Donald Trump thinks that he is not only a great interior decorator but that he knows how to design and build aircraft carriers. He is serious about the concept, prompting the U.S. Navy to conduct an internal review to evaluate moving the command tower (the "island") toward the middle of future Ford-class carriers to mimic World War II-era warships.
Relocating the island forward would reduce vital flight-deck parking space, slow down aircraft launch and recovery rates, and increase turbulence during landings. Trump should know about turbulence. Just tell him its like when the Marine One helicopter blows his hairpiece all around and makes him look funny.
He also wants to get rid of the latest launch catapults, the electromagnetic launch systems (EMALS), to replace them with the steam-powered catapults type from WWII. To this end he signed a national security memo directing the Pentagon to transition future carriers to steam. It doesn’t concern him that this will delay current construction of several ships and add an estimated $22 billion per ship. Money is no object when it comes to design. War is all about who has the most stylish stuff.
A current catapult contract with General Atomics is for $1.2 billion on systems that are 50% complete. Going back to steam will eliminate an estimated $100 million per ship in savings. The steam systems require added manpower and have higher maintenance costs. Production lines for steam systems have been dormant for 20 years.
Our "Commander in Chief" thinks his one-year 1964 Army ROTC training makes him a naval architect and marine engineer.
Apparently wars are not won on the battlefield but with aesthetics. Perhaps we should consider gold plating the handrails and bringing back mermaids on the bow. How about a return to coal and steam engines for propulsion? The man is a genius in a world of his own. When will the MAGA Republican fever dream break and his sicophant enablers realize there are things more important than kissing that over-sized derrière? I created an image of a Trump-inspired carrier.
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