Navy weighs major warship redesign to match Trump’s preferences |The president wants the new fleet of aircraft carriers to more closely resemble those from World War II. The change could cost billions

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/15/navy-weighs-major-warship-redesign-match-trumps-preferences/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzg2NzY2NDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzg4MTQ4Nzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3ODY3NjY0MDAsImp0aSI6ImFjZWYwNDc1LTQxOGMtNGQ1ZC05OTZjLTVjODU3NDYxNzU4MSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDI2LzA4LzE1L25hdnktd2VpZ2hzLW1ham9yLXdhcnNoaXAtcmVkZXNpZ24tbWF0Y2gtdHJ1bXBzLXByZWZlcmVuY2VzLyJ9.GT8bP7_n_BRpYrwHWLXQ5YPx_6F7iwfRRqDTRgFBF4Q

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63 points · 14 comments · view on lemmy.world

14 Comments

EchoCranium@lemmy.zip · 22 pts · 26d (2 replies)

Military can hire an outside firm to examine the redesign issues, hand them tens of millions of dollars to do it. After a couple years just drop the issue once the orange man-child is out of office. Generals can tell him it's being worked on while changing nothing, and some senator's favorite contractor (probably General Dynamics) gets a cash windfall for doing jack shit.

silence7@slrpnk.net · 11 pts · 26d

I think theyve been doing that periodically since 2017. Kind of run out here. The US is going to end up with a long-term capacity degradation because of this

decolo@piefed.social · 5 pts · 26d

I assume that's what would have been done, but all the competent redirectors are being forced out. Maybe enough of them remain to block this.

TryingToBeGood@reddthat.com · 10 pts · 26d

I liked Mark Kelly's response:

The Arizona Democrat has said that despite his own experience in hundreds of career takeoffs and landings, his degree in aeronautical and marine engineering and his work as a test pilot, he still would not tell Navy engineers how to design a carrier.

“Donald Trump knows nothing about this stuff,” the senator continued in the interview. “Not in any world would I suggest to the Navy to change the design of some system on a ship at this point.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6029426-mark-kelly-donald-trump-us-navy-order-aircraft-carrier-steam-catapults/

grue@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 26d

Didn't they literally just finally get the electromagnetic catapults working correctly, years late and way over-budget?

I mean, criticism of the system was justified at one point, but throwing it out just after they finally sunk enough costs to fix it is the stupidest possible course of action. Yet again, it's as if Trump is a Manchurian candidate trying to US power on purpose.

meathorse@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 26d

He's burnt through most of the missile stockpile and now looking to take the ACs out of commission. It's like he's actively running the US into the ground so that it's like a pig stuck belly-up in the mud when the wolves arrive...

watson387@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 26d

No. Fuck off.

A404@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 26d (2 replies)

why??

SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 25d (1 reply)

The newer carriers use an electro-magnetic catapult system. As with all new tech, there's going to be some issues to work out at first. So there were some issues with the new catapult system... during Trump's first term.

When people suffer from dementia, some random memories will pop up in their minds and they seem to be very recent to them. And old people just generally hate any kind of new fangled technology.

DistrictSIX@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 25d

Don't forget his vendetta against magnets in general, claiming that they stop working if they get wet. Stable genius.

hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 25d

Aren't their supposed to be Trump Battleships as well ?

Vandals_handle@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 26d

daannii@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 26d (1 reply)

There is no money for this.

Archimedes@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 25d

Of course there is. It's currently used on infrastructure, social services, education etc. If that's not enough there's always people's bank accounts and 401ks.