Trump tells troops that future US supercarriers are 'going to use steam' in a weird rant about an ob
Source: Business Insider
Trump tells troops that future US supercarriers are 'going to use steam' in a weird rant about an obsession he can't seem to shake
Ryan Pickrell 5m
President Donald Trump with troops at a Memorial Day event aboard the USS Wasp, in Yokosuka, Japan, May 28, 2019. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump suddenly and inexplicably returned to a persistent obsession -- the aircraft launch systems on the new Ford-class supercarriers -- while talking with US troops stationed in Japan on Tuesday.
At one point, Trump told the troops that future carriers will return to using steam to launch aircraft.
The US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have used steam launchers for decades to catapult aircraft off the flight deck, but the service is investing heavily in an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the newer Ford-class supercarriers.
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During Tuesday's talk, Trump polled US 7th Fleet troops aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, asking the crowd of sailors and Marines which was better, steam or electromagnetic catapults.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-future-aircraft-carriers-are-going-to-use-steam-2019-5
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Some crew:
that tRump either has a problem with General Atomics, the builder of the new, electromagnetic launch system (EMALS) or that he's got a pal who still makes steam catapults!
geez. A US President saying this to the troops who he was rallying with and silence from the press (??).
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-future-aircraft-carriers-are-going-to-use-steam-2019-5
............ During Tuesday's talk, Trump polled US 7th Fleet troops aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, asking the crowd of sailors and Marines which was better, steam or electromagnetic catapults.
The troops overwhelmingly supported the use of steam; however, there were some who cheered for the newer system.
Trump — a staunch proponent of traditional steam catapults that are less complex than the alternatives, which he believes a person must be "Albert Einstein" to fully understand and operate — quipped that service members who supported the use of electromagnetic catapults were working for the enemy.
As he has done many times throughout his presidency, Trump championed the use of steam catapults to launch aircraft from the Navy's new carriers.
"Steam's only worked for about 65 years perfectly," the president explained. "They have a $900 million cost overrun on this crazy electric catapult. I said, 'What was wrong with steam?'"
"We want to go with steam," he further remarked. "They are always coming up with new ideas ... They want to show next, next, next. And we all want innovation, but it's too much. There's never been anything like the steam catapult."
Read more: The Navy's new $13 billion supercarriers have a high-tech feature that is apparently driving Trump crazy
He argued that the "delicate" electromagnetic catapults are more expensive, less likely to hold up in battle and no more efficient than the steam catapults.
"I think I'm going to put an order — when we build a new aircraft carrier, we're going to use steam," he said, suggesting a radical overhaul to a key Navy research and development project.
Trebuchet kind of guy. "What's wrong with slinging some rocks and fireballs?"
