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Would you please give us some idea of what the debate is?

Amusement parks are now using the new technology and in reality have been at the forefront for a while now. It is actually much easier and less resource intensive than the steam. Although steam is readily available, especially on nuke carriers because to the steam required for the turbines to create energy for the screws, the piping and maintenance of those lines and controls is far more intensive that the ELMS. Both take their energy from the same source, the steam generated power for the entire carrier.

https://www.cnet.com/news/need-for-speed-how-coasters-are-getting-faster-and-scarier/

Ford class carriers were going to have an electric catapult, but supposedly Trump didn’t like it and ordered them to be redesigned to have the traditional steam catapult. Some people say it was a very bad decision.

Here is an article and the relevant part - http://time.com/4775040/donald-trump-time-interview-being-president/

“On the future USS Ford-class carriers

You know the catapult is quite important. So I said what is this? Sir, this is our digital catapult system. He said well, we’re going to this because we wanted to keep up with modern [technology]. I said you don’t use steam anymore for catapult? No sir. I said, “Ah, how is it working?” “Sir, not good. Not good. Doesn’t have the power. You know the steam is just brutal. You see that sucker going and steam’s going all over the place, there’s planes thrown in the air.”

It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it’s very complicated, you have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. And I said–and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said what system are you going to be–”Sir, we’re staying with digital.” I said no you’re not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good.”

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System(EMALS) allows for a “soft launch” which saves wear and tear on an aircraft’s nose gear. Steam catapults violently jerk an aircraft at launch which leads to an abundance of maintenance issues on the air frame. EMALS should reduce the money spent on air frame/nose gear repair and catapult piping overhaul saving billions over the life of the carrier.