Assuming we have any money to build another carrier.
The U.S. Navy has much of its future vested in the so-called EMALS launch system. It is a critical piece of technology that will be featured in the new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. The first of the fleet is being currently constructed and if the launch system is not ready in time, the Navy may be "forced to revert to older steam catapults to launch aircraft from the ships," the Defense News Web site reported.
I imagine that this will be a real space-saver and manpower-saver. Also, I suspect that if the wrong weight is dialed into the system, that the system will recognize this and somehow compensate.
I wonder what the backup for this system will be. It would seem to me there is plenty of opportunity for this system to be less robust than a steam-driven catapult. And does this thing hog all the power for a couple of seconds, or is there still enough overhead for maneuvering the ship? Maybe it's a moot point, though, since violent maneuvering may be a bad thing when launching aircraft, even if it's only to head into the wind faster.
Can this system be retrofitted onto the existing carriers? |