Over the past few weeks, the Navy has tested its new aircraft launching system by using it to propel huge, weighted sleds off the deck of its newest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. But its true value lies in future applications—namely its ability to catapult a far greater of range of aircraft into the sky, service officials said.

In the past, the Navy has had to design carrier-launched aircraft around the operating envelopes of the Mk 7 arrested landing gear and the Mk 13 steam-powered catapult, meaning that aircraft are often heavy and super ruggedized to cope with the stresses of being launched and recovered, said Rear Adm. Mike Manazir, the service’s director of air warfare.

The electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) catapults a 15,000-lb. sled off the flight deck of aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Photo: Ricky Thompson, Huntington Ingalls Industries
The electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) catapults a 15,000-lb. sled off the flight deck of aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Photo: Ricky Thompson, Huntington Ingalls Industries

With the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and the advanced arresting gear (AAG)— two developmental systems that will be incorporated on Ford-class carriers — takeoff and landing are more gentle than with legacy equipment, although Manazir notes that it’s making an arrested landing is still a “controlled crash.” 

That means that “you can now start to do things with aircraft design that you couldn’t do before. It might allow us some more margin in weight, in size and in structure and capability,” he said during roundtable with reporters held on Monday.

EMALS takes power generated from the ship, stores it, and then releases that electricity to the linear motor that launches the aircraft off the bow of the ship, said Scott Forney, president of General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems group. General Atomics makes both EMALS and the advanced arresting gear. Using electricity rather than high-temperature steam to propel the aircraft results in a smoother acceleration that puts less stress on the airframe.

The launching system is designed to cut back sailors’ workload, reduce wear and tear on aircraft and increase the reliability of the system, Navy Capt. John Meier, commanding officer of the Ford, said during a media day on the ship this week. For instance, legacy catapults require a lot of lubrication, which causes corrosion and grease that requires a lot of manpower to clean. With EMALS, there are fewer parts that require added lubrication, which will lead to less grease and corrosion buildup.

In early June, the service began conducting “dead load” tests of the system, in which large, wheeled metal sleds weighing up to 80,000 pounds are launched off the bow of the ship. The size and weight of the sled mimics that of the various aircraft that populate the carrier deck.

The Navy restarted dead load tests Tuesday afternoon after technical issues derailed a demonstration to media that morning (Defense Daily, June 17). The problem was caused by a “communications fault” between two components, said a spokeswoman from Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding, which is constructing Ford-class carriers. The system worked properly after being reset.

Meier characterized the problem as a “minor setback.”

Manazir, however, is already looking to what EMALS could mean for future carrier-based aircraft, he said Monday.

By 2040, the carrier wing will likely consist of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) drone, and F/A-XX, which will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler, he said. F/A-XX could be manned, optionally manned or unmanned, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has directed officials to closely examine the potential of unmanned technology.

“The advanced technology of our AAG and EMALS is going to allow us to kind of open the envelope on aircraft design,” Manazir said. EMALS was designed to safely and more gently launch aircraft—including unmanned aerial systems—that are lighter and heavier than the planes currently on the carrier deck. Not only will aircraft designers have more flexibility in terms of the size, weight and shape of the airframe, it could also influence the number and size of payloads.  

“If I can reduce, through the way in which we recover and launch airplanes, the weight that goes into the structure and the size of the airplane, now I can think about how differently to put payloads into those airframes,” Manazir said.

The Navy and Air Force are collaborating on technologies—such as coatings, electronic warfare capabilities, sensors and communications equipment—that are rapidly advancing and could be incorporated on the services’ next fighter jet, he added.