Navy loads up ‘catapult’ to launch aircraft
THE Royal Navy is seeking a catapult system to launch drones and jets from aircraft carriers as a possible “Plan B” for the F-35.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has asked industry for ideas about “aircraft launch and recovery systems” to be fitted to ships in the next five years. The MOD document said it “wishes to assess the availability of electromagnetic catapult, and arrestor wire systems for the launch and recovery of air vehicles”.
Potential solutions should be “sufficiently technically mature to be fitted to a suitable ship from 2023”. The system must be capable of launching an aircraft of almost 25 tons, with arrestor gear able to handle just over 21 tons – the discharge of fuel and weapons reducing the weight of returning aircraft. These weights are typical of modern crewed fighter aircraft, but might also indicate that future heavy-lift drones providing combat, refuelling, airborne radar or logistic services are being considered.
Aircraft are catapulted from ships using either high-pressure steam from the ship’s reactors or, in modern systems, electromagnetic power. The towbar on the jet’s front wheels is attached to a block that runs in a channel along the flight deck. To land, the pilot has to snag cables stretched across the ship with a hook at the tail of the aircraft.
George Allison, a defence expert, said the request from the MOD “shouldn’t be taken as an indication that the Royal are abandoning the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B model and returning to catapult launched fighters”. More likely, it would be used for “larger uncrewed aircraft as the Armed Forces begin to rely on them more, in place of crewed platforms,” he said.
It is anticipated that the Integrated Review will reduce the total number of F-35 jets from 138 to the 48 for which £9 billion has already been committed.
Tim Ripley, of Janes Defence, said the idea of using an electromagnetic catapult system and arrestor gear – known as “cats and traps” – showed the MOD was experimenting in a bid to avoid mounting defence procurement costs.
The F-35 programme has produced affordable jets, he said, but the systems required to support the aircraft meant the project was expensive.
“They seem to have been able to make it to price, but they can’t operate it to price, [the MOD] needs to have a Plan B,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
His concerns echo recent comments from the US chief of the air staff. Gen Charles Q Brown hinted that supporting F-35s was so expensive, they should be used less as a multimission fighter and more for special missions only. “You don’t drive your Ferrari to work every day,” he said. “This is our ‘high end’ [fighter], we want to make sure we don’t use it all for the low-end fight.”
Mr Ripley said that as the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers were expected to remain in service for around 50 years, they would not always fly the F-35B.
The Mod’s future combat air system, Tempest – expected to be a mix of crewed planes and drones – could be operated by cats and traps. Tempest is due in service from the mid-2030s.
Britain’s new carriers have been built to take electromagnetic catapult sysnavy tems in the future. HMS Prince of Wales had been designed with the US navy’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System in mind. However, when the MOD decided to buy the vertical take-off variant of the F-35, the plans were stopped.
Electromagnetic catapults allow for a smoother acceleration of the aircraft compared to steam systems, thereby reducing stress on airframes.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “The Royal Navy is committed to ensuring it is ready to confront future wars, and is exploring the use of novel and innovative technologies including uncrewed air systems.
“This tender is purely an informationgathering exercise to gauge existing technology and it is not an indication of intent of further procurement activity.”