NAVAIR officials cut ribbon for new system on Lakehurst

Published Nov. 17, 2009
By Tom Worsdale
NAVAIR Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Officials from Naval Air Systems Command and the local community celebrated the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System at a ribbon-cutting ceremony here Nov. 12.

EMALS is an armature, the portion of a catapult that an aircraft tail hook connects to when it lifts off. This system will be installed on the next generation of aircraft carriers scheduled to become operational in 2015.

The launch of the EMALS and cutting of the ceremonial red ribbon signify the completion of the system's installation and the beginning of the system's testing.

The system will begin to test dead loads, weight on wheels that replicates the weight of an aircraft and eventually, actual aircraft.

"Testing and maintaining the system will keep the Lakehurst test site busy for at least the next 50 years," according to Navy Capt. Randy Mahr, program manager for EMALS.

Dead-load testing should commence in the next month. Aircraft testing is scheduled for the summer of 2010.

Lakehurst will be the only site equipped with an electromagnetic launch system available to test and troubleshoot this cutting-edge technology.

"Steam catapults built at Lakehurst have been used since the 1950s. They've been shot more than five million times," said Kathy Donnelly, director of the support equipment and aircraft launch and recovery equipment department. "Now we move into the era of the electromagnetic catapult, which uses linear motors instead of steam pistons."

The advantage of electromagnetic power is that it is more controllable when it comes to takeoff and acceleration speeds for various aircraft. It also has fewer parts to maintain. This will result in less wear and tear on the system and the aircraft, thus reducing maintenance costs and requiring fewer sailors to operate the system.

Although EMALS is the way of the future, current aircraft carriers will not be retrofitted with the electromagnetics. They will retain their current steam catapult systems for the life of their service.

Capt. James Donnelly, EMALS deputy program manager; Col. Gina Grosso, JB MDL commander; Representative Christopher H. Smith; and Scott Forney, vice-president of industry partner General Atomics joined Captain Mahr and Ms. Donnelly in the day's events.

This included "shooting" the first official movement of the armature that will launch the dead loads and aircraft scheduled for testing over the next several years.