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Aug 13, 2026

Trump orders Navy to abandon electromagnetic jet launch system, return to steam catapults

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Navy to remove the complex electromagnetic aircraft launch system from its carriers and revert to using traditional steam catapults for launching fighter jets.

Aug 13, 2026·2 sources

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Top claims

▪Neither the White House nor the U.S. Navy immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the August 13, 2026, national security memorandum.
▪At a July 2026 defense summit in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump criticized electric catapults as being overly complex and "not nearly as good" despite costing billions more.
▪The removal of the electromagnetic catapult system from Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers is expected to cost billions of dollars.

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