# Sending EMALS (DD-025)

> Carrier jets don't have room for a runway, so a catapult does the work. A shuttle in the deck hooks the launch bar on the jet's nose gear and drags the plane to flying speed in about two seconds. The Nimitz-class fleet still uses C-13 steam catapults, which push the shuttle with steam-driven pistons. The new Ford class (USS Gerald R. Ford, CVN 78, and the carriers after it) uses EMALS, the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System from General Atomics. It replaces the steam with a linear induction motor fed by energy stored in spinning generator rotors.

- Department: Military (also Tech)
- First published: 2026-02-06
- Last updated: 2026-02-06
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/sending-emals/
- Original Reel title: Sending EMALs
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## On the timeline

- **2015**: First shipboard no-load EMALS shots on USS Ford push the empty shuttle past 180 knots
- **July 28, 2017**: An F/A-18 Super Hornet makes the first fighter launch from the ship

Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=sending-emals

## Quick facts

- **DD-025-F01**: Only the Navy's newest carriers, the Ford class, use EMALS. Nimitz-class carriers still launch jets with steam catapults. _(Write-up · Exhibit B (Most of the fleet still runs on steam))_
- **DD-025-F02**: EMALS stores launch energy in spinning generator rotors, then releases it in a pulse lasting a couple of seconds to a linear motor under the deck. _(Write-up · Exhibit E (Energy in spinning rotors))_

## Write-up

Carrier catapults fling fighter jets to flying speed in about two seconds. Steam on Nimitz-class carriers; EMALS linear motors on the new Ford class.

1. **Same job, new machine**: EMALS was built for USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and the Ford-class carriers that follow it. It does the same job as a steam catapult with entirely different technology: stored kinetic energy and solid-state power electronics.
2. **Most of the fleet still runs on steam**: Nimitz-class carriers use Mk 13 (C-13) steam catapults. Steam drives pistons through two slotted cylinders under the deck, and the pistons drag the launch shuttle.
3. **Launch bar meets shuttle**: With either system, the jet's nose-gear launch bar hooks onto a shuttle that rides in a slot in the deck. The catapult pulls the shuttle, and the shuttle pulls the jet.
4. **A linear motor in the deck**: EMALS uses a linear induction motor laid under the flight deck. Energized coils create a traveling magnetic field that drives the shuttle down a track roughly 100 meters (about 330 feet) long. It works like a maglev train or a launched roller coaster.
5. **Energy in spinning rotors**: Motor-generators store energy in the inertia of their spinning rotors. At launch they dump it as an electric pulse through power-conditioning electronics. The whole launch takes a couple of seconds, then the current reverses to brake the shuttle.
6. **Milestones**: The first shipboard no-load shots, on Ford in 2015, pushed the empty shuttle past 180 knots. The first fighter launch from the ship, an F/A-18 Super Hornet, came on July 28, 2017.
7. **Gentler and adjustable**: Unlike steam, EMALS can dial in the force for each aircraft's weight. The Navy says that lets it launch everything from light drones to heavy strike fighters with less stress on the airframes.

## Related case files

- [Supersonic Striker (DD-036)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/supersonic-striker/): More military aviation hardware.
- [The Iron Dome (DD-606)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/the-iron-dome/): Another military-technology case
- [USS Gerald R. Ford (DD-710)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/uss-gerald-r-ford/): The Ford's electromagnetic catapults in depth

## Reel vs. record

- **Confirmed from the frames**: the Reel is about carrier catapults and EMALS (captions at 10.5–12.9 s: 'electromagnetic aircraft launch systems, or EMALS'). [NAVAIR; NAVSEA]
- **Nuance**: 'Modern U.S. carriers use either steam catapults or EMALS.' This is true, but EMALS is only on the Ford class (CVN 78 and later). Every Nimitz-class carrier uses Mk 13/C-13 steam catapults. [NAVAIR; USNI News; DTIC]
- **Imprecise**: 'EMALS, which attach to a launch bar on the jet's nose gear.' The launch bar engages the catapult's shuttle, and this is the same for steam and EMALS; it isn't unique to EMALS. [NAVAIR shared-generator article; Naval Technology]
- **Footage note**: the launch shots (around 15–17 s) show steam venting from the catapult track. That suggests at least some clips are of a steam-catapult carrier, not EMALS. [visual observation; DTIC on steam catapults]
- **Clarification**: 'in just a few moments' means about two seconds. Sources describe a launch pulse of a couple of seconds. [Naval Technology; NAVAIR]

## Video: Sending EMALS: Carrier Catapults Fling Fighter Jets to Flying Speed in About Two Seconds

- Duration: 22.5 s · Published: 2026-02-06
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DUb73PYEfvM.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? Fighter jets launch from aircraft carriers using a catapult system designed to accelerate aircraft to takeoff speed in just a few moments. Modern U.S. carriers use either steam catapults or electromagnetic aircraft launch systems, or EMALS, which attach to a launch bar on the jet's nose gear and rapidly pull it down the deck, providing the immense force needed to reach flying speed in a very short distance. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: What does EMALS stand for?**  
A: EMALS is the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, built for Ford-class carriers. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Same job, new machine) · Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), NAVAIR product page; Navy completes EMALS shared generator testing (NAVAIR))_

**Q: Which U.S. carriers use EMALS?**  
A: USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and later Ford-class carriers have EMALS. Nimitz-class carriers use steam. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Most of the fleet still runs on steam) · Sailors Talk First USS Gerald R. Ford Trap, Launch (USNI News, 2017); Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs? (DTIC report ADA602992))_

**Q: What part of the jet does the catapult grab?**  
A: The nose-gear launch bar hooks onto the catapult shuttle, which drags the jet down the deck. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit C (Launch bar meets shuttle) · Navy completes EMALS shared generator testing (NAVAIR); EMALS: launching aircraft with the power of the railgun (Naval Technology))_

**Q: What kind of motor drives EMALS?**  
A: A linear induction motor under the deck creates a traveling magnetic field that pulls the shuttle, like a maglev train. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (A linear motor in the deck) · EMALS: launching aircraft with the power of the railgun (Naval Technology); A High-Tech Launch System for Carriers (IEEE Spectrum); Sailors Talk First USS Gerald R. Ford Trap, Launch (USNI News, 2017))_

**Q: Where does EMALS store energy before a launch?**  
A: Motor-generators store energy in the inertia of their rotors and release it as a pulse. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit E (Energy in spinning rotors) · Navy completes EMALS shared generator testing (NAVAIR); Navy Announces Successful Test of Electromagnetic Catapult on CVN 78 (NAVSEA, 2015); EMALS: launching aircraft with the power of the railgun (Naval Technology))_

## Sources

- [Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), NAVAIR product page](https://www.navair.navy.mil/product/Electromagnetic-Aircraft-Launch-System-EMALS)
- [Navy Announces Successful Test of Electromagnetic Catapult on CVN 78 (NAVSEA, 2015)](https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/Article-View/Article/588870/navy-announces-successful-test-of-electromagnetic-catapult-on-cvn-78/)
- [EMALS: launching aircraft with the power of the railgun (Naval Technology)](https://www.naval-technology.com/features/featureemals-launching-aircraft-with-the-power-of-the-railgun-4380838/)
- [A High-Tech Launch System for Carriers (IEEE Spectrum)](https://spectrum.ieee.org/a-hightech-launchsystem-for-carriers)
- [Sailors Talk First USS Gerald R. Ford Trap, Launch (USNI News, 2017)](https://news.usni.org/2017/08/02/usni-news-video-sailors-talk-first-uss-gerald-r-ford)
- [Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs? (DTIC report ADA602992)](https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA602992.pdf)
- [Aircraft launch, recovery historic firsts aboard USS Ford (NAVAIR, 2017)](https://www.navair.navy.mil/node/25356)
- [Navy completes EMALS shared generator testing (NAVAIR)](https://www.navair.navy.mil/node/19951)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Sending EMALS." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-025, last updated Feb 6, 2026. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/sending-emals/