Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System
[4] The EMALS uses a linear induction motor (LIM), which uses alternating current (AC) to generate magnetic fields that propel a carriage along a track to launch the aircraft.
[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] 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.
The closed-loop system allows the EMALS to maintain a constant tow force, which helps reduce launch stresses on the plane's airframe.
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 storages and power conversion subsystems.
In Phase 2, various carrier situations were simulated, including off-center launches and planned system faults, to demonstrate that aircraft could meet end-speed and validate launch-critical reliability.
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.
[20] Compared to steam catapults, EMALS weighs less, occupies less space, requires less maintenance and manpower, can in theory be more reliable, recharges quicker, and uses less energy.
"[31] EMALS breaks down often and is not reliable, the Pentagon's director of testing Robert Behler reported after assessing 3,975 cycles on the USS Gerald R. Ford from November 2019 through September 2020.
[33] On 25 June 2022, the major milestone of 10,000 successful catapult launches and arrested landings aboard USS Gerald R. Ford was achieved.
Construction of the PANG is expected to begin around 2025 and will enter service in 2038, the year the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is due to be retired.
[38][39][40] The Indian government has shown interest in producing the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System locally with the assistance of General Atomics.
[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.
A contract was signed in December 2011 with General Atomics of San Diego to develop EMALS for the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.
A small-scale demonstrator capable of launching payloads up to 400 kg over a short span of 16 to 18 meters was successfully built by Pune based Research & Development Establishment (Engineers).
