The new Electronic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) under development for the U.S. Navy took a "pause" to correct problems that appeared after the first test launch in December, a top Navy official said March 9.
The Navy conducted its first test launch of the system using a real aircraft, rather than a test load, on Dec. 21 at its catapult testing facility in Lakehurst, N.J. But no further flights have been made since the successful launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet.
The problem, said Sean Stackley, the Navy's top acquisition official, was a "gap" between the motors as the system worked to accelerate the aircraft to launch speed.
The EMALS consists of a number of linear motors in series, Stackley explained. "In the handoff from motor to motor, as the aircraft is accelerating, there is a gap. That needs to be tuned."
The Navy and contractor General Atomics have been working on the system's software to cure the problem, Stackley said.
"We took a pause, we're coming back with corrections, and coming back with a system functional demonstration this month," he said during a hearing of the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee of House Armed Services Committee.
Stackley made his remarks in response to a question by new chairman Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., about the system's progress.
The EMALS is a key element in the design and operation of the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford. The ship is about 20 percent complete, according to testimony presented earlier March 9 by Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, and the system is "on schedule to support delivery" of the carrier in September 2015.
The EMALS program has suffered numerous delays during its development, however, and is reported to have nearly exhausted the margin of error to deliver components on time to shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News so they can be installed on the carrier. Further EMALS delays, one source said, could begin to impact the carrier's building schedule and threaten cost increases.
Along with the associated Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) aircraft recovery system, EMALS is expected to increase the pace of launch and recovery operations on the carrier by 25 percent.
"We are carefully watching components delivered to Newport News," Stackley said. "I think the risk is acceptable, absolutely."
The Navy conducted its first test launch of the system using a real aircraft, rather than a test load, on Dec. 21 at its catapult testing facility in Lakehurst, N.J. But no further flights have been made since the successful launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet.
The problem, said Sean Stackley, the Navy's top acquisition official, was a "gap" between the motors as the system worked to accelerate the aircraft to launch speed.
The EMALS consists of a number of linear motors in series, Stackley explained. "In the handoff from motor to motor, as the aircraft is accelerating, there is a gap. That needs to be tuned."
The Navy and contractor General Atomics have been working on the system's software to cure the problem, Stackley said.
"We took a pause, we're coming back with corrections, and coming back with a system functional demonstration this month," he said during a hearing of the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee of House Armed Services Committee.
Stackley made his remarks in response to a question by new chairman Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., about the system's progress.
The EMALS is a key element in the design and operation of the Navy's newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford. The ship is about 20 percent complete, according to testimony presented earlier March 9 by Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, and the system is "on schedule to support delivery" of the carrier in September 2015.
The EMALS program has suffered numerous delays during its development, however, and is reported to have nearly exhausted the margin of error to deliver components on time to shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News so they can be installed on the carrier. Further EMALS delays, one source said, could begin to impact the carrier's building schedule and threaten cost increases.
Along with the associated Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) aircraft recovery system, EMALS is expected to increase the pace of launch and recovery operations on the carrier by 25 percent.
"We are carefully watching components delivered to Newport News," Stackley said. "I think the risk is acceptable, absolutely."
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