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Trump Wants ‘Goddamned Steam,’ Not Digital Catapults on Aircraft Carriers

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WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT
 

Dishwalla

Banned
Also he's stupid because if the Navy actually did this, it would cost a ton to remove the digital systems and replace them with old steam systems. It would likely involve changing the design of a good chunk of the ship too.
 

Pastry

Banned
They're already implementing these catapult systems, right? So it's not like Trump's opinion on the matter really changes anything.
 

dgdas9

Member
Not saying this is the right decision,

but,

I was pretty worried with 'cyber-ready' nukes. Digital systems are inherently more complex than analog ones, and that complexity leads to more room for mistakes, bugs, hacks, and so on. I don't want a memory leak to trigger nuclear war...
 
This is starting to resemble those stories in North Korea where Kim Jong-Il visits a farm and points to a random patch of grass and says "I think your corn will grow better if you plant it there" and the farmer has no choice but to move his entire farm to that patch of grass because the Glorious Leader said so.

why is he involved in a technical decision exactly?

Well he is technically the head of the military
 

KHlover

Banned
Ah, so they used those steam catapults up until now? Have to admit, when I opened the thread I thought it was something that was stopped being used in the early 20th century or so lol
 
Not saying this is the right decision,

but,

I was pretty worried with 'cyber-ready' nukes. Digital systems are inherently more complex than analog ones, and that complexity leads to more room for mistakes, bugs, hacks, and so on. I don't want a memory leak to trigger nuclear war...

HwmB7t7krGnao.gif
 
Not saying this is the right decision,

but,

I was pretty worried with 'cyber-ready' nukes. Digital systems are inherently more complex than analog ones, and that complexity leads to more room for mistakes, bugs, hacks, and so on. I don't want a memory leak to trigger nuclear war...

I...

...what??
 

Dishwalla

Banned
Ah, so they used those steam catapults up until now? Have to admit, when I opened the thread I thought it was something that was stopped being used in the early 20th century or so lol

The Navy still uses steam turbine propulsion in some ships, though they have been phasing out the classes of ships that use it since the 80s. It's going to take some time before no ships use it.
 
You missed the entire quoted section that explains the failings of steam compared to digital upgrades.

I mean that explains some of the benefits, but not if they are worth the money it would take to implement, or if the digital side has its own flaws. In any case, it'd be nice to see a comparison to go over it in detail. There's a difference between staying relevant, and blowing money because you can, F-35s being a prime example of that.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
The time to do this was before they designed everything lol. Launching planes with an electromagnet sounds great until you realize that it needs a fuck ton of additional power that it didn't need before, increasing the costs. But too late now, that was already designed into the system.
 

Ri'Orius

Member
So he said cut the digital and go with steam that works. Am I missing something that everyone seems to be falling over themselves to shit on him about?

There are surely pros and cons to each type of catapult, and it's certainly conceivable that the steam is, on the whole, a better, more cost-effective method and Trump is making the right call.

But it's also obvious that Trump doesn't fully understand the digital system. A broken clock is only right twice a day, so my money is on Trump being wrong on this.
 

ZSaberLink

Media Create Maven
.... I don't think Trump even understands or would ever take the time to understand what he's talking about, yet he can kill/fund projects like this on a whim because "I like Steam" and "digital, you need Albert Einstein for that".... It may be the right call in the end, but it's not because Trump knows what the heck is going on.
 

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
There are surely pros and cons to each type of catapult, and it's certainly conceivable that the steam is, on the whole, a better, more cost-effective method and Trump is making the right call.

But it's also obvious that Trump doesn't fully understand the digital system. A broken clock is only right twice a day, so my money is on Trump being wrong on this.

Sounds more like mechanical launch systems are just taking longer than expected to get up to snuff, but that they're the inevitable future of launching systems and thus reverting back to steam would put the Navy at a huge disadvantage very soon.

Basically, trump is acting shortsighted and very immature about things beyond his comprehension.
 

Cyan

Banned
I don't know anything about these aircraft carrier systems. From what he says here, it sounds like Trump doesn't either.

But I doubt the Navy is actually going to do anything differently just on his say-so. If he even said this.
 

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
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.

Aren't you the guy who wants us to go to Mars? Pretty sure that'll require some things Albert Einstein had to figure out, too.
 

curls

Wake up Sheeple, your boring insistence that Obama is not a lizardman from Atlantis is wearing on my patience 💤

KDR_11k

Member
Cost and schedule overruns have given the Navy carrier project a reputation for being "one of the most spectacular acquisition debacles in recent memory,”

Was there ever a military project that wasn't vastly over budget and behind schedule?
 
I don't know anything about these aircraft carrier systems. From what he says here, it sounds like Trump doesn't either.

But I doubt the Navy is actually going to do anything differently just on his say-so. If he even said this.

Same. I quite dislike these threads, because maybe Steam is more cost efficient and throwing billions on digital for a small improvement doesn't meet a cost-benefit analysis? When you make a thread about everything trump says no matter how inconsequential it is, it diminishes the real things that are going on today which are hurting people.
 

cr0w

Old Member
“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.”

I read this in Frank Reynolds' voice. It's so perfect.
 
Not saying this is the right decision,

but,

I was pretty worried with 'cyber-ready' nukes. Digital systems are inherently more complex than analog ones, and that complexity leads to more room for mistakes, bugs, hacks, and so on. I don't want a memory leak to trigger nuclear war...

Right, Mr. President.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
So he said cut the digital and go with steam that works. Am I missing something that everyone seems to be falling over themselves to shit on him about?

Here's another take:

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/trump-may-have-derailed-a-crucial-part-of-americas-futu-1795121555

I asked Dr. Robert Farley, a specialist in military diffusion, maritime affairs, and national security at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, and our resident carrier expert, if this was all nuts. And it turns out, maybe not.

“I can confirm that this is absolutely nuts,” he said. The whole idea of ripping out the launch system in the already-built Ford, and re-designing the following carriers (including the already-under construction USS Enterprise), would be “immensely expensive.”

As with any new system, its development hasn’t always been a smooth ride. It’s been beset by reliability issues over the years, and if anything, carriers need to be reliable. Without the ability to launch planes, the ship is a proverbial sitting duck.

But like most new things, the kinks will probably be worked out. The system is needed for the future, and if we turned our back on every system that was necessary but didn’t quite work out perfectly as a prototype, we’d still be living in the stone age.

We’ll update this post if we hear back from the Navy.
 

akira28

Member
this goddamn donald trump is a steampunk? unsurprising, seeing his fascination with large sized, gold plated everything.
 
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.”

dolan pls
 
You gotta love how Obama is more of a Christian than this guy and yet he's the one who is still called a Muslim.

Trump is possibly the least Christian person ever to live. His life and personal philosophy are an affront to and assault on Christian values.

But huge Evangelical support, though.
 

Iksenpets

Banned
So, like, Trump visited a boat, and heard some sailor whining about their newfangled catapults, like any worker having to deal with a new system does, and then Trump decided he's now a crusader for returning to steam catapults?? Do I have the rough chronology right here?
 

TarNaru33

Banned
So he said cut the digital and go with steam that works. Am I missing something that everyone seems to be falling over themselves to shit on him about?

He literally said he don't like digital because it doesn't look cool, especially since the cost overruns in most public projects like this are mainly due to organization.

The digital launcher is for less maintenance, can support lighter aircraft landing/take off, and can maintain a higher sortie rate, it wasn't just put into the newest of U.S Super carriers for show.
 
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