Railgun/ MagLev/ EMALS

choi

I am a biologist by training. Come to think about it, railgun must share commonality with MagLev and EMALS, and they (all three) do (share).But the last two seem to make progress steadily.

(1) But do they?  I will discuss Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).
(a) According to en.wikipedia.org:
(i) Now based in Fairfax County, Virginia, General Dynamics was "[f]ormed in 1954 with the merger of submarine manufacturer Electric Boat and aircraft manufacturer Canadair."
(ii) "General Atomics was founded [in] 1955, in San Diego, California [and remains there] * * * Originally the company was part of the General Atomic division of General Dynamics 'for harnessing the power of nuclear technologies for the benefit of mankind' " (ie, peaceful use such as electricity generation).
(b) Presently General Atomics has "Electromagnetic Systems Division [that] produces electro-magnetic aircraft launch and recovery systems for the US Navy, satellite surveillance, electro-magnetic rail gun, high power laser, hypervelocity projectile, and power conversion systems."
About. General Dynamics, undated.
https://www.ga.com/about
(c) On July 13, 2022, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) had a press release that "EMALS Aboard CVN 78 Reach 10,000 'Cats And Traps' Milestone." (title of a news report). The cat is short for catapult by EMALS, and trap means Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG). CVN78 is USS Gerald R Ford.
(d) US Navy has been a cheerleader for the two newbies. But Pentagon is more cautious.

Pentagon has a test agency or procurement watchdog -- Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) -- that stated in its annual report that at best,
(i) EMALS breaks down after 600 launches; and
(ii) AAG breaks down after 450 traps. See
Report: Carrier USS Ford's Electromagnetic Systems Still Need Work; New aircraft launch and recovery systems still break down too often, according to the Pentagon's testing office. Maritime Executive, Feb 6, 2023
https://maritime-executive.com/a ... ems-still-need-work

Quote:

(A) "However, EMALS' reliability numbers are running "well below" expectations: in testing in March-June 2022, Ford's catapults achieved about 600 cycles between failures, a fraction of the 4,000-plus cycle design goal. The reliability numbers were even lower during another test round in September, the agency reported.

"The carrier's Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) has similar challenges. The AAG is supposed to cycle 16,500 times between failures, but in recent testing it has broken down after roughly 450 cycles.

(B) "In October and November, [2022,] USS Ford departed Norfolk on a short 'service-retained' deployment across the Atlantic, calling at Halifax, Nova Scotia and Plymouth, UK. It was her first deployment, and her commanding officer reported that the voyage was a success. [This is Navy's perspective.]


I have no access to this year's annual report, and am clueless about what kinds of breakdowns they are, how much repair is needed. And are the breakdowns related to or caused by overheating -- the same hurdle that railgun is said to be unable to surmount.

(2) I will turn to China.
(a) 电磁弹射技术细节披露！世界首个“电磁橇”设施在我国成功运行，最高推进速度可达每小时1030公里，创造了世界最高速度纪录，可为航空飞行器等高速先进装备的研发提供测试手段。YouTube.com, uploaded by "@YangShiJunShi 央视军事" on Oct 21, 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbAvvjfjWc0

But it seemed that 央视 released the TV segment in CHINA on Oct 19, 2022.
(b) 世界首个电磁橇设施成功运行. 新华报业网, Oct 20, 2022 (source: 央视新闻).
https://www.xhby.net/index/202210/t20221020_7729862.shtml