The new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the U.S. Navy’s new class of aircraft carriers cannot catapult warplanes carrying external fuel tanks.
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By U.S. Navy photo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Naval Air Systems Command discovered last year that the acceleration crated by the electrical motors caused too much stress to the fuel tanks.
New software from EMALS are being written to adjust the power exerted during launches.