The US Navy (USN) launched an F/A-18F Super Hornet off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) on 22 January, the first full afterburner catapult shot from the ship of an aircraft in what that USN calls a ‘5-wet configuration’, outfitted as a full fuel tanker.
Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is now proving the ability of its new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) to accommodate air wing platforms. (Michael Fabey)
The afterburner shot was just one of the firsts for Ford ’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) as the ship conducts Aircraft Compatibility Testing (ACT) this month in the Atlantic Ocean off the US East Coast to ensure the carrier can effectively operate EMALS and its Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) for a carrier air wing.
Ford had tested its systems in early 2018 to launch and recover the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.
For ACT, the carrier will do further testing on those aircraft, as well as T-45 Goshawks trainers, E/A-18G Growlers, E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, and C-2A Greyhounds – marking the first launches and recoveries for the T-45s, E/A-18Gs, E-2Ds, and C-2As.
Not only will Ford prove EMALS and AAG can accommodate the air wing aircraft, but the ship’s crew and officers, and the test pilots, will be using the data to determine how those aircraft should operate off Ford-class ships – essentially writing the manual for such operational concepts for those vessels.
“By 31 January we will have validated all envelops for all aircraft,” Captain JJ Cummings, Ford commanding officer, said on 22 January during a briefing on board the carrier during the testing.
After that, he said Ford
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