[Beren]

Trump criticizes aircraft carrier design as 'wrong'

BY JOHN BOWDEN - 05/28/19 09:02 AM EDT

President Trump criticized plans to overhaul some U.S. aircraft carriers' catapults while speaking to sailors aboard an assault ship stationed in Japan on Tuesday.

During his remarks, the president once again took aim at the Navy's plans to overhaul traditional steam-based catapults used for launching aircraft with newer electric systems, calling it a "wrong" choice.

"You know, they were saying — one of the folks said, 'No, the electric works faster. But, sir, we can only get the plane there every couple of minutes,' " Trump said aboard the USS Wasp, according to a White House transcript, adding: "So, really, what they did was wrong."

"I think I’m going to put an order," the president continued. "When we build a new aircraft carrier, we’re going to use steam. I’m going to just put out an order: We’re going to use steam. We don’t need — we don’t need that extra speed."

Trump took aim specifically at the cost overrun for the project to upgrade the catapult systems, which he said had reached $900 million.

“Steam’s only worked for about 65 years perfectly,” the president added.

“And I won’t tell you this because it’s before my time by a little bit, but they have a $900 million cost overrun on this crazy electric catapult," Trump said.

The Navy's use of steam catapults to launch aircraft from ships has become a pet issue for the president.

In an interview with Time magazine in 2017, he pledged that the service would not switch to "digital" catapults for launching aircraft, claiming that service members had to be "Albert Einstein" to successfully use the newer systems.

“It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it’s very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. And I said—and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said, ‘What system are you going to be—' ‘Sir, we’re staying with digital.’ I said, ‘No you’re not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good,' " he said at the time.

The president seems to have a keen interest in and a deep understanding of that field.

[Rugoz]

Americans love it when their commander in chief talks like a moron. Even intelligent presidents had to adjust their language accordingly.

[Suntzu]

A $20,000,000,000 carrier that doesn't work!

[Beren]

How come that Trump has such a stark opinion about that? He must have done a lot of research.

[Ter]

I don't know, guys.
If they would use electricity to launch the fighter planes and the fuse burst or there would be a short circuit then they would be sitting ducks as no planes could lift off.
Better stay low tech with steam.

[Beren]

Let's share our opinions on aircraft carrier design guys!

[Ter]

Let's share our opinions on aircraft carrier design guys!

No no no, you cannot contribute to the design discussion as Hungary is landlocked.
No sea, no ships.

[ness31]

At least Trump is showing his thought processes when making decisions. If it ain’t broke..

[Godstud]

I think they should go even further and just use a trebuchet. Low tech all the way!

Trump is so dumb...

@ness31 If the Navy did that, they'd still be using sails on their ships.

[ness31]

Yeah ok

I don’t understand the mechanism he is referring to, so I cannot engage with you there. However, he is a dudes dude. A mans man if you will; and he has access to some of the best minds in naval circles. I doubt he pulled this point of order out of his arse. Steam might be superior to electricity in this instance.

Just because you dislike the orange man doesn’t mean he’s wrong

[Godstud]

Trump's not a "man's man", but a dipshit. He pulls almost everything he says out of his arse.

He's wrong. I don't need to dislike him to understand that he's against new technology. He's intimidated by things he does not understand.

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System
Its main advantage is that it accelerates aircraft more smoothly, putting less stress on their airframes. Compared to steam catapults, the EMALS also weighs less, is expected to cost less and require less maintenance, and can launch both heavier and lighter aircraft than a steam piston-driven system. It also reduces the carrier's requirement of fresh water, thus reducing the demand for energy-intensive desalination.

Compared to steam catapults, EMALS weighs less, occupies less space, requires less maintenance and manpower, is more reliable, recharges quicker, and uses less energy. Steam catapults, which use about 1,350 lb (610 kg) of steam per launch, have extensive mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic subsystems.[8] EMALS uses no steam, which makes it suitable for the Navy's planned all-electric ships.[20]

Compared to steam catapults, EMALS can control the launch performance with greater precision, allowing it to launch more kinds of aircraft, from heavy fighter jets to light unmanned aircraft. With up to 121 megajoules available, each one of the four disk alternators in the EMALS system can deliver 29 percent more energy than a steam catapult's approximately 95 MJ. The EMALS, with their planned 90% power conversion efficiency, will also be more efficient than steam catapults, which achieve only a 5% efficiency.

[ness31]

ok.

[Political Interest]

Well I think analogue is better than digital myself. But that's because I'm a product of the 20th century.

[Ter]

Yes I agree.
All these modern contraptions are not necessarily better.
And as I said, if a fuse melts .... then what ?
That ship is in the water already, and electricity and water don't mix well.

[Godstud]

Modern warships have numerous redundancies to prevent failures. There are already vast numbers of electrical systems on modern warships that seem to do just fine.

You guys are as bad as Trump.

[Victoribus Spolia]

“It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it’s very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. And I said—and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said, ‘What system are you going to be—' ‘Sir, we’re staying with digital.’ I said, ‘No you’re not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good,' "

Its stuff like this that wins me over and I guarantee for a fact that this encapsulates the reason he was elected.

Americans hate waste, they hate smarty-pants elitists, they hate big money corporate d-bags and life-long politicians which they see as little better than welfare bums.

They love this down-to-earth rhetoric, talking like real Americans and most Americans won't be able to justify in their own mind nearly a billion dollars in their own tax dollars to overhaul a system that has made us the global empire and greatest military power the world has ever known; especially if it has any bugs.

I'm sorry, but thats sounds really retarded and will cost us money.

Trump is only talking the way any normal working American would if they heard the same ridiculous proposal.

[Ter]

Modern warships have numerous redundancies to prevent failures.

Maybe the failure is you and the one being redundant is also you

Besides, you erroneously think that electricity only has two poles but you forgot about the earthing. How in sweet jezus' name are you going to earth a ship in the middle of the ocean ?
If you manage the earth it to the bottom, the ship won't be able to move much now would it ?
You didn't think of that I am sure.
Let our Donald decide these important matters, the buck stops with him.

[Suntzu]

Carriers are the battleships of the 21 century . . . obsolete. China has a ballistic missile that will take out a moving carrier from 900 miles away with a conventional warhead.

[Beren]

Its stuff like this that wins me over and I guarantee for a fact that this encapsulates the reason he was elected.

I'm glad I just nailed the very reason for Trump's success, which is being an inarticulate troglodyte, basically.

[Godstud]

Maybe the failure is you and the one being redundant is also you

Did you hit your head?

Besides, you erroneously think that electricity only has two poles but you forgot about the earthing. How in sweet jezus' name are you going to earth a ship in the middle of the ocean ?
If you manage the earth it to the bottom, the ship won't be able to move much now would it ?

Are you trying to sound stupid like Dumb Donald?