Aircraft Carrier Advanced Arresting Gear Ready for Propellers and Jets

The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier Advanced Arresting Gear system received the green light to recover all “props and jets” aircraft, according to the Aircraft Recovery Bulletin (ARB) released Aug. 2.

The ARBs enable propeller aircraft: C-2A Greyhound, E-2C Hawkeye and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and jet aircraft: F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler to perform flight operations aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

““This achievement is another significant step toward ensuring the system can support the ship’s full air wing.”

ARBs are official Navy instructional documents identifying the weights and engaging speeds authorized for shipboard arrestments of specific aircraft, along with other pertinent information.

“Release of the ARB’s signifies ‘Naval Air Systems Command’s stamp of approval’ for the AAG system to safely recover these type/model/series aircraft aboard the Navy’s newest class of aircraft carriers,” said Jeff Mclean, deputy program manager for AAG System Design and Development.

The team, in collaboration with prime contractor General Atomics, continues to execute the requisite System Development and Demonstration testing at the land-based test sites located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

Mclean added, comprehensive testing of new systems like AAG is critical, and not only ensures the technology meets Navy requirements, but also ensures it is operationally safe for use in the fleet.

Prior to Props and Jets ARB generation, the team conducted more than 2,500 dead-load arrestments at the Jet Car Track Site (JCTS) and 1,420 manned aircraft arrestments at the Runway Arrested Landing Site.

“The pace of system testing was consistently demanding and required numerous team members to perform their duties in difficult conditions and in all types of weather in order to meet critical program milestones leading up to these ARB releases,” said Mclean.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the lead ship in the Ford-class of aircraft carrier, the Navy’s first new class of aircraft carriers in more than 40 years. The AAG system is designed to arrest a greater range of aircraft, reduce the fatigue impact load to the aircraft, and provide higher safety margins while reducing manpower and maintenance. AAG is one of more than 20 new systems incorporated into the Gerald R. Ford class design, giving it the warfighting capability essential for air dominance in the 21st century, including the flexibility and resilience to rapidly adapt to emerging threats, and the cost-effectiveness to support overall Navy shipbuilding priorities.

USS Gerald R. Ford Completes First Arrested Landing and Launch

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) launched and recovered its first fixed-wing aircraft July 28, 2017, off the coast of Virginia. The first arrested landing, or “trap”, occurred at 3:10 PM (EST) and the first catapult launch happened at 4:37 PM (EST).

Lt. Cmdr. Jamie Struck of Tallmedge, Ohio piloted the F/A-18F Superhornet from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 based at Patuxent River, Maryland.  

The Superhornet caught the number two arresting wire of Ford’s advanced arresting gear (AAG) system and was launched from catapult one using the electromagnetic launch system (EMALS).

“Today, USS Gerald R. Ford made history with the successful landing and launching of aircraft from VX-23 using the AAG and EMALS,” said Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces. “Great work by the Ford team and all the engineers who have worked hard to get the ship ready for this milestone.”

“AAG and EMALS have been successfully tested ashore at Lakehurst, New Jersey, but this is the first shipboard recovery and launch of a fleet fixed wing aircraft,” said Capt. Rick McCormack, Ford’s commanding officer. 

The software-controlled AAG is a modular, integrated system that consists of energy absorbers, power conditioning equipment and digital controls, with architecture that provides built-in test and diagnostics, resulting in lower maintenance and manpower requirements. AAG is designed to provide higher reliability and safety margins, as well as to allow for the arrestment of a greater range of aircraft and reduce the fatigue impact load to the aircraft. 

The mission and function of EMALS remains the same as the traditional steam catapult; however, it employs entirely different technologies. It delivers necessary higher-launch energy capacity, improvements in system maintenance, increased reliability and efficiency, and more accurate end-speed control and smooth acceleration. EMALS is designed to expand the operational capability of the Navy’s future carriers to include all current and future planned carrier aircraft – from lightweight unmanned aircraft to heavy strike fighters.

Introducing Gerald R. Ford Class

For more than 40 years, Nimitz-class carriers have played the first-responder role in crises and conflicts. The delivery of CVN 77 in 2009 provided continued proof of the viability of the early-’60s design of the Nimitz-class carriers; these ships have served the nation well, and will continue to do so in the coming decades. Ford-class ships will begin to succeed those of the Nimitz class when Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is commissioned. While the aircraft carrier’s basic mission will remain unchanged, Ford-class ships will deliver greater lethality, survivability, and joint interoperability, along with unmatched versatility and compatibility with continuing joint-force transformation – all at a reduced operating and maintenance cost to taxpayers. Ford will be capable of carrying the Navy’s most advanced aircraft, such as the F-35C Lightning II; F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; E-2D Advanced Hawkeye; EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft; MH-60R/S helicopters and unmanned air vehicles. Adding to its versatility, Ford will also be able to recover and launch various Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft flown by the United States Marine Corps. Finally, the design margins built into the ship will allow for integration of future manned and unmanned aircraft with minimal ship alterations.

Gerald R. Ford Class Ship Facts

The Ford class incorporates advancements in technology that make the carrier more capable and more efficient, while also providing it with the ability to implement future advancements in technology with relative ease. With increased capability and reduced total-ownership costs – through, e.g., manpower reductions and innovations, such as greater electrical production from the nuclear power plant, the use of fiber-optic networks, improved corrosion control, and the use of new, lightweight materials – CVN 78 and future Ford-class carriers package increased warfighting capability and enhanced survivability in a platform that will keep pace with the threat through the course of the 21st century.

Specifically:

• THE ISLAND on CVN 78 is smaller and further aft than that of previous carriers, increasing space for flight-deck operations and aircraft maintenance, thus enabling the ship and air wing to launch more aircraft sorties per day.
• CVN 78 has replaced legacy steam‐powered systems with electric-drive components. With three times the electrical-generation capacity of any previous carrier, the ship is readily susceptible of future modernization with new and emerging technologies throughout its 50-year service life.
• A LONGER TIME between maintenance availabilities allows for increased steaming days over the life of the ship.
• Its IMPROVED SURVIVABILITY includes improvements in hull design, firefighting systems, and weapons stowage.
• Improved WEAPONS AND MATERIAL HANDLING are provided by the Advanced Weapons Elevators, which provide faster movement of ordnance from magazines to aircraft.
• FORD-CLASS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS include new and innovative technologies to launch and recover (land) aircraft.
  • The Ford-class electromagnetic-powered aircraft launch system (EMALS) offers numerous advantages over the traditional steam-powered catapults of the Nimitz-class carriers.
    • EMALS provides for more accurate end-speed control, with a smoother acceleration at both high and low speeds.
    • The system also possesses the necessary energy capacity to support an increased launch envelope and a capability of launching both current and future carrier air wing platforms – from the lightest unmanned aerial vehicles to heavy strike fighters.
  • The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system provides Ford-class ships with the ability to recover both current and projected carrier-based, tailhook-equipped aircraft, and is the follow-on system to the Mark-7 system of the Nimitz class.
    • AAG allows for the recovery of a broader range of aircraft and, through its greater control, reduces the fatigue-impact load on the recovered platforms.
    • The AAG architecture includes built-in test and diagnostic technologies.
• Ford-class carriers include QUALITY OF LIFE enhancements, such as improved berthing compartments, better gyms, and more ergonomic work spaces.

VIDEO An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Jamie Struck, performs an arrested landing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). The aircraft carrier is underway conducting test and evaluation operations. Less than one week after Pres. Donald J. Trump commissioned the U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, Gerald R. Ford launched and recovered its first fixed-wing aircraft off the coast of Virginia. The first arrested landing, or “trap”, occurred at 3:10 PM (EST) and the first catapult launch happened at 4:37 PM (EST).
(U.S. Navy video/Released)