USN to operate latest aircraft launcher

Select sailors from the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) have completed training and are ready to operate and maintain the newest aircraft launch system of the US Navy.

Shipboard testing of the system is set to begin in the summer of 2015.

The training programme for the sailors was developed by General Atomics and the US Naval Air and Naval Sea System Commands. The sailors will now be part of the test programme for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS). The first crew graduated in October 2014, followed by two more groups in February and March 2015.

Additional test site training sessions have been scheduled by the EMALS training team for late 2015 and early 2016.

Terry Hotz, EMALS training manager, said: ‘EMALS is such a leap in technology, using high voltage electromagnetic power rather than the steam that powers the legacy catapults, and extra caution and respect must be exercised during maintenance operations to ensure the safety of personnel. It’s essential we provide excellent training to help them thoroughly understand the system.’

The upcoming shipboard tests will include dead-load launches and several other critical test events that will culminate in shipboard certification.

Several sailors also attended specialised electrical safety courses. Low-voltage and high-voltage safety training will be part of all future formal EMALS courses.

EMALS features modular components and a high degree of computer control, monitoring and automation. The Navy will field an IETM along with the new system to create a three-dimension view of components that sailors can bookmark, rotate, zoom or highlight during maintenance procedures.