The Secretary of War has 60 days to outline how to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Weapons Elevators on CVN-81 with steam and hydraulic systems. The plan must set out the required measures, timeline and resources.
The memorandum provides no cost estimate or revised construction schedule for USS Doris Miller. It also does not set a date for implementing the changes.
Trump presented the measures as a response to persistent problems across the Navy’s shipbuilding portfolio. “The United States Navy has experienced a series of shipbuilding setbacks,” he wrote.
The document attributes cost growth, delays and cancellations to complex designs and repeated changes during acquisition. It says limited industrial capacity and competition have also created order backlogs across six major Navy shipbuilding programs.
Trump directed the Department of War to expand the fleet while rebuilding the maritime industrial base. “It will use proven, reliable, and affordable technologies and ship designs,” he wrote.
The foreign construction option follows the model used in an October 2025 agreement between the United States and Finland for medium icebreakers. The administration may apply the Finland Model to as many as three ship classes.
The arrangement would allow a foreign supplier to build the first two ships of a selected class outside the United States. Every later vessel in the class would have to be constructed at an American yard.
That access would come with investment requirements. A foreign shipbuilder must construct a new U.S. yard or acquire ownership or a majority stake in an existing facility.
The company must also hire and train American citizens and license its shipbuilding technologies to U.S. yards. It would be required to establish a domestic supply chain for construction and maintenance.
Surface combatants are among the first candidates for the new approach. The Secretary of War has 90 days to prepare an acquisition plan for ships capable of anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and convoy escort operations.
Foreign parent designs could be offered under the Finland Model. The memorandum does not identify a preferred design, number of vessels or construction schedule.
The same model may be used for Consolidated Cargo Replenishment at Sea tankers and roll-on/roll-off vessels. The administration also wants financial resources pledged through U.S. trade deals directed toward the domestic maritime industrial base.
Trump is seeking tighter control over design changes once a mature parent design is selected. Any modification would require approval from the Secretary of War and consultations with senior Navy, budget and national security officials.
Foreign construction would still require a national-security determination for each contract. Congress must receive notice of the decision at least 30 days before a contract can be signed.
Repair capacity is the second major part of the plan. The Department of War has 120 days to propose a fifth public Navy shipyard for nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.
The review must consider locations near the Pacific Fleet, including Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and the continental United States. It may propose as many as three dry docks capable of handling every current and planned submarine class.
A separate Component Repair Center would receive new submarine parts and refurbish existing equipment. It would maintain at least one ship set of spares for the Los Angeles, Virginia, Seawolf, Ohio and Columbia classes.
Naval Sea Systems Command will also undergo a personnel and organizational review within 120 days. The changes will focus on delivery speed, management accountability, bureaucracy and repeated redesigns.
The measures remain subject to federal law and congressional funding. The memorandum does not award contracts, select a site for the proposed shipyard or provide final budgets.
