US President Trump announced on October 28, 2025: "He will sign an executive order to revert the aircraft carrier's electromagnetic catapult back to steam catapult and halt all electromagnetic catapult projects." "They (the US military-industrial complex) spent $900 million on the electric catapults, but the steam catapult system has been working perfectly for 50 years," "so we are going back to the steam system," "I will sign the executive order, including those electromagnetic catapults."
The US Navy's USS Gerald R. Ford is still unable to launch the F-35C carrier aircraft
According to Trump's intention, the US Navy's advantage in the steam catapult field over China is much greater than in the electromagnetic catapult. However, the premise is that the US can produce steam catapults. For the US, there is a good news and a bad news. The bad news is that the company producing steam catapults in the US has gone bankrupt and closed down. The good news is that it can buy from China. The only US defense manufacturer producing steam catapults, Babcock & Wilcox Company, abbreviated as B&W, its military industry department has gone bankrupt. Due to the US Navy focusing on electromagnetic catapult technology for the past 20 years, B&W has not received new orders for steam catapults for more than 20 years, making it difficult to maintain the production line, eventually leading to a financial breakdown and declaring bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the existing electromagnetic catapults on the US Navy's carriers can only be maintained using inventory parts, resulting in a high failure rate of the steam catapults on the US Navy's carriers.
Trump hopes for the "steam" of steam catapults
The steam catapult production line of B&W has been shut down, the technical team has left, and the complete supply chain for the steam catapult system cannot be restored in the short term. Reopening requires reorganizing the industrial chain, which would take at least five years. Since B&W cannot be relied upon, now the US Navy needs to find who to build the steam catapults. The key is whether the US domestic steam catapult production capability still exists? Are they planning to dismantle the steam catapults from the Nimitz-class carrier and install them on the Kennedy-class carrier?
US land-based electromagnetic catapult has launched the F-35C carrier aircraft
Trump suggested that the USS Ford should immediately modify to steam catapults. First, spend two years removing the steam catapults from the Nimitz-class carrier, then spend one year studying how to install the steam catapults, and then the next president cancels this order, spending four years studying how to reinstall the electromagnetic catapults. In contrast, there is another country in the world that has the capability to produce both steam and electromagnetic catapults: To compare which one is better, China has built both and conducted comparisons. We have built a steam catapult track on land, which is currently the latest steam catapult track manufactured globally, and this steam catapult track is the latest set in the world.
Options left for the US Navy are only ski-jump carriers
The UK Navy's carrier does not have a catapult, using ski-jump takeoff instead. France's Charles de Gaulle carrier uses a steam catapult bought from the US. The awkward situation is that the US also cannot produce steam catapults. Fortunately, Trump didn't say he likes sails, otherwise the US Navy would have to go back to the Age of Sail, becoming Caribbean pirates. It is recommended that the US military stop building carriers and instead build battleships, which do not need catapults and don't have to worry about choosing between steam or electromagnetic catapults. Also, battleships don't need carrier aircraft, so there's no problem with insufficient carrier aircraft.
China's electromagnetic catapult is not only equipped on the Fujian ship, but also on the 076 amphibious assault ship
"We are preparing to overtake by taking a different route, but the opponent suddenly turned around," the US wants to return to the era of steam catapults on aircraft carriers. Compared to electromagnetic catapults, steam catapults allow the carrier aircraft to leave the deck and fly after dropping a large distance, and the US F-35C carrier aircraft once slid into the sea. However, electromagnetic catapults allow the aircraft to leave the deck very steadily and fly directly. Electromagnetic catapults are better. But in the military field, reliability is extremely important. Steam catapults have fixed steam power that cannot be adjusted. It's just as strong, but not that strong, which limits the weight of the carrier aircraft. To solve this problem, you can only continue to expand, and the efficiency of consecutive launches is not that high, and energy consumption is also high. Electromagnetic catapults have adjustable power, which can be set according to the aircraft's mission load, energy consumption is controllable, and the weight limit is higher than that of steam catapults. The efficiency of launching, equipment life, and electromagnetic catapults are much higher than steam catapults.
J-35 carrier aircraft has completed electromagnetic catapult testing
Electromagnetic catapults will launch J-50 carrier aircraft in the future
China's electromagnetic catapults are reliable, and steam catapults can also be made, as they were compared side by side. At this moment, the US electromagnetic catapults are not working, are immature, and the steam catapult production line has gone bankrupt. By the way, if the US Navy continues to use steam catapults, it can still maintain the sortie rate of the US aviation forces.
The technological revolution brought by electromagnetic catapults will affect the next generation of carrier competition between China and the US
The Chinese Type 004 nuclear-powered carrier will reach 110,000-120,000 tons
In fact, the current technological advantages of electromagnetic and steam catapults are not yet clear, but what really affects is the next generation of carrier competition between China and the US: The fourth aircraft carrier of the Chinese Navy, also the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Type 004, is under construction. Unlike the 80,000-ton Fujian, this carrier will reach 110,000-120,000 tons, using nuclear propulsion, and earlier targets were the US Ford-class carriers. Who would have thought that the US Ford-class carriers are so poor, and the crucial electromagnetic catapults have not been solved to this day.
It is not about returning to steam catapult technology to solve the US Navy's dilemma, but rather how the US Navy will maintain its lead in the next decade
Electromagnetic catapult + nuclear power + J-50, the Type 004 carrier will achieve a leapfrog over the US Navy
By contrast, China's response includes the construction of the Type 004 nuclear-powered carrier, which has the same unlimited range as the US Ford-class carriers, with self-sufficient power, and can launch heavier and more powerful carrier aircraft, drones, refueling aircraft, and early warning aircraft through electromagnetic catapults. The Type 004 nuclear-powered carrier will have four electromagnetic catapults, capable of launching various aircraft, including the J-50, J-35 carrier aircraft, KJ early warning aircraft, stealth drones, loyal wingmen, and refueling aircraft. Especially the mixed deployment of carrier aircraft and drones will increase the number of carrier aircraft on the Type 004 to 150, and even allow one J-50 or J-35 carrier aircraft to command 4-12 drones to perform tasks such as ground bombing, anti-ship operations, and air combat. The construction of the Type 004 carrier means that China has built the largest surface warship in history. With the combination of electromagnetic catapults, nuclear power, and the J-50, the Type 004 carrier will achieve a leapfrog over the US Navy.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566527914532028966/
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