General Atomics EMALS and AAG Systems Reach 4,492 "Cats and Traps" Milestone Aboard CVN 78

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that a milestone of 4,492 catapult launches and landing arrestments using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system has been successfully and safely achieved aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

“CVN 78 passed the half-way mark of its PDT&T, and we are well underway toward achieving the cats and traps milestones by the end of this rigorous testing phase,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “In addition to the demanding system shakedown testing, the ship, and EMALS and AAG, are providing valuable capacity to meet the Navy’s certification and training requirements for today, with an eye toward the future as the next Ford class carriers begin to enter the fleet. We are extremely proud of our dedicated team supporting the ship’s crew as they continue to qualify naval aviators as well as demonstrate the systems capabilities under combat operations tempo.”

During CVN 78’s at sea periods, which involve night and day, all weather, and various sea state operations, EMALS and AAG successfully launch and recover a range of aircraft, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, E-2C/D Hawkeyes and Advanced Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, EA-18G Growlers, and T-45C Goshawks. In addition to CVN 78, GA-EMS is delivering EMALS and AAG for the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and USS Enterprise (CVN 80). EMALS and AAG will provide greater flexibility over legacy systems to not only accommodate aircraft in the current air wing, but also future aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles.