During the in-person/zoom hybrid meeting, Retired GA Development Manager Robert Gross explained the new Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) on aircraft carriers at sea.
Mr. Gross told Rotarians about upcoming military technology that stops planes on an incoming aircraft carrier. Once a plane hits the carrier’s grooves, the AAG grabs the aircraft’s tail hook with redundant cables to ensure it stays aboard and doesn’t fall into the ocean. If the plane misses the first cable, the hook usually catches on the second cable. The inertia of an unmovable cable absorbs the energy of the travelling plane bringing it to an abrupt halt.
As a result, the cable stops the plane on the deck and disengages from the tail hook.
A plane, traveling at over 90 mph, transfers a lot of energy to the cable that stops it within 370 feet. What happens after the plane stops? The cable transfers that energy to the water twister, and it raises the water temperature 68 degrees F. Once personnel chain down the aircraft, the cable automatically rewinds using a cable follower to pull it into a drum. The follower wraps the cable in a consistent fashion without kinks or folds. While it is run on an electrical motor, there is a manual brake to stop the cable as a backup to the software system. The whole AAG software system management is handled by a two supervisor control servers with maintenance workstations down below the deck.
The USS General R Ford will be the first aircraft carrier to use the AAG. The schedule shows first deployment in 2022.