Early this morning, the Navy was able to successfully launch a F-18 Super Hornet. This new kind of catapult can launch a variety of aircraft, including the small ones that could not be launched on earlier catapults, up to 180 knots. This was the first time an aircraft was used; this catapult will pave the way for UAVs being used on these ships. This technology uses the electricity from the ship's nuclear generators and should be placed on the new USS Gerald R. Ford class. These new aircraft carriers will be launching in 2015.
This complements the US Navy's recent tests on rail guns, which also used electromagnetic to deliver a shell a couple of miles at couple times the speed of sound. It has been proven to be cheaper and safer than the current Tomahawk cruise missiles that are currently carried on our destroyers.
I think it is good that the Navy is starting to modernize in the event of a conflict with the growing superpower of China, but it also will give the Navy more bargaining power over smaller rogue states that threaten our ships. It is time for the US Navy to have the power to defend its carriers and leads to less loss of life through the use of UAVs. What do you think about these recent advances in Navy technology? Comments? Thoughts?
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