Apr 19, 2016

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

The Gerald R. Ford class of super-carriers will be the first carriers to use the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).



The new launch system has been under development by the US Navy to launch carrier-based aircraft using a linear drive motor. The advantage over the old steam catapults is more stable acceleration reducing stress on the aircraft's airframes. The system also has the advantage of reduced system weight with a projected lower cost and decreased maintenance requirements.


The EMALS system can control the launch with greater precision, allowing it to launch various types of aircraft, from heavy fighter jets to light unmanned aircraft. Extensive testing being conducted at the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst in New Jersey have so far launched successfully every fixed-wing carrier-borne aircraft type in the USN inventory.

In the summer of 2015, the EMALS aboard the Gerald R. Ford launched "dead-loads" off of the bow of CVN 78 into the James River. "Dead-loads" are large, wheeled, steel vessels weighing up to 80,000 pounds to simulate the weight of actual aircraft.



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