AP Photo / Steve Helber
President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks to Navy and shipyard personnel aboard nuclear aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., Thursday, March 2, 2017. The ship which is still under construction is due to be delivered to the Navy later this year.
President Donald Trump apparently doesn't like digital.In a new interview with Time Magazine, Trump railed against what he referred to as a "digital" catapult system the Navy is using on the USS Gerald Ford. The futuristic Ford aircraft carrier, which began sea trials in April, uses an electromagnetic aircraft launch system, which reduces maintenance costs and can speed up the launch of aircraft, among other benefits.
Here's what Trump told Time's Zeke Miller:
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.
Trump visited the Ford in March, giving a speech from the deck where he spoke of the need for an increase in the defense budget. It's not entirely clear whether Trump's order to someone onboard to use steam-powered hydraulic catapults will actually be carried out.
A Navy spokeswoman could not immediately comment when reached by Business Insider.
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