HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division [HII] said it recently started topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on the next Ford-class aircraft carrier, the future USS John F. Kennedy
(CVN-79).
The company started dead-load testing on catapults one and two by using large-wheeled car-like structures weighing up to 80,000 pounds to simulate the weight of carrier aircraft. The structures are launched off the carrier’s bow into the James River. This step began after NNS previously started with no-load testing.
The structures are retrieved and relaunched until this test program phase is completed, “to ensure the catapults are ready for their primary intended purpose: to launch all carrier-based fixed wing aircraft flown by the U.S. Navy.”
“As we make sustained progress in the construction, testing and turnover of John F. Kennedy, reaching the dead load testing phase is a visual demonstration of how far we’ve come,” said Lucas Hicks, vice president of HII NNS’s John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) new construction aircraft carrier program.
“The first dead-load launch off the flight deck is a historic moment for PCU John F. Kennedy, and a testament to the power of great teamwork between our JFK crew, HII team, and NAVAIR engineers. I’m particularly proud of our Air Department and the hard-working Aviation Boatswain Mates who worked tirelessly alongside the engineering and testing teams to get us to this critical moment,” Capt. Colin Day, commanding officer of pre-commissioning unit (PCU) John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), said.
EMALS aims to improve operational capability with lower costs, higher launch-energy capacity and more accurate end-speed control.
The system was developed by General Atomics with launch profiles optimized to reduce stress on the aircraft compared to the sudden acceleration in traditional steam catapults. EMALS sends vehicles 300 feet down a catapult track at over 150 miles per hour.
HII is the only design, builder and refueler for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy. The future USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and Doris Miller (CVN-81) are also under construction at NNS.
These tests come as the fiscal year 2023 annual report of the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) found EMALS on CVN-78 still has reliability and maintainability issues that “continue to adversely affect sortie generation and flight operations, which remains the greatest risk to demonstrating operational effectiveness and suitability in [Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E).”
The report was released earlier this month.
The Pentagon’s weapon tester did say it saw general increase in crew proficiency and decreases in some repair times, which has improved sortie generation compared to previous tests.
However, DOT&E said in FY ‘23, despite engineering upgrades to hardware and software, it saw CVN-78’s EMALS “reliability has not appreciably changed from prior years and reliance on off-ship technical support remains a challenge.”
The report also noted CVN-79 delivery is now delayed to fiscal year 2025, a year later than previously reported, “due to the Navy moving some work from CVN 79’s post-delivery Post Shakedown Availability to before delivery, in order to mitigate schedule risk to its first deployment.”
CVN-80 is expected to be delivered in FY ‘28, while CVN-81 is planned for FY ‘32.