Electromagnetic catapults and the cost of reverting to steam

Do recent concerns about electromagnetic catapults justify returning to steam catapults?

The discussion acknowledges reliability problems and emphasizes that reverting Ford-class ships to steam would require extensive redesign. Continued testing and development are the proposed alternative.

The response acknowledges reliability problems in electromagnetic catapults while explaining the scale of work involved in reverting a Ford-class carrier to steam. Electrical distribution would have to give way to extensive live-steam infrastructure, at considerable cost. The comparison places a developing system beside steam equipment refined through decades of service. Further testing and development are presented as the proposed response to its teething problems. The later exchange stresses that routine operations aboard a ship expose problems that land tests cannot fully reproduce. At the time of the discussion, the available operational experience is described as confined to Ford, limiting the comparison with a widely deployed mature system.