Advanced Arresting Gear
| AAG | |
|---|---|
 Advance Arresting Gear for US Navy CVN78 Ford Carriers | |
| Arresting length | 340 ft |
| Arresting time | 3 seconds |
| Cycle time | 2 minutes |
The current MK 7 hydraulic arresting system outfitted on the ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers will be replaced on the Gerald Ford-class carriers by the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) unit for recovery operations. The AAG is designed for a broader range of aircraft, including UAVs, while reducing manpower and maintenance. Rotary engines which use simple energy-absorbing water turbines (or twisters) coupled to a large induction motor provide finer control of the arresting forces.
Design and development
The AAG is being developed by General Atomics for the U.S. Navy's newest Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.
On March 31st, 2016, GA-EMS, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy, conducted the arrestment of an F/A-18E Super Hornet[1] at the Runway Arrested Landing Site (RALS) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, New Jersey. Previously, AAG tests had only involved dead loads simulating the weight of aircraft at a jet car track installed at the base. The first deadload arrestment was March 27, 2011.[2]
To date, that site has executed more than 1,200 dead load arrestments. Testing has been delayed four and a half years due primarily to a serious problem with the water twisters, discovered early in 2012.[3]
Existing water twister systems are fixed in their capacity to absorb energy. For AAG there is a variable energy dissipation by the water twister. There is an actual moving plate inside the water twister that adjusts how much resistance to the water is generated. Initially there was an underestimation of the forces involved inside the water twister because it is a three-dimensional flow field. Internal plates that take the force of the water weren't strong enough and finding a solution has taken some time
In 2016 the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense found that the AAG remained unproven.[4]
References
- ↑ "AAG Program Successfully Completes First Aircraft Arrestment". General Atomics & Affiliated Companies. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
- ↑ GENERAL ATOMICS MP4 Video AAG First Deadload Arrestment
- ↑ DEFENSENEWS Amid Criticism, US Navy Confident in New Arresting Gear System for Next Carrier
- ↑ Potter, Matt (8 July 2016). "Nearly $1 billion blown on General Atomics contract". www.sandiegoreader.com. San Diego Reader. Retrieved 11 July 2016.