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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The U.S. Navy is reviewing the design and costs<\/a> of one of its most high-tech and expensive warships \u2014 the Ford-class aircraft carrier \u2014 and the service’s top boss is not ruling out canceling future versions of its design.<\/p>\n Navy Secretary John Phelan told reporters Tuesday that the review, which should be complete next month, was \u201ca prudent and practical” move aimed at examining \u201cthe costs of the designs and the systems to make sure that they make sense and they have all the systems and requirements that we want going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The review of the design comes after years of criticism from President Donald Trump, who has taken issue with some of the technology on this type of aircraft carrier, including its magnetic catapults, which he claimed \u201cdidn’t work\u201d during remarks in the Oval Office last year<\/a>. <\/p>\n When Phelan was asked if the review could lead to the cancellation of future Ford-class aircraft carriers, he told reporters only that \u201cit\u2019s too early to say, but we will have carriers.\u201d<\/p>\n The USS Gerald R. Ford has been on a record-setting deployment<\/a> of more than 300 days \u2014 since June 2025 \u2014 that has seen the world\u2019s largest aircraft carrier participate in two key military actions by the Trump administration: the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> and the war against Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Navy budget documents made public Tuesday did not list Ford-class aircraft carriers among the ships that the Navy planned to buy. The documents instead simply said \u201caircraft carrier.\u201d Meanwhile, other ships \u2014 such as the Columbia-class submarines and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers \u2014 were described by class name.<\/p>\n A Navy statement provided Tuesday praised the Ford-class carrier as \u201ca battle-proven design\u201d that has been able to launch aircraft at a faster rate than the older Nimitz-class carriers and offers increased \u201ccombat power and ability to maintain high-tempo global strike operations” in three parts of the world.<\/p>\n Phelan, however, told reporters that he wanted to review that data.<\/p>\n \u201cI go to the Ronald Reagan school of \u2018trust and verify,\u2019\u201d Phelan said, before adding that the review would look into the carrier’s ability to launch and retrieve aircraft.<\/p>\n The ship’s magnetic catapults are a key component in giving the Ford a leg up from the older Nimitz ships in launching aircraft. They also put less stress on planes, require less maintenance and reduce the ship’s need for fresh water compared with the older steam-powered variants.<\/p>\n The Navy has three other Ford-class carriers under construction: the USS John F. Kennedy, the USS Enterprise and the USS Dorie Millier. <\/p>\n Phelan said the review will examine the next two carriers \u2014 named USS William Jefferson Clinton and USS George W. Bush by the Biden administration \u2014 which have been planned but not contracted. <\/p>\n