US President Donald Trump wants to redesign American aircraft carriers to match his personal taste and vision of how the naval combat fleet should look, according to current and former US officials cited by The Washington Post.
The US Navy is considering options for structural changes to accommodate the president's preferences, which involve shifting key elements of carrier construction.
The proposed changes center on moving the ship command island from the stern closer to the middle of the hull. Trump prefers new aircraft carriers to resemble warships that were in service during World War II, officials said.
An island on an aircraft carrier is the raised superstructure standing above the flight deck that serves as the nerve center for navigational control and flight operations. On World War II era carriers, island structures were positioned nearer to the midpoint of the vessel, whereas modern warship designs place the island further aft near the stern to maximize flight deck room for staging and launching jets.
Financial Costs and Schedule Delays
US Navy officials have taken the redesign proposal seriously, but they assess that implementing such alterations would demand substantial time and financial resources.
Altering ship designs could cost billions of dollars and risk slowing down the entire US warship modernization program.
Aircraft carriers represent the flagship capital ships of the US military, providing global power projection and air defense capabilities. The US Navy fleet relies on complex, long-term procurement programs where major design modifications require extensive engineering adjustments across shipyards.
Dispute Over Deck Catapult Technology
The carrier layout proposal follows an earlier decision by Trump ordering the military to return to steam-powered catapults on aircraft carrier decks.
Trump issued the order in response to criticism regarding design decisions on new aircraft carriers, which have moved away from legacy steam equipment.
However, many US Navy officers do not approve of abandoning electromagnetic catapults. Modern electromagnetic launch systems use electrical currents to accelerate aircraft off the deck, replacing mechanical steam systems that require extensive piping and maintenance.
