VIDEO: Navy Tests Aircraft Launch System at Joint Base

Members of the media were invited to the Lakehurst site of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to watch a launch of a Navy aircraft using a new catapult system.

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as EMALS, is set to replace the steam catapult systems that have been used to launch planes from aircraft carriers for over 50 years. The interface that connects the catapult to the aircraft remains the same, though the technology underneath is more advanced.

"I'm a former launch and recovery officer so this is very important to me," said Capt. James Donnelly, program manager for Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment.

Donnelly said in a briefing before the Sept. 27 launch of an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye at a full-scale EMALS system installed at a Lakehurst runway that the more advanced technology will require less maintenance and afford sailors more free time to rest and recover, something he considers "one of the biggest benefits of this system."

EMALS had its inception in 1999, said Sue Wojtowicz, director of Launch and Recovery Programs for General Atomic, and 95 manned aircraft have been launched using the system. 

Donnelly said that the program is about 80 percent complete and officials hope to have the system certified for ship use on Gerald R. Ford-class carriers in 2015.

"EMALS delivers the necessary higher launch energy capacity as well as substantial improvements in system maintenance, efficiency, and more accurate end-speed control," said a Joint Base press release. "The system’s technology allows for smooth acceleration at both high and low speeds, increasing the carrier’s ability to launch aircraft in support of the warfighter."