They will most likely get this right, but steam....is awfully reliable....and when you apply it, it has torque right f’in now.
Amen regarding the reliability of steam aircraft launch.
Also, we need to bear in mind the repercussions if a hostile EMP takes out essential electronic and electrical systems, as the US Navy found out last year when a Russian plane electronically disabled one of our ships.
Imagine a carrier not being able to launch any of its fixed wing aircraft because of an EMP disabled one of its under-shielded electronic / electrical command and control systems?...
Steam shots used to be full charge, sort of ON or OFF. The initial load was crazy high, and put a lot of stress on everything. Then they moved to progressive catapults that increased the pressure down the stroke. This resulted in the same end speed without the high initial forces.
The electric catapults will also be progressive, increasing force down the stroke.
Not all the old catapults were gone when I started out, and those old ones were really a shot in the pants.
Which puts a lot of stress on the aircraft. This new system looks to eliminate that by a smoother, linear acceleration over time. Essentially, top speed coming a bit later than right f'in now.
The key, as you say, will be dependability.
So does electricity. That's why it's used for the drive wheels of locomotives.