EMALS fault workaround on CVN

The Navy’s still not sure if a fault in the USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN-78) Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) aircraft launching system was an equipment or procedures issue. But, the assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts told reporters he’s confident in the system and that any weak points are being examined during its ongoing post-delivery test and trials period. On June 2, the crew discovered a fault in the power handling system that connects the ship’s energy-generating turbines to the EMALS power system. This discovery came during a manual reset of the system ahead of launching aircraft, and it was something they did not expect, Geurts said. The surprising condition was not among procedures that were in place. … They troubleshot it. They came up with an amended procedure,” Geurts said in response to a USNI News question. The ship and engineers ashore have more work to do to understand what happened and how to prevent it, Geurts said. That’s the point of post-delivery test and trials: To pressure-test the gear, the training and the procedures. “In my mind, this is in the heart of the envelope of what we do PDT&T for, to really test this stuff out.” he said. The carrier is about 45 percent through its PDT&T period. (Source: USNI News 06/19/20) Mississippi Note: See previous post http://gulfcoastshipbuilding.blogspot.com/2020/06/emals-failure-for-cvn-78.html / https://news.usni.org/2020/06/19/navy-unsure-if-recent-emals-fault-was-equipment-or-procedure-problem-but-workaround-has-been-validated