Wed, Nov 30, 2011
Test Aircraft Launched With Electromagnetic System ... Not
Steam
The Navy demonstrated early integration of the future of naval
aviation Nov. 18 when it launched F-35C test aircraft CF-3 with its
new electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). Testing the
F-35C on EMALS provided an early opportunity to evaluate technical
risks and began the process to integrate the carrier variant Joint
Strike Fighter with the future carrier fleet aircraft launching
system. "The test flight went well," said Navy test pilot Lt.
Christopher Tabert. "It felt very similar to the steam test
launches we did this summer [in the F-35C]. It was quite an honor
for me to play a small part in our launch today."
This summer, the F-35C test team completed more than 50 steam
catapult launches to perform an initial structural survey and
collected steam ingestion data. The steam ingestion data produced
robust results, allowing a reduction in the number of test launches
by four. Along with the steam launch data, the EMALS launch testing
also provided information for the United Kingdom's Ministry of
Defence as the UK proceeds with including EMALS in the Queen
Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier.
In the past 12 months, the EMALS team launched a T-45 Goshawk,
an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, a C-2A Greyhound and several F/A-18
aircraft with and without stores.
Both EMALS and the F-35C are currently in test and evaluation,
and represent technological leaps from the Navy's current fleet.
EMALS is set to install on the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).
"What a great way to punctuate this year's Centennial of Naval
Aviation events," said Kathy Donnelly, senior executive for
aircraft launch, recovery and support equipment engineering at
Lakehurst. "Our team is paving the way for the next hundred years
today."
The closing ceremony of the Navy's Centennial of Naval Aviation
events is scheduled for Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C.
EMALS is a complete carrier-based launch system designed for the
future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and all future CVN 78-class
aircraft carriers. EMALS has six subsystems and will expand the
operational capability of the Navy's future carriers by permitting
higher sortie rates and reduced costs compared to legacy systems.
CVN 78 is more than 30 percent complete, with some production EMALS
components already delivered to the shipyard to maintain a 2015
delivery schedule.
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