Large, wheeled, car-like structures with weights up to 80,000 pounds were launched into the James River in Virginia to test the aircraft carrier s ability to launch actual planes.
Video show car-like vehicles weighing as much as fighter jets being catapulted from the bow of the USS John F. Kennedy into the James River in Virginia to test the supercarrier's launch capabilities.
HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division started topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system on the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier. EMALS is designed to replace the steam catapults on the U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, can operate at a speed of more than 150 miles per hour and works to provide expanded operational capability, more accurate end-speed control and higher launch-energy capacity, HII said Wednesday.
HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division (NNS) recently began topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on US Navy's aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).