Amid Criticism, US Navy Confident in New Arresting Gear System for Next Carrier: A host of new technologies and systems will begin to enter service when the new aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is delivered in the first half of 2016, and for over a decade it's been a good question whether all the new whiz-bang technology will be ready in time.
While the US Navy and its suppliers remain under scrutiny to make it all happen, they're also increasingly confident the key new technologies — including the dual-band radar (DBR), electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) and advanced arresting gear (AAG) — will be delivered.
The latter two technologies represent a major shift for carrier operations, allowing aircraft to be launched and recovered without bulky and manpower-intensive steam catapults and hydraulic wires.
But, program officials have acknowledged, testing and development of the systems will continue past the ship's planned March 2016 delivery date. Initial operational test and evaluation work isn't to start until the second half of 2017, with integration testing continuing to the end of that year. The ship's initial deployment is scheduled to take place in 2019.
