Trump Decision On Navy Ships Mocked By Top Dem

Mark Kelly Blasts Trump Over Navy Catapult Decision: “He Knows Nothing About This Stuff”

Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut, sharply criticized President Donald Trump on Thursday after Trump ordered the Navy to move away from newer electromagnetic catapult technology and return to older steam-powered systems on future aircraft carriers.

Kelly, an Arizona Democrat who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned Trump’s qualifications to make a technical decision involving complex aircraft carrier systems. In an interview with MS NOW, Kelly argued that changing the design of carriers already under development could create major costs for the Navy.

Trump directed the Navy to bring back steam catapults and hydraulic systems for Ford-class carriers, replacing the electromagnetic technology known as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS.

The decision could affect future ships that have already been designed around the newer technology. One example is the USS Doris Miller, which is currently under construction and had been expected to use EMALS.

Kelly warned that reversing course could require the Navy to redesign portions of ships that are already well into development. He estimated that the changes could ultimately cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

The senator also emphasized that his criticism was not based simply on political differences. Kelly has extensive aviation and engineering experience, including hundreds of carrier takeoffs and landings, a degree in aeronautical and marine engineering and a background as a test pilot.

Despite that experience, Kelly has said he would not personally tell Navy engineers how to design a carrier system.

He argued that the same principle should apply to the president, saying Trump’s decision could interfere with technical work that should be handled by military and engineering specialists.

Trump has been critical of electromagnetic catapults for years. He has argued that the newer systems are unnecessarily complicated and expensive compared with the steam technology used aboard older aircraft carriers.

The president reiterated those concerns at a defense summit in Pennsylvania last month, arguing that the Navy had spent billions of dollars on electric catapults without receiving sufficient benefits in return.

The Navy, however, has pointed to preliminary testing that appears to support the newer technology.

Earlier this year, Navy officials said initial results from testing aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford showed that the carrier’s flight deck design, combined with EMALS and the Advanced Arresting Gear system, contributed to a higher aircraft launch rate than the older Nimitz-class carriers.

The Navy cautioned that the data was still being analyzed, but said early results indicated the Ford-class system could generate more aircraft sorties than its older counterparts.

The disagreement therefore goes beyond a simple dispute over which technology is newer. Trump’s position favors a return to systems that have been used for decades, while Navy testing has indicated that the newer electromagnetic equipment could provide operational advantages.

The debate now centers on whether Trump’s order will improve reliability and reduce costs—or force the Navy to spend billions redesigning carriers that were already built around a different system.