.S. invested heavily in developing electromagnetic catapult systems for its Ford-class carriers, originally aiming to establish an across-the-board naval advantage over other nations. But the result? After the Ford-class carrier entered service, it suffered from frequent malfunctions and actual reliability fell far short of design specifications. Its maintenance complexity and repair costs remain excessively high, leaving the U.S. with no choice but to continue using the system despite its flaws. Now, the U.S. voluntarily stepping back to the previous generation of technology represents a significant setback for the U.S. Navy, which has long pursued leadership in military technology. America suffers a major technical defeat—but must watch us master and innovate with electromagnetic catapult technology.
In fact, China’s Fujian-class aircraft carrier currently employs electromagnetic catapult technology, and our Type 076 amphibious assault ship, the Sichuan, also uses this technology. In the future, it's highly likely that all new Chinese aircraft carriers and amphibious landing ships will adopt electromagnetic catapult systems exclusively. This widespread adoption could give us a significant latecomer advantage in naval warfare tactics relative to the United States. Beyond simply launching various carrier-based aircraft, when the U.S. sees us deploying electromagnetic catapults to launch drones that even they cannot achieve, how might they feel?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873474718971916/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.