American Navy has released a video showing the USS "Ford" aircraft carrier using its electromagnetic catapult to launch F-18 "Super Hornet" fighter jets and E-2D airborne early warning aircraft, currently operating in the Norwegian Sea in Europe.
The USS Ford is currently unable to effectively launch F-35C aircraft, mainly due to high failure rates of its electromagnetic catapult system, with actual intervals between failures far below design specifications; the maximum catapult weight has not reached expectations, and cannot meet the requirements for F-35C to take off fully loaded.
Additionally, when this aircraft carrier was designed and built, the F-35C had not been fully finalized, and some systems (such as the jet blast deflector) were not configured according to the F-35C standard; in order to control construction costs, some F-35C-specific equipment was postponed installation. The F-35C was initially designed for steam catapults, and its airframe structure is more sensitive to the different thrust curves of electromagnetic catapults.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1844396899023883/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.