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Home» News»GA’s EMALS & AAG Support Successful USS Gerald R. Ford Flight Deck Certification
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 25, 2020) An E-2D Hawkeye, assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20, prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Ford is currently conducting aircraft compatibility testing to further test its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ruben Reed/Released)

GA’s EMALS & AAG Support Successful USS Gerald R. Ford Flight Deck Certification

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that successful USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Flight Deck Certification (FDC) has been completed with the support of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system.

Xavier Vavasseur 24 Apr 2020

General Atomics press release

The number of aircraft to have landed and taken off from CVN 78now totals more than 2,000. CVN 78 used fleet squadrons from Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), as well as pilots from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 and Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 120 to obtain hundreds of sorties over a  two week period with all arrested landings and catapult launches completed safely. 

“We continue to see EMALS and AAG perform according to specifications to execute cats and traps with the objective of reaching the robust evolution rates necessary for combat. We are working closely with the Navy and CVN 78 crew to ensure operational performance is achieved. We remain extremely proud of our team, the squadrons’ pilots and the ship’s crew for all their hard work and dedication, and look forward to continuing success as CVN 78 undergoes these continued at sea periods.”


Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS
AAG below deck view. GA-EMS image.

FDC is a qualification of the ship’s various aviation systems and includes the crews’ qualification to operate the numerous systems. FDC was completed March 20 following day and night launch and recovery exercises with F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. FDC is intended to qualify and prove ship and crew capabilities under operational conditions that can occur while on deployment.

On Jan. 31, CVN 78 completed Aircraft Compatibility Testing (ACT), a significant milestone that exhibited EMALS and AAG’s ability to launch and recover five types of aircraft in varying configurations – four of which for the first time. CVN 78 proved to accommodate the current naval air wing, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, C-2A Greyhound, EA-18G Growler, and T-45C Goshawk aircraft. 

GA-EMS is delivering EMALS and AAG for the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and USS Enterprise (CVN 80). Significant cost savings are being realized through multiple ship production contracts, which minimize gaps in production while maximizing planning, scheduling and delivery to support all three Ford-class carriers.

AAG Aircraft Carrier CVN 78 EMALS General Atomics US Navy USS Gerald R. Ford 2020-04-24
Tags AAG Aircraft Carrier CVN 78 EMALS General Atomics US Navy USS Gerald R. Ford
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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