Trump’s Proposed Ford-Class Carrier Redesign Raises Cost, Engineering and Schedule Concerns
Dragon Media News Desk
US President Donald Trump’s reported push for major design and technology changes to the US Navy’s Ford-class aircraft carriers has triggered debate over the potential for billions of dollars in additional costs, construction delays and complex engineering challenges.
US media reports indicate that Trump wants future Ford-class carriers to more closely resemble American aircraft carriers from the World War II era. One option reportedly under consideration would move the carrier’s “island,” the command-and-control structure located on the flight deck, farther forward from its current aft position.
Military and naval engineering experts, however, say such a move would involve far more than a cosmetic redesign. The aft placement of the island on Ford-class carriers is closely linked to flight-deck space, aircraft movement, parking, launch preparation and recovery operations.
Chinese military affairs expert Zhang Junshe said moving the island forward could require reassessment of the ship’s weight distribution, buoyancy, flight-deck configuration and airflow characteristics. Such changes, he argued, could have significant implications for both cost and construction schedules.
At the same time, Trump has reportedly directed the Pentagon and the US Navy to prepare a plan to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, used on Ford-class carriers with traditional steam-powered catapults. The proposed shift could begin with the future USS Doris Miller, CVN-81.
EMALS was developed specifically for the Ford class as a new-generation aircraft launch system. Compared with steam catapults, it was designed to provide more precise control of launch energy, accommodate a wider range of aircraft weights, reduce maintenance and manpower requirements, and place less structural stress on carrier-based aircraft.
The US Navy had already awarded General Atomics a contract worth about US$1.2 billion to provide EMALS and Advanced Arresting Gear systems for the future USS Doris Miller. Changing the launch architecture after production has already advanced could therefore require extensive redesign of the ship’s structure, electrical systems, equipment integration and construction schedule.
Chinese military affairs expert Song Zhongping said there is a clear difference between political preference and the practical realities of modifying a highly complex warship already under construction.
According to Song, the first four Ford-class carriers are either already in service or at various stages of construction, leaving limited room for fundamental changes to their overall design. Even the fifth and sixth carriers could face major cost and engineering consequences if the Navy attempts to overturn the technological architecture already established for the class.
The US Navy announced in 2025 that CVN-82 would be named the future USS William J. Clinton and CVN-83 the future USS George W. Bush.
The Ford-class programme is already under pressure from rising costs and extended construction timelines. The future USS Doris Miller is projected to cost more than US$15 billion by the time of its expected delivery, while later ships in the class are also expected to remain extremely expensive.
Chinese analysts have described a return from EMALS to steam catapults as a technological step backward. They argue that electromagnetic launch systems offer finer control of launch energy, greater compatibility with both manned and unmanned aircraft, and stronger potential for future carrier aviation development.
The US Navy itself has long presented EMALS as a core technology for the current and future Ford-class fleet.
The debate therefore extends well beyond the appearance of the carrier or the personal preferences of the president. It raises broader questions about the long-term technological direction of the US Navy, defence procurement costs, shipbuilding capacity, and the tension between political decision-making and the engineering realities of constructing some of the world’s most complex warships.
