Designed to replace decades old steam driven catapults, the EMALS system will propel an aircraft off the decks of USS Gerald Ford Class carriers as soon as the new fleet sets sail in 2016.
While the EMALS system has been in development for several years, its only now that the military is considering testing on the water. Until now EMALS has been restricted to land based tests at a Navy flight test facility in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Over the course of the terrestrial catapult tests 452 aircraft – including EA-18G Growlers, F/A-18 Super Hornets, and F-35 JSFs – were propelled skyward, catalyzed by the power of electromagnets.
Key to the EMALS system is its 12 foot long linear motors. As a plane sits aboard the flight deck its engines gently purr, rolling it ever so slightly forward. In this brief motion the plane’s guide is caught in an electromagnetic channel. Once snared the EMALS system snaps into action, thrusting the aircraft forward as pulses of energy race down its long track. At the end of its thrust the aircraft is airborne, ready to undertake its mission.
Depending on the size, payload and overall weight of an aircraft the EMALS system can be dialed in to correctly distribute the exact amount of energy needed to get the machine airborne. This in turn conserves energy, reserving power for other systems.
According to Capt. Jim Donnelly, EMALS program manager, “EMALS better supports the air wing now and in the future. As you may know we’ve changed the make-up of the carrier wing over the years. We’re getting to an air wing that requires higher energy launches and EMALS is much more capable when it comes to higher launch energy requirements.”
With a completely extensible launch system, ready at a moments notice, the US Navy’s ambition to monitor and protect the seas should be well served. I just wonder how large the Navy images drones will be in the future, and whether they’ll even need a catapult launch system.
Image Courtesy of US NAVY and ArmedForcesUpdate