An F/A-18C Hornet is launched from the EMALS prototype at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as part of ACT Phase 2. Manned aircraft launches from the test site concluded on 6 April 2014. Source: US Navy
Dead-load launches from the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) technology equipping the new Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) are set to start in late 2015, the US Navy (USN) has confirmed.
At-sea aircraft launches from EMALS are expected to follow in 2016 after Ford 's delivery from Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding business.
An industry team led by General Atomics has developed EMALS as the successor to the venerable C-13 steam catapult installed on all current USN nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Ford , now in advanced construction at Newport News, is the first carrier to receive the new system. A land-based EMALS prototype at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, has been used to support demonstration, qualification, and reliability growth activities.
Based on linear motor technology, EMALS promises benefits in performance, control, and through-life costs of ownership. For example, it delivers higher launch energy capacity, provides for more accurate end-speed control, brings substantial improvements in system maintenance, and offers increased reliability and efficiency.
According to PMA-251, the Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR's) Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Program Office, nearly all EMALS' hardware components have now been delivered and installed in Ford .
"CVN 78 is projected to deliver in spring 2016, and at-sea EMALS aircraft launches will begin shortly thereafter," said PMA-251. "Starting in late 2015, the ship is scheduled to launch dead-loads, or weighted sleds, from the system, leading up to manned launches after delivery."
More than 450 manned aircraft launches - involving every fixed-wing carrier-borne aircraft type in the USN inventory - have been completed from the EMALS prototype at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst during two Aircraft Compatibility Testing (ACT) campaigns. ACT Phase 1 concluded in late 2011 following 134 launches (aircraft types comprising the F/A-18E Super Hornet, T-45C Goshawk, C-2A Greyhound, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and F-35C Lightning II).
On completion of ACT 1, the EMALS demonstrator was reconfigured to be more representative of the actual ship configuration on boardFord , which will use four catapults sharing several energy storage and power conversion subsystems.
ACT Phase 2 began on 25 June 2013 and concluded on 6 April 2014 after a further 310 launches (including launches of the EA-18G Growler and F/A-18C Hornet, as well as another round of testing with aircraft types previously launched during Phase 1). In Phase 2 various carrier situations were simulated, including off-centre launches and planned system faults, to demonstrate that aircraft could meet end-speed and validate launch-critical reliability.