NTS to test advanced arresting gear, electromagnetic aircraft launch system for General Atomics
CALABASAS, Calif., 19 Nov. 2009. National Technical Systems Inc. won contracts by General Atomics (GA) Electromagnetic Systems Division (EMS) of San Diego, Calif., for the performance of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and environmental testing for the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) and the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS).
NTS, under contract to GA EMS, supports environmental qualification testing at GA's EMS manufacture and test facility at Tupelo, Miss. Some tests are being conducted at Joint Base McGuire-Dix , Lakehurst, N.J., where full-scale EMALS and AAG systems are installed and qualified by GA- EMS and the Navy. The EMALS and AAG customer is Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
NTS will provide environmental and EMC test engineering and evaluation for AAG and EMALS systems to be installed on CVN 78. The contracts have a combined estimated value of $4,500,000. Testing will be conducted at the major assembly and component levels. Additional testing will be conducted at NTS laboratories located in Santa Clarita and Fullerton, Calif.; Boxborough, Mass.; and Tinton Falls, N.J.
The EMALS system consists of a high-voltage transformer rectifier manufactured by Neeltran, high-power inverters manufactured by GA EMS, a large motor generator, to store energy, manufactured by Kato, and a rectifier manufactured by L-3 Pulse Power Division. Four linear induction motors manufactured by GA EMS will accelerate the launch aircraft from a dead stop to about 150 knots in 3 seconds or less.
