The electromagnetic catapults and electromagnetic arresting systems installed by the US Navy on the Ford class have huge technical obstacles that are fundamentally difficult to overcome. This is the technology of using medium voltage alternating current from the beginning, which has proven to be essentially unsolvable. A few years ago, there was a rare 'super understanding' in the superpower field, nicknamed 'Understanding WANG', who publicly proposed to directly switch back to steam catapults and traditional oil cylinder arresting technology. As soon as this proposal was put forward, Langshan commented that even those who have reached the limit of their status and execution within the superpower would only be talking about proposing this only feasible ultimate remedy. Because of the huge military industry within the superpowers, it is a cake of interest. No one can move it. The facts over the past five years have fully proven Langshan's judgment at that time. The problem at the Ford level is still my nephew playing lanterns, everything remains the same! So, where exactly is the problem with the electromagnetic catapult with medium voltage AC system?Firstly, the output of the catapult is incomplete. So far, only aircraft with a maximum ejection capacity of 25 tons can be launched. This is true both on the land test line and on the actual ship of the Ford. The problem is that the most common maximum takeoff weight for today's main carrier based aircraft is close to or exceeds 30 tons. Even the C13B2 steam catapult, which is well used on the Nimitz class, can launch heavy carrier based aircraft weighing up to 32 to 33 tons. Now the Ford class electromagnetic catapult has directly reversed its ejection capacity by 7 to 8 tons, causing all F35Cs to be unable to eject; The F18EF, which is full of fuel and bullets, cannot be ejected; Isn't it a joke that only light loaded F18 can be launched? Of course, the F18, which can launch light loads, can at least continue to deceive the public, as most novices cannot tell whether the F18 is in a heavy or light load state during the launch process. However, the current medium voltage AC catapult is more troublesome than insufficient ejection output, as the ejection weight cannot be changed midway. That is to say, if the aircraft is launched, all aircraft must have the same takeoff weight, with a difference of no more than one ton, and the maximum weight should not exceed 25 tons.

This phenomenon completely goes against the original intention of developing electromagnetic catapults. A major drawback of steam catapults is that the weight of the catapult is difficult to adjust. After all, as soon as the valve is opened, a large stream of steam pops out. Assuming that in the early years, a 32 ton F14 was first ejected from the Nimitz class, followed by a 27 ton E2C early warning aircraft, the ejection operator would need to manually adjust a large number of solenoid valves to reduce the required amount of ejection steam and ultimately decrease the ejection force. Otherwise, directly using the force of 32 tons to eject a 27 ton early warning aircraft may cause the more fragile early warning aircraft to immediately disintegrate. When Langshan was young, he had operated steam solenoid valves, not catapults but other steam equipment, but the principles were basically the same. Adjusting once for at least 15 minutes to half an hour may not be precise. This efficiency is seriously inadequate compared to the requirement of launching a carrier based aircraft in two or three minutes in actual combat. The question is, what if the E2C is ejected and the next aircraft to be ejected is another F14? This requires increasing the ejection force again.So the operators of the steam catapult were repeatedly tossed and killed, and everyone supported replacing the electromagnetic catapult. After all, for electromagnetic devices, different ejection forces can be achieved in just a few seconds by entering different values on the control panel. In theory, once on the medium voltage AC catapult, it is found that it is almost impossible to easily change the catapult weight. Someone made a change once, but the entire system crashed and restarted for a full 3 hours. As a comparison, another company's medium voltage DC catapult can freely launch any aircraft from 3 tons to 45 tons for over 10000 sorties! This is what makes people more popular than dead people! And now the electromagnetic arresting device on the Ford class may have a bigger problem than the electromagnetic catapult. Experts have long said that the principle of electromagnetic arresting device is to reverse the principle of electromagnetic ejection, but Americans just don't understand. Therefore, there is reasonable reason to suspect that the type of arresting system still used on the Ford class today. After all, it is completely invisible from the outside which type of blocking system it is,This is very different from the appearance of steam catapults and electromagnetic catapults at a glance. Since the US Navy still hasn't figured out its own electromagnetic catapult and electromagnetic interception technology, how dare it openly promote the export of such high-tech to the outside world? The reason is not complicated, first of all, it is natural to lose without losing. Although the unbearable fact is there, the superpowers never dare to admit that they have spent hundreds of billions of dollars, and all four Ford class aircraft carriers that have been in continuous operation are ultimately unusable; This is a fundamental fact that anyone in a superpower cannot let go of their words. If we admit to reality that losing face is a small matter, wouldn't we openly acknowledge that the surface and air power of the superpower's navy in the coming decades are already castles in the air, completely vulnerable? If a core product still dares to claim that it can be sold, it implies that it can still be used. Whether it's true or false, don't say it. At least in terms of promotion, one should not actively admit to being cowardly. Secondly, the technological confidence of a superpower is not just a problem of its own, but a broader issue that concerns the collective confidence of the entire Western world.

If a leading Western leader admits to creating over 400000 tons of steel waste first; And it has completely fallen behind in the core military technology for the 21st century, so it would be a devastating psychological blow to all the followers and subordinates who have long looked up to it. To the point where the hearts of the people have completely dispersed and the team cannot continue to lead would be a catastrophic disaster for the entire West. Therefore, it is not just the superpowers themselves, but also some key subordinates who intentionally or unintentionally take the initiative to continue this farce for a long time. Thirdly, although superpowers claim to share their electromagnetic catapult and electromagnetic interception technologies with so-called allies, in reality, there are very few countries that truly need to purchase these technologies. After all, steam catapult and oil cylinder arresting technology and equipment have only been sold to the French side in history, and there have been no other buyers. As for electromagnetic systems, in the future, besides France, only South Asia will be interested and have practical needs. Perhaps Japan, South Korea, Australia, and others have similar ideas,But the superpowers still have concerns about whether these three countries need to be equipped with regular catapult aircraft carriers. For the French side, installing catapults on their new 70000 ton aircraft carrier will have to wait at least until after 2040; As for South Asia? Can its catapult type aircraft carrier take shape by 2070? Therefore, the actual procurement demand from the outside world is still very early. As long as there is no actual combat.

Source: Military of Strong Countries