GA-EMS to support flight deck equipment on new USN aircraft carriers
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) is to provide engineering and logistics services for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) aboard the USN’s Gerald R Ford-class aircraft carriers.
‘This contract signals the programme is now moving from the design and development phase, and into concurrent production and sustainment phase, providing sustaining engineering, material and maintenance support for all Ford-class aircraft carriers,’ Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, said on 18 May.
In February this year, EMALS and AAG were cleared for shipboard launch and recovery of all currently deployed naval aircraft types aboard the first-in-class vessel, USS Gerald R Ford. The aircraft carrier has also successfully completed flight deck certification, aircraft compatibility testing, and fleet replacement squadron training exercises for pilots to earn their qualifications on specific aircraft.
In addition, GA-EMS is delivering EMALS and AAG for the other two carriers in the class: the future USS John F Kennedy and USS Enterprise.
The company claims that ‘significant cost savings are being realised’ through multiple ship production contracts, which minimise gaps in production while maximising planning, scheduling and delivery.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Gerald R. Ford Class (CVN 79 to CVN 81) [USN]
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
Russian vessels exercise in English Channel and off Irish coast
One of the vessels present in both cases was armed with hypersonic cruise missiles.
-
Australia narrows SEA 3000 frigate designs to TKMS and MHI
Two modular frigate designs will be considered as the replacement to Australia’s ageing Anzac-class.
-
Latest Arleigh Burke destroyer commissioned
The vessel, DDG 122, will be named after enlisted marine John Basilone.
-
Kongsberg awarded $960 million missile contract
The contract could rise to as much as US$1.1 billion and follows an announcement last month that Kongsberg was building a missile production facility in the US to meet burgeoning global demand.
-
New US Navy batteries are deemed submarine-safe
The use of Passive Propagation Technology significantly reduces the risk of Lithium-ion batteries for use in torpedo tube launched AUVs.
-
BAE Systems’ Herne XLAUV set to hunt for underwater intelligence
The Herne is modular, highly configurable underwater autonomous platform, with potential for both ISR missions in the short term and self-determined assistance surveillance later.