Trump orders Pentagon to redesign US aircraft carrier to use steam catapults to launch jets

President has suggested steam catapults every year since 2017, saying digital systems are too ‘complicated’

Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and a former astronaut, was more blunt in his reaction to the news.

“I’ve launched off the front of aircraft carriers hundreds of times, have a Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, and am a test pilot and even I wouldn’t suggest to the Navy how to engineer specific systems on its ships,” Kelly wrote on social media. “Donald Trump should stick to what he knows best – ballrooms, bankruptcy, and bullshit.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/trump-aircraft-carriers-steam-catapults