Electromagnetic

Aircraft Launch
System

A drawing of the linear induction motor used in the

EMALS.
The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch
System (EMALS) is a type of aircraft
launching system currently under
development by General Atomics for the
United States Navy. The system launches
carrier-based aircraft by means of a
catapult employing a linear induction
motor rather than the conventional steam
piston. EMALS was developed for the
Navy's Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft
carriers.

Its main advantage is that it accelerates

aircraft more smoothly, putting less stress
on their airframes. Compared to steam
catapults, the EMALS also weighs less, is
expected to cost less and require less
maintenance, and can launch both heavier
and lighter aircraft than a steam piston-
driven system. It also reduces the carrier's
requirement of fresh water, thus reducing
the demand for energy-intensive
desalination.

China is reportedly developing a similar

system.[1]

Design and development

Developed in the 1950s, steam catapults
have proven exceptionally reliable. Carriers
equipped with four steam catapults have
been able to use at least one of them 99.5
percent of the time.[2] However, there are a
number of drawbacks. One group of Navy
engineers wrote, "The foremost deficiency
is that the catapult operates without
feedback control. With no feedback, there
often occurs large transients in tow force
that can damage or reduce the life of the
airframe."[3] The steam system is massive,
inefficient (4–6%),[4] and hard to control.
These control problems allow Nimitz-class
steam-powered catapults to launch heavy
aircraft, but not aircraft as light as many
UAVs.

A somewhat similar system to EMALS,

Westinghouse's electropult, was developed
in 1946 but not deployed.[5]

Linear induction motor

The EMALS uses a linear induction motor

(LIM), which uses electric currents to
generate magnetic fields that propel a
carriage along a track to launch the
aircraft.[6] The EMALS consists of four
main elements:[7] The linear induction
motor consists of a row of stator coils
with the same function as the circular
stator coils in a conventional induction
motor. When energized, the motor
accelerates the carriage along the track.
Only the section of the coils surrounding
the carriage is energized at any given time,
thereby minimizing reactive losses. The
EMALS' 300-foot (91 m) LIM will
accelerate a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg)
aircraft to 130 kn (240 km/h; 150 mph).[6]

Energy storage subsystem

During a launch, the induction motor

requires a large surge of electric power
that exceeds what the ship's own
continuous power source can provide. As
of 1994, the EMALS energy-storage
system design accommodates this by
drawing power from the ship during its 45-
second recharge period and storing the
energy kinetically using the rotors of four
disk alternators; the system then releases
that energy (up to 484 MJ) in 2–3
seconds.[8] Each rotor delivers up to
121 MJ (34 kWh) (approximately one
gasoline gallon equivalent) and can be
recharged within 45 seconds of a launch;
this is faster than steam catapults.[6] A
max launch using 121 MJ of energy from
each disk alternator slows the rotors from
6400 rpm to 5205 rpm.[8][9]

Power conversion subsystem

During launch, the power conversion

subsystem releases the stored energy
from the disk alternators using a
cycloconverter.[6] The cycloconverter
provides a controlled rising frequency and
voltage to the LIM, energizing only the
small portion of stator coils that affect the
launch carriage at any given moment.[8]

Control consoles

Operators control the power through a

closed loop system. Hall effect sensors on
the track monitor its operation, allowing
the system to ensure that it provides the
desired acceleration. The closed loop
system allows the EMALS to maintain a
constant tow force, which helps reduce
launch stresses on the plane’s airframe.[6]

Program status

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System at Naval

Air Systems Command, Lakehurst, launching a United
States Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet during a test on 18
December 2010

Aircraft Compatibility Testing (ACT) Phase

1 concluded in late 2011 following 134
launches (aircraft types comprising the
F/A-18E Super Hornet, T-45C Goshawk, C-
2A Greyhound, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye,
and F-35C Lightning II) using the EMALS
demonstrator installed at Naval Air
Engineering Station Lakehurst. On
completion of ACT 1, the system was
reconfigured to be more representative of
the actual ship configuration on board the
USS Gerald R. Ford, which will use four
catapults sharing several energy storage
and power conversion subsystems.[10]

1–2 June 2010: Successful launch of a

T-45 Goshawk.[11]
9–10 June 2010: Successful launch of a
C-2 Greyhound.[12]
 18 December 2010: Successful launch
of a F/A-18E Super Hornet.[13][14]
27 September 2011: Successful launch
of an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.[15][16]
18 November 2011: Successful launch
of a F-35C Lightning II.[17]

ACT Phase 2 began on 25 June 2013 and

concluded on 6 April 2014 after a further
310 launches (including launches of the
EA-18G Growler and F/A-18C Hornet, as
well as another round of testing with
aircraft types previously launched during
Phase 1). In Phase 2 various carrier
situations were simulated, including off-
centre launches and planned system
faults, to demonstrate that aircraft could
meet end-speed and validate launch-
critical reliability.[10]

June 2014: The Navy completed EMALS

prototype testing of 450 manned aircraft
launches involving every fixed-wing
carrier-borne aircraft type in the USN
inventory at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-
Lakehurst during two Aircraft
Compatibility Testing (ACT) campaigns.
May 2015: First full speed shipboard
tests conducted.[18]

Delivery and deployment

On 28 July 2017, Lt. Cmdr. Jamie "Coach"
Struck of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron
23 (VX-23) performed the first EMALS
catapult launch from USS Gerald R. Ford
(CVN-78) in an F/A-18F Super Hornet.[19]

Advantages
Compared to steam catapults, EMALS
weighs less, occupies less space, requires
less maintenance and manpower, is more
reliable, recharges quicker, and uses less
energy. Steam catapults, which use about
1,350 lb (610 kg) of steam per launch,
have extensive mechanical, pneumatic,
and hydraulic subsystems.[8] EMALS uses
no steam, which makes it suitable for the
Navy's planned all-electric ships.[20]

Compared to steam catapults, EMALS can

control the launch performance with
greater precision, allowing it to launch
more kinds of aircraft, from heavy fighter
jets to light unmanned aircraft.[20] With up
to 121 megajoules available, each one of
the four disk alternators in the EMALS
system can deliver 29 percent more
energy than a steam catapult's
approximately 95 MJ.[8] The EMALS, with
their planned 90% power conversion
efficiency, will also be more efficient than
steam catapults, which achieve only a 5%
efficiency.[6]

Criticisms
In May 2017, President Donald Trump
criticized EMALS during an interview with
Time, saying that in comparison to
traditional steam catapults, "the digital
costs hundreds of millions of dollars more
money and it’s no good."[21][22][23][24]

Reliability

In 2013, 201 of 1,967 test launches failed,

more than 10 percent.
Factoring in the then-current state of the
system, the most generous numbers
available in 2013 showed that EMALS has
an average “time between failure” rate of 1
in 240. In other words, one out of 240
launches fail.[25]

According to a January 2014 report,

"Based on expected reliability growth, the
failure rate for the last reported Mean
Cycles Between Critical Failure was five
times higher than should have been
expected. As of August 2014, the Navy has
reported that over 3,017 launches have
been conducted at the Lakehurst test site,
but have not provided DOT&E with an
update of failures. The Navy intends to
provide DOT&E an update of failures in
December 2014."[26]

In the test configuration, EMALS could not

launch fighter aircraft with external drop
tanks mounted. "The Navy has developed
fixes to correct these problems, but testing
with manned aircraft to verify the fixes has
been postponed to 2017".[27]

In July 2017 the system was successfully

tested at sea on the USS Gerald R. Ford.

Systems that use or will use

electromagnetic aircraft
launch systems
China

Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo of the People's

Liberation Army Navy has said that China's
next aircraft carrier will also have an
electromagnetic aircraft launch system.[28]
Multiple prototypes have been spotted by
the media in 2012, and aircraft capable of
electromagnetic launching are undergoing
testing at a Chinese Navy research
facility.[29][30]

According to a report in July 2017, the

construction of the Type 002 aircraft
carrier has been rescheduled in order to
choose between a steam or
electromagnetic catapult and the latest
competition results shows that the
electromagnetic launchers will be used in
the type 002 aircraft carrier.[31][32]

China's military chief claims a

breakthrough in electromagnetic launch
systems for aircraft carriers has been
made, and will utilize such a system in the
third aircraft carrier that China will build
after Type 001A. The launch system is
conventionally powered through
capacitance, thus eliminating the need to
rely on the nuclear reactor for its power
supply. [33][34][35]
India

The Indian navy has shown an interest in

installing EMALS for its planned CATOBAR
Supercarrier INS Vishal.[36][37][38][38] The
Indian government has shown interest in
producing the Electromagnetic Aircraft
Launch System locally with the assistance
of General Atomics.[39]

The concept of a ground carriage is

intended for civilian use and takes the idea
of an electromagnetic aircraft launch
system one step further, with the entire
landing gear remaining on the runway for
both takeoff and landing.[40]
Russia

Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation

(USC) is developing new launch systems
for warplanes based on aircraft carriers,
USC President Alexei Rakhmanov told
TASS on July 4 2018.[41]

United Kingdom

Converteam UK were working on an

electro-magnetic catapult (EMCAT)
system for the Queen Elizabeth-class
aircraft carrier.[42] In August 2009,
speculation mounted that the UK may drop
the STOVL F-35B for the CTOL F-35C
model, which would have meant the
carriers being built to operate conventional
takeoff and landing aircraft using the UK-
designed non-steam EMCAT
catapults.[43][44]

In October 2010, the UK Government

announced it would buy the F-35C, using a
then-undecided CATOBAR system. A
contract was signed in December 2011
with General Atomics of San Diego to
develop EMALS for the Queen Elizabeth-
class carriers.[42][45] However, in May 2012,
the UK Government reversed its decision
after the projected costs rose to double
the original estimate and delivery moved
back to 2023, cancelling the F-35C option
and reverting to its original decision to buy
the STOVL F-35B.[46]

United States

EMALS was designed for and into the

Ford-class carrier.[47] A proposal to retrofit
it into Nimitz-class carriers was rejected.
John Schank said, "The biggest problems
facing the Nimitz class are the limited
electrical power generation capability and
the upgrade-driven increase in ship weight
and erosion of the center-of-gravity margin
needed to maintain ship stability." [48]
See also
Naval aviation
Modern United States Navy carrier air
operations
Coilgun
Mass driver

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