The selling point for the Ford class is a much smaller crew (compared to other CVNs) and the ability to generate at least 25% more sorties a day, using electro-magnetic launch technology—the same technology President Trump has criticized as being too expensive.
I thought that I read that that was deep-sixed. Are they still going with it?
To be fair to Trump, the development of EMALS has been expensive, much troubled, and much criticized. I suspect that no one quite explained to him the advantages of EMALS and why it will help to make US carriers more effective and even save money in the long run. Indeed, for unmanned aircraft, EMALS is needed to get them aloft because their light construction cannot withstand the massive power of a carrier’s steam catapult.