{"id":9164,"date":"2026-08-15T12:34:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9164"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:34:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:34:56","slug":"navy-weighs-major-warship-redesign-to-match-trumps-preferences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9164","title":{"rendered":"Navy weighs major warship redesign to match Trump\u2019s preferences"},"content":{"rendered":"

The president wants the new fleet of aircraft carriers to more resemble those from World War II. The change could cost billions. <\/strong><\/p>

Read more Killings and other violent crimes dropped sharply in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
The USS Gerald R. Ford recently finished a lengthy combat tour in the Middle East. (Giannis Angelakis\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The U.S. Navy is considering a major redesign of its new aircraft carriers to better match President Donald Trump\u2019s preferred aesthetic for the warships, according to seven current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

The service is <\/b>evaluating the feasibility of moving the multistory tower that acts as the carrier\u2019s command center farther forward, toward the middle of the ship, to resemble older vessels, the officials said. The review, which has not been previously reported, is in response to Trump\u2019s concerns about the \u201clook\u201d of the new Ford-class ships, where the island is near the rear, these people said.<\/p>\n

The timing and extent of the Navy\u2019s evaluation is unclear, with current and former officials cautioning that the service was concerned that such a change would require significant time and money. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation.<\/p>\n

Moving that command center, known as the \u201cisland,\u201d would be the second major design change prompted by the president, who on Thursday issued a national security memorandum<\/a> directing the Navy to develop a plan to revert to older steam-powered catapults on future carriers. The systems help launch jets off the ships\u2019 flight decks.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s preference, current and former officials said, is for the new aircraft carriers to look more like those that were in service during World War II.<\/p>\n

The Navy also examined the issue during his first term as president, said a former senior U.S. official. A study found that moving the island could cost billions of dollars in redesign costs and significantly delay the program, this person said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came back that the cost and time to do so would just be extraordinary,\u201d the former official said.<\/p>\n

There are three Ford-class carriers in various stages of development. The USS John F. Kennedy is undergoing sea trials and getting closer to joining the fleet while the USS Enterprise and USS Doris Miller are under construction. The first carrier in the class, USS Gerald R. Ford, is already in service and recently finished a lengthy combat tour in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Plans call for building up to 10 Ford-class carriers over the next four decades, at a projected future cost of $22 billion each, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office<\/a> and the Navy\u2019s most recent shipbuilding plan.<\/p>\n

Relocating the island would be \u201ca major redesign,\u201d said Bryan Clark, a former Navy officer who studies the service at the Hudson Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington. Such an alteration to the carrier\u2019s layout, he said, would affect the ship\u2019s buoyancy and weight and come at a significant cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could change it,\u201d he added, \u201cbut it\u2019s very disruptive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pentagon and the Navy referred requests for comment to the White House, which pointed to the new national security memorandum when asked about Trump\u2019s desire to relocate the island on future Ford-class aircraft carriers. The memorandum does not address the issue.<\/p>\n

Another U.S. official familiar with both the potential changes to the catapult and the island said that the Navy is taking both matters seriously because of the delays and severe cost overruns it could create.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
The USS Enterprise, one of three Ford-class carriers in various stages of development, is shown here under construction in 2022 in Newport News, Virginia. (Kendall Warner\/Daily Press\/Tribune News Service\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Trump\u2019s interest in the redesign modification marks the White House\u2019s growing influence over the complex mechanics of naval shipbuilding.<\/p>\n

Since returning to office, Trump has promised to \u201cresurrect\u201d the lagging industry, and he has already issued multiple executive orders addressing the matter<\/a>.<\/p>

Read more Democrats abandon deep-red state Senate races, boosting independents<\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s national security memorandum<\/a> would, among other changes, revert the Ford class\u2019s advanced electromagnetic catapult system to steam power<\/a>. The document emphasizes the administration\u2019s preference for \u201cproven, reliable and affordable technologies and ship designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a change, multiple officials said, also could run into the billions of dollars and exacerbate chronic delays in the U.S. shipbuilding industry.<\/p>\n

The lead Ford-class carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, required 17 years to construct. Its design incorporated new technology that led to delays \u2014 including the electromagnetic catapult, a feature the Navy has since credited as being highly effective.<\/p>\n

The Ford class of carriers will phase out its predecessor, the Nimitz class, which dates back to the late 1960s.<\/p>\n

Relocating the island to the back of the newer vessels was done for efficiency and safety, three U.S. current and former officials familiar with the program told The Post. It not only creates more parking space for aircraft close to the carriers\u2019 catapults, allowing crews to reduce the amount of time it takes to launch jets, it also improves landing safety by reducing the chance for turbulence when planes come back to land, the officials said.<\/p>\n

The Navy\u2019s surface fleet has been plagued by years of delayed maintenance and low readiness rates, in part because of how often past U.S. administrations have deployed carriers to confront global crises. <\/b><\/p>\n

Amid the ongoing Iran war, the Pentagon under Trump has further stretched the readiness of its carrier fleet while surging naval assets to the Middle East to conduct strikes and enforce a blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n

The USS Ford itself faced an extended deployment that ended earlier this year after a fire<\/a> rendered many crew members\u2019 sleeping quarters uninhabitable. Officials also acknowledged that the Navy\u2019s newest carrier experienced problems with the \u201cvacuum collection, holding, and transfer\u201d system that supports hundreds of toilets on board.<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmakers this week called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to investigate new reports of rapidly worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed to the Middle East since November<\/a>. Families of sailors aboard the Lincoln have been outspoken about the situation, and the Navy is investigating a man-overboard incident it says may be connected to mental health issues.<\/p>\n

While speaking to reporter\u2019s on a trip to Panama on Thursday, Hegseth called the reports \u201ccompletely misrepresented.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, as questions continued to swirl around conditions on the ship and its lengthy deployment, Trump said the Lincoln\u2019s time at sea had been \u201cnot nearly long enough,\u201d he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. <\/b><\/p>\n

The Lincoln is on an extended combat deployment that has seen its sailors at sea for 200 days without a port call to provide the crew some rest. It is scheduled to be relieved by the USS George Washington in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Trump has repeatedly shown interest in the design of Navy warships. Last year he unveiled plans for a new class of battleships to lead his vision for a \u201cGolden Fleet,\u201d prompting criticism from many naval analysts and lawmakers who argued the ships would waste scarce American shipbuilding power on a design the service does not need.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Budget Office has since estimated<\/a> that the \u201cTrump Class\u201d battleships would cost about $275 billion over 30 years, coming at a cost of $18 billion per ship after finishing the first one.<\/p>

Read more Who will make the Commanders\u2019 roster? Here\u2019s the outlook with preseason underway.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The president wants the new fleet of aircraft carriers to more resemble those from World War II. 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