The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) launched and recovered its first fixed-wing aircraft on Saturday, an F/A-18F Super Hornet, time while using the advanced arresting gear (AAG) and new EMALS launch system, both firsts aboard the newly commissioned aircraft carrier.
The Super Hornet was piloted from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 at Patuxent River, Md. In the operation, the aircraft caught the number two arresting wire of Ford’s AAG system for the first arrested landing on the carrier at 3:10 p.m. Then at 4:37 p.m. the Super Hornet was launched from catapult one using the new electromagnetic launch system (EMALS).
The Ford is built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding.
“Today, USS Gerald R. Ford made history with the successful landing and launching of aircraft from VX-23 using the AAG and EMALS. Great work by the Ford team and all the engineers who have worked hard to get the ship ready for this milestone,” Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, said in a statement.
The AAG and EMALS were both previously tested at a facility at Lakehurst, NJ, but this was the first shipboard recovery and launch of a fleet fixed wing aircraft, Ford commanding officer Capt. Rick McCormack noted.
“My team has worked closely with industry, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), and the flight test community to make this historic event in Naval aviation happen. I am very proud of my crew,” he added/
The AAG is a modular, integrated system controlled by software that consists of energy absorbers, power conditioning equipment, and digital controls. Its architecture includes built-in test and diagnostics that aims to lower manpower and maintenance requirements.
The Navy said it is designed for higher reliability, greater safety margins, allowing for the arrestment of a larger range of aircraft, and reducing the fatigue impact load to the aircraft.
The EMALS uses electricity from shipboard power to propel the catapult along a magnetic track to propel aircraft with a smoother acceleration that puts less stress on the airframe. This is an upgrade over the previous system used on Nimitz-class carriers that use pressurized steam to propel the catapult.
Both the AAG and EMALS are built by General Atomics.
The Navy said EMALS has the same function as traditional catapults while delivering higher-launch energy capacity, improvements in maintenance, increased reliability and efficiency, and more accurate end-speed control and smooth acceleration.
“My team has worked very hard, together with experts from NAVAIR, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and General Atomics, to test this first-in-class technology. Today is a validation of their dedication and hard work,” Cmdr. Thomas Plott, head of Ford‘s air department, said Saturday.
Last week the Navy said it had validated a software fix to the EMALS system to ensure it can launch F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft fitted with wing-mounted external fuel tanks without exceeding aircraft stress limits. Problems to that effect were found in 2014 after a review of aircraft instrumentation during earlier EMALS tests (Defense Daily, July 27).
AAG has also experienced numerous problems in its development like technical glitches, schedule delays, and cost overruns. However, in January the Navy confirmed it will stick with the AAG for future carriers beyond the Ford (Defense Daily, Jan. 24).
Scott Forney, president of General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems group said last week following CVN-78’s commissioning that the company is “extremely proud of the work we’ve accomplished with the Navy to deliver EMALS and AAG for the first of three Ford-class carriers.”