U.S President Trump Orders Pentagon To Consider Foreign-Built Warships & Steam Catapults
Our take
The recent memorandum from President Trump directing the Pentagon to explore the acquisition of foreign-built warships and steam catapults represents a significant, and potentially disruptive, shift in U.S. naval procurement strategy. Historically, the U.S. has prioritized domestic shipbuilding, fostering a robust industrial base and maintaining a high degree of control over its naval assets. However, this directive, coupled with recent developments like the U.S. Navy receiving its first floating dry dock after 40 years from Austal USA U.S Navy Receives First Floating Dry Dock After 40 Years From Austal USA, suggests a growing recognition of constraints – both budgetary and temporal – that are impacting the Navy's ability to maintain its global presence and technological edge. The impetus appears to be a desire to accelerate fleet expansion and potentially access specialized capabilities more quickly than relying solely on American shipyards, a strategy underscored by the Navy’s ambition to build the world’s first robot refuelling plane for jets without a pilot onboard US Navy To Build World’s First Robot Refuelling Plane For Jets Without A Pilot Onboard.
The decision isn't without considerable implications. While acquiring foreign vessels could potentially address immediate needs, it raises complex questions about interoperability, maintenance, and long-term strategic dependencies. Integrating foreign-built ships into the U.S. Navy requires careful calibration to ensure seamless communication, data sharing, and operational compatibility with existing platforms and systems. Furthermore, reliance on foreign suppliers introduces vulnerabilities to geopolitical shifts and potential supply chain disruptions. The memorandum's focus on steam catapults, vital for launching carrier-based aircraft, is particularly noteworthy. These systems represent a highly specialized technological domain, and sourcing them from abroad could diminish the U.S.'s control over a critical component of its air power projection capability. The broader geopolitical context, as evidenced by ongoing tensions in regions like the Strait of Hormuz Trump Says U.S. Has ‘100%’ Control Of Strait Of Hormuz As Iran Demands War Reparations, further complicates the calculus, highlighting the importance of maintaining a resilient and strategically independent naval force.
From a data perspective, this shift necessitates a more integrated and dynamic approach to naval intelligence. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of foreign-built vessels, as well as the potential for technology transfer or reverse engineering, requires robust data collection and analysis. Real-time monitoring of shipbuilding activities in other nations, coupled with longitudinal data on vessel performance and maintenance requirements, will be crucial for assessing the long-term implications of this policy. The development of an integrated data ecosystem, capable of incorporating disparate data sources – from open-source intelligence to classified sensor data – will be essential for providing policymakers and naval strategists with the ocean intelligence needed to make informed decisions. This emphasizes the growing need for validated, empirical data to underpin strategic naval planning, moving beyond purely theoretical considerations.
Ultimately, the directive signals a potential reshaping of the U.S. naval industrial base and its role in global maritime power. While accelerated fleet expansion is a laudable goal, the potential trade-offs in terms of technological control, strategic autonomy, and long-term sustainability warrant careful scrutiny. The question moving forward is not simply whether the U.S. can acquire foreign-built warships, but whether it can do so without compromising its national security interests and eroding its technological advantage in the maritime domain. How will the Pentagon balance the immediate need for expanded naval capacity with the imperative of maintaining a resilient, technologically superior, and strategically independent fleet?
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a memorandum asking the Pentagon to expand naval shipbuilding by acquiring warships and auxiliary vessels built in other countries, citing limits of the U.S. industrial base, rising costs, and labour shortages.
Trump has urged the extended use of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Finland Model, under which two different classes of medium icebreakers are being built simultaneously in the U.S. and in Finland.
Under this model, foreign shipbuilders can construct the first two ships abroad, focusing on anti-submarine warfare frigates, RORO ships and replenishment tankers, given they manufacture all subsequent ships of the class in a U.S shipyard.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been asked to deliver the execution plan to the White House along with OMB Director Russ Vought and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio.
Hegseth will also lead another plan along with top White House advisors, backed by a proposed $1.85 billion budget request to study ship purchases from Japan and South Korea.
The plan faces opposition from both Congress and domestic shipbuilders. Both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees introduced measures in their draft FY2027 defence policy bills to block the initiative.
The Senate revoked the commander-in-chief’s Title 10 national security waiver authority, and the House adopted an amendment by Representative Jared Golden to ban funding for foreign-built warships.
The Shipbuilders Council of America, headed by Matt Paxton, has openly opposed the concept of constructing hulls abroad, warning that diverting work away from the country’s yards would further undermine industrial capacity and people would lose their jobs.
Trump also ordered the Navy to stop using new electromagnetic launch systems (EMALS) and magnetic elevators on future aircraft carriers, starting with the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81).
Instead, the Navy must go back to older steam catapults and hydraulic elevators, with Trump calling the new technology too complicated and expensive.
However, the manufacturer of EMALS, General Atomics, warned that changing designs on CVN-81, which is already nearly half built, will cause delays and extra costs, even as competitors like China and France are adopting the electromagnetic technology. The first three carriers in the class will keep the electromagnetic systems.
Finally, the memo orders a 120-day study to speed up maintenance for nuclear submarines and carriers, including options to create a fifth public Navy Yard and greater use of private shipyards.
It also calls for major reforms at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to hold leaders accountable for slow deliveries and stop officials from constantly tweaking ship designs after building starts.
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