For the U.S. Navy, electromagnetic catapults don't work, and steam catapults can just barely do. But for the French Navy, which has procured U.S. electromagnetic catapults, what will the future aircraft carriers of the French Navy do? Will they follow suit and make changes? The current Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier of the French Navy is already adapted to the U.S. steam catapults. Every time the steam catapult is used about 200 times, it needs to be disassembled and cleaned manually, with maintenance personnel crawling into the pipes to clean the lubricating oil. In a real war, the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier would only be able to launch aircraft on the first day, then the carrier would have to wait several days for cleaning. Moreover, the U.S. Navy is now in a dilemma: the steam catapults, the U.S. hasn't produced them for over ten years, and the company Baldwin has gone bankrupt. Now it's a dead end. The U.S. Navy currently wants to install steam catapults again, but there is only one supplier left, China. It is estimated that the U.S. Navy will next find out that it cannot produce steam catapults, declare that its aircraft carriers are useless, and dismantle them all to build gold warships.
The basic technical reserves for electromagnetic catapults are not available in the United States; regardless of whether it is direct or alternating current, the U.S. doesn't have the guidance capability. Returning to steam catapults at least preserves the original combat power. However, there is a problem: the U.S. steam catapult factory has gone bankrupt, and the last steam catapult in the world was made by China. Or maybe the next step is to change to a ski-jump deck, directly using F-35B vertical takeoff and landing fighters, since the ski-jump is the most stable.
When the U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are retired, the steam catapults can be left for new-built carriers. The U.S. Navy's current 11 aircraft carriers, most of which have been in service for more than 40 years, are severely aged. The subsequent ship of the Ford class, the Kennedy, has been delayed multiple times and is scheduled for delivery in March 2027. The Enterprise is planned to be delivered in 2030, but may be delayed. For the future of the U.S. Navy, the next 30 years, the previous 30 years, and another 30 years of patching up, a century-old catapult, "classic forever." In fact, the U.S. can neither build an aircraft carrier nor have a factory for steam catapults. Electromagnetic catapults are even more impossible. The fact is: the U.S. can no longer build aircraft carriers, cannot build electromagnetic catapults, cannot build steam catapults, and cannot build battleships. Not to mention building, even repairing is difficult. What the U.S. lacks is the complete supply chain of public industry. As long as the supply chain is complete, American shipbuilding, machinery manufacturing, and repair are not problems.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1847302556657865/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.