Skip to content
Frozen copy retrieved 2026-08-14T09:00:00Z for audit 2026-08-14T10-03-31Z. Original URL:
https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/814490. The Stochastic Parrot does not host or redistribute; this snapshot exists solely so that quoted spans remain verifiable if the original page changes. Character offsets below index into this plain text; highlighted spans are the quotes cited in the audit.
Trump allows Navy to build ships abroad, orders return to steam catapults on carriers
US President Donald Trump has allowed the Navy to build ships overseas and ordered it to abandon a complex system for launching jet fighters from its aircraft carriers and instead return to using steam catapults, the White House said on Thursday. The design change is expected to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The design change will occur on the Doris Miller, the fourth ship in the planned Ford class. The keel for the Doris Miller is slated to be laid by the end of 2026 with delivery anticipated by the Navy in early 2034. As of March 2026, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship in the new class of carriers, had completed 36,863 EMALS launches, according to Pentagon documents. Billions of dollars more they spent on electric catapults and they're not good. They're not nearly as good, too complex. With nearly 50% of production complete, changing course now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks. Foreign shipbuilders who have made substantial and durable investments in U.S. shipyards will be temporarily permitted to build up to two ships in their parent shipyards. Australian shipbuilder Austal said on Tuesday that Hanwha Group had offered to buy its US operations for up to US$1.2 billion. Trump's memo also instructed the secretary of defense to establish a fifth Navy shipyard to increase submarine and aircraft carrier repair capacity. The Navy referred requests for comment to the White House. Huntington Ingalls is the primary contractor, shares rose slightly in after-hours New York trading.