АҚШ Әскери-теңіз күштері үшін электромагниттік ұшақтарды ұшыру жүйесі

Aircraft launching system developed for the US Navy
the general type of catapult

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is a type of electromagnetic catapult system developed by General Atomics for the United States Navy. The system launches carrier based aircraft by means of a catapult employing a linear induction motor rather than the conventional steam piston. EMALS was first installed on the lead ship of the , USS Gerald R. Ford. Its main advantage is that it accelerates aircraft more smoothly, putting less stress on their airframes. Compared to steam catapults, the EMALS also weighs less, is expected to cost less and require less maintenance, and can launch both heavier and lighter aircraft than a steam piston driven system. It also reduces the carrier's requirement of fresh water, thus reducing the demand for energy intensive desalination.

Developed in the 1950s, steam catapults have proven exceptionally reliable. Carriers equipped with four steam catapults have been able to use at least one of them 99.5% of the time. However, there are a number of drawbacks. One group of Navy engineers wrote: "The foremost deficiency is that the catapult operates without feedback control. With no feedback, there often occurs large transients in tow force that can damage or reduce the life of the airframe." The steam system is massive, inefficient (4–6% useful work), and hard to control. These control problems allow steam powered catapults to launch heavy aircraft, but not aircraft as light as many unmanned aerial vehicles. A system somewhat similar to EMALS, Westinghouse's electropult, was developed in 1946 but not deployed.

The EMALS uses a linear induction motor (LIM), which uses alternating current (AC) to generate magnetic fields that propel a carriage along a track to launch the aircraft. The EMALS consists of four main elements: The linear induction motor consists of a row of stator coils with the same function as the circular stator coils in a conventional induction motor. When energized, the motor accelerates the carriage along the track. Only the section of the coils surrounding the carriage is energized at any given time, thereby minimizing reactive losses. The EMALS's 300 feet (91 m) LIM can accelerate a aircraft to Each rotor delivers up to (approximately one gasoline gallon equivalent) and can be recharged within 45 seconds of a launch; this is faster than steam catapults.

During the launch, the power conversion subsystem releases the stored energy from the disk alternators using a cycloconverter. 9–10 June 2010: Successful launch of a Grumman C 2 Greyhound. 18 December 2010: Successful launch of a Boeing F/A 18E Super Hornet. 27 September 2011: Successful launch of a Northrop Grumman E 2D Advanced Hawkeye. 18 November 2011: Successful launch of a Lockheed Martin F 35 Lightning II. ACT Phase 2 began on 25 June 2013 and concluded on 6 April 2014 after a further 310 launches (including launches of the Boeing EA 18G Growler and McDonnell Douglas F/A 18C Hornet, as well as another round of testing with aircraft types previously launched during Phase 1). In Phase 2, various carrier situations were simulated, including off center launches and planned system faults, to demonstrate that aircraft could meet end speed and validate launch critical reliability. June 2014: The Navy completed EMALS prototype testing of 450 manned aircraft launches involving every fixed wing carrier borne aircraft type in the USN inventory at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst during two Aircraft Compatibility Testing (ACT) campaigns. May 2015: First full speed shipboard tests conducted.

On 28 July 2017, Lt. Cmdr. Jamie "Coach" Struck of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX 23) performed the first EMALS catapult launch from USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in an F/A 18F Super Hornet. By April 2021, 8,000 launch/recovery cycles had been performed with the EMALS and the AAG arrestor system aboard USS Gerald R. Ford. The USN also stated that the great majority of these cycles had occurred in the prior 18 months and that 351 pilots had completed training on the EMALS/AAG.

Compared to steam catapults, EMALS weighs less, occupies less space, requires less maintenance and manpower, can in theory be more reliable, recharges quicker, and uses less energy. Steam catapults, which use about of steam per launch, have extensive mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic subsystems. Compared to steam catapults, EMALS can control the launch performance with greater precision, allowing it to launch more kinds of aircraft, from heavy fighter jets to light unmanned aircraft. President Trump's criticism was echoed by a highly critical 2018 report from the Pentagon, which emphasized that reliability of EMALS leaves much to be desired and that the average rate of critical failures is nine times higher than the Navy's threshold requirements.

The United States Navy is the first users of the General Atomic EMALS. It is equipped on the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier (in service).

The French Navy is actively planning for a future aircraft carrier and new flagship. It is known in French as Porte avions de nouvelle génération (new generation aircraft carrier), or by the acronym PANG. The ship will be nuclear powered and feature the EMALS catapult system. Construction of the PANG is expected to begin around 2025 and will enter service in 2038, the year the aircraft carrier French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is due to be retired.

The Indian Navy has shown an interest in installing the EMALS system for its planned CATOBAR INS Vishal aircraft carrier. The Indian government has shown interest in producing the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System locally with the assistance of General Atomics.

Converteam UK were working on an electromagnetic catapult (EMCAT) system for the In August 2009, speculation mounted that the UK may drop the STOVL F 35B for the CTOL F 35C model, which would have meant the carriers being built to operate conventional takeoff and landing aircraft using the UK designed non steam EMCAT catapults. In October 2010, the UK Government announced it would buy the F 35C, using a then undecided CATOBAR system. A contract was signed in December 2011 with General Atomics of San Diego to develop EMALS for the Queen Elizabeth class carriers. However, in May 2012, the UK Government reversed its decision after the projected costs rose to double the original estimate and delivery moved back to 2023, cancelling the F 35C option and reverting to its original decision to buy the STOVL F 35B.

China developed an electromagnetic catapult system in the 2000s for aircraft carriers, but with a different technical approach. Chinese adopted a medium voltage, direct current (DC) power transmission system, instead of the alternating current catapult system that United States developed.