President Trump Sets New Course with Shipbuilding and Maritime Plans
US will share tech information on nuclear subs with let South Korea, partner with Japan on shipbuilding, and plans E.O. returning U.S. Naval ships back to steam for catapults and hydraulic systems for elevators.
As of this report, the US Department of War has taken out the 14th “lethal kinetic strike” on a boat crewed by members of narco-terror groups.
And while our US Naval Forces continue to protect the nation, President Donald Trump was busy during his trip to Asia to set a new course with our allies regarding joint shipbuilding and maritime plans to further strengthen both this country’s defenses and our partnerships.
To begin with, Trump and the South Korean leader made a deal for the U.S. to share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
President Lee Jae Myung stressed to Trump in their Wednesday meeting that the goal was to modernize the alliance with the U.S., noting plans to increase military spending to reduce the financial burden on America.
The South Korean leader said there might have been a misunderstanding when they last spoke in August about nuclear-powered submarines, saying that his government was looking for nuclear fuel rather than weapons.
Lee said that South Korea’s current diesel-powered submarines have limits in tracking other countries’ submarine activities. If South Korea was equipped with nuclear-powered submarines, he said, it could help U.S. activities in the region.
Diesel-powered submarines have to surface regularly to recharge their batteries. But nuclear-powered submarines have superior endurance and can stay submerged for a significantly longer period.
🇺🇸🇰🇷 Trump to share nuclear sub tech with South Korea
President Trump has announced a landmark deal to share U.S. nuclear propulsion technology with South Korea — enabling Seoul to build its first nuclear-powered submarine. The move marks a major shift in U.S. alliance strategy… pic.twitter.com/XtfD7GxTKM
— Caliber English (@CaliberEnglish) October 30, 2025
This seems like a sensible plan, given the fact that North Korea lobbed some cruise missiles during “tests” into its western waters ahead of Trump’s visit.
While in Japan, it was announced that Japan is expected to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the U.S. to strengthen shipbuilding capabilities in both countries as part of economic security measures, with the aim of countering China’s growing share of the global shipbuilding market.
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said the memorandum is expected to state that “it is necessary to reduce dependence on a specific country with a view to securing maritime transport in case of a contingency.” The document is also expected to say that Japan and the US will set up a working group to strengthen cooperation, and that Japanese and US companies will invest in shipbuilding yards in both countries to boost competitiveness and improve efficiency.
The shipbuilding cooperation agreement comes as Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and US President Donald Trump are scheduled to meet in Tokyo on Tuesday morning. Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, the second stop on his three-country Asia tour, as a US-China trade deal draws closer.
The two governments plan to sign another memorandum on the supply of critical minerals, including rare earth elements, in an effort to build a supply chain without dependence on China. During the summit meeting, Takaichi and Trump are expected to sign a document aimed at steadily implementing the trade deal reached between Japan and the US.
The cooperation agreement reflects broader concerns about supply chain resilience in the maritime sector.
Allied Shipbuilding Future?
Japan and South Korea are major shipbuilders with comparative advantages that can benefit U.S. maritime industry. On-shoring shipbuilding like autos is well past its time.
See the article here:https://t.co/ZL69dYEdbS
For deeper reading see this:… pic.twitter.com/X1oSfzk0xj
— Brent D. Sadler (@brentdsadler) March 4, 2024
To round out this week’s maritime news, reports indicate that Trump plans to pull out his mighty pen and sign an executive order bringing back steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators to the US Navy.
During an address to Navy personnel stationed in Japan, Trump expanded on his long-standing grievances with the Navy’s adoption of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for its latest Gerald R. Ford-class carriers.
The president reiterated his view that traditional steam power was superior to newer electric systems, referencing cost overruns and operational challenges with electromagnetic catapults.
During the speech, Trump asked the crowd, “Which is better, electric or steam?” He paused for a response after saying “electric,” and the audience remained silent. However, multiple people erupted into cheers when he said “steam.”
“I’m going to put in an order,” he said. “Seriously.”
I will defer to engineering experts as to which systems are better. But our press flew its TDS colors again as it shared news of this presidential plan.
What a hilariously manipulative headline from @Newsweek. He meant steampowered CATAPULTS on aircraft carriers ffs.https://t.co/XBiUHQsPH0. pic.twitter.com/hQrPtFSipS
— FilmLadd (@FilmLadd) October 29, 2025
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Comments
Not sure how I feel about sharing nuclear sub technology with other countries. Countries don’t have friends they have interests. While SK has been an interest for a while this doesn’t mean they will continue to be, The same with the UK and Australia.
I do think that leveraging Japan and SK to faster build navy ships is a good idea. Just not carriers or subs. Our ship building has been awful lately, So has has our design decisions (littoral and zumwalt ship classes and redesign of a purchased frigate design).
I think revision to steam for carriers maybe short sighted. Yes its older and well understood technology. However I believe EMALS launches planes faster and has a much smaller mechanical footprint than steam. Yes it has taken time to work out the bugs but that is often the case with new technology.
Since we have a lot of navy veterans here I’m curious as to their opinions.
Considering the direction the UK is taking, we should share nothing with them, and void the lease on the nuclear weapons with which we supply them.
I like trains, and always have. I’m a big steam locomotive fan. My wife and I travel the country to ride those excursion lines still operating steam locomotives.
I gotta get me a catapult now…
Trains are great. Bring back the orient express.
Disney World Magic Kingdom recently retired the Liberty Belle steam stern wheeler. It was a beautiful piece of work.
Just sad
My kiddo got to pilot it once for almost the entire ride, the photos we took of her smiling at the wheel are priceless. (It followed a sunken track. And no, I’m not going back to WDW in this lifetime.)
Where’s Nault to weigh in on this?
Sadly, he has retired. We all miss him though.
I’ve never been in the military but some place I read the EMALS is highly computerized and if it throws a fault code then the EMALS is inoperative. The guy clears the fault code and they launch another plane. The fault code is logged as the EMALS was down. There have been situations where with a steam catapult it does a “cold shot” where the plane leaves the boat with not enough energy to fly so the crew has to eject. How many planes have been lost with the EMALS catapult? What percentage of availability has an EMALS catapult been up and running vs. down with maintenance issues? I would like to see more information on what is holding back the EMALS catapult system before completely dumping the system. The Chinese are installing EMALS on their new carriers.
“US will share tech information on nuclear subs with let South Korea, partner with Japan on shipbuilding…”
Huh? With let?
“Japan and South Korea are major shipbuilders with comparative advantages that can benefit U.S. maritime industry. On-shoring shipbuilding like autos is well past its time.”
Except Chevys aren’t strategic.
Last week, we were all about “tariffs are the price Americans have to pay to keep American strategic manufacturing capability in American hands.”
To build ships you need good steel. Coal is needed to make steel.
I have always thought nuclear cells for ship energy and propulsion should be of modular design where modules could be plugged together to increase capacity. These modules then could be added to the existing grid reducing our demand on coal and gas. Power storage technology is not good enough for the solar and wind markets. Windmills are not an answer.
Several of my Great Uncles worked in the shipyards in Seattle and Bremerton Wa in the 40s and 50s. It was a great driving force for the local economy.
I recommend Trump NOT increase production there now, but instead look to Alabama and Mississippi.
With Airbus sending a lot of new biz to Alabama, that state is poised to rise. If they didn’t have an income tax, we’d have landed there. I’ve not been to Huntsville but my understanding is that it’s quite the place for this stuff. If Mississippi could get in on the game, they could possibly get to the point of getting rid of their state income tax.
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