Navy's Newest Carrier Needs Critical Updates To Launch And Recover Aircraft With Certain Loadouts
The service still needs to conduct additional testing so that the ship can operate F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs in any configuration.
By Joseph TrevithickFebruary 14, 2019
The U.S. Navy has revealed that personnel aboard the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford carriers do not even have the necessary technical information to reliably launch and recover all configurations of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jet and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. This follows a new Pentagon report that says the flattop’s advanced electromagnetic catapults and improved arresting gear remain as problematic as ever.
On Feb. 14, 2019, USNI News was first to report on the lack of information, which only further speaks to Ford’s, at best, limited capabilities to perform its core mission of conducting naval aviation operations nearly two years after delivery. In January 2019, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, or DOT&E, released its latest annual review of the carrier’s progress, covering developments during the 2018 Fiscal Year. The report was highly critical of the state of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG).
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/26503/navys-newest-carrier-needs-critical-updates-to-launch-and-recover-aircraft-with-certain-loadouts
