Page 50 - NAVAL FORCES 03/2017

Air & Space

ships to the “Gerald R Ford,” the USS “John F Helicopter Landing Systems not only assists in landing helicopters but is
also used to move the helicopter into the han-
Kennedy” and the USS “Enterprise.”
Features arrestor wire systems used on this class. The sents very different challenges to those faced gar using a rail embedded into the flight deck
Operating helicopters from warships pre-
GA is also working to revolutionise the
and hangar. Helicopters using the system first
by fixed-wing aircraft. Pilots need to be able
company’s Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG)
drop a messenger cable on to a ship’s desk, to
uses electric induction motors and energy-
absorbing ‘twister’ water turbines mounted on to judge the roll and pitch of the ship they are which the deck crew then attaches a tethering
cable that is pulled up to the helicopter. Once
attempting to land on, as well ensure they can
the same rotating shaft with a system below react to unexpected gusts of wind. under tension, the cable is used to pull heli-
deck on both ends of a cross-deck arresting To make sure helicopters do not slip or skid copter down onto the deck, where it is secu-
wire. This new system replaces the traditio- off warship landing pads before deck crews red with a mechanical probe and can then be
nal hydraulic-based arrestor systems currently can secure them with chains, several navies manoeuvred into the ship’s hanger.
used on the “Nimitz” class carriers. In the ear- have developed mechanical clamps that can be To enable use with helicopter types other
ly days of the project, the AAG also suffered employed in a few seconds. than those used by the USN and its main allies,
technical problems, but the USN and its con- The USN and several of its key allies, in- Indal also produces the ASIST and TC-ASIST
tractors seem to have overcome most of them. cluding Canada, Japan, Spain and Taiwan, system. These use probes to secure a helicop-
By installing EMALS and AAG systems on use the Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse ter to a specially configured deck immediately
the new carriers, along with many other new (RAST) system, developed by what is now after landing. The deck can then be rotated to
features, the USN hopes to reduce their crews Curtiss-Wright Defence Solutions’ Indal divi- align the helicopter with the ship’s hanger.
by several hundred personnel and dramatically sion. RAST is a development of a system used Another pioneering helicopter recovery
increase the sortie rate of their air groups. by the Royal Canadian Navy in the 1960s and system, officially known as the TRIGON,
but often called the “harpoon” system, was
originally developed by MacTaggart Scott in
the 1960s for use by RN Westland WASPs
A US Navy FA-18 is position on a catapult and has subsequently been migrated onto the
(Photo: US Navy) LYNX and MERLIN helicopter families. The
harpoon is fitted to the underside of helicop-
ters and operates in conjunction with a steel
grid fitted on the ship’s landing pad; the pilot
hovers just above the deck and at an appro-
priate moment employs the harpoon, which
goes through the grid, using locking clamps to
secure the helicopter to the deck. This system
can work without the need for any personnel to
approach it, an important safety consideration.
Increasingly important parts of any aircraft
landing systems are synthetic training devices,
allowing aircraft and deck crew to be trained
to operate them in a safe and efficient manner.
Typical of these products is Cohort’s SEA di-
vision’s DECKsim solution, with support from
subcontractor XPI Simulation, allowing flight
deck controllers and operators to practice the
safe landing of helicopters on warships. One of
the simulators is installed at the RN’s School
of Flight Deck Operations at Royal Naval Air
Station Culdrose, providing simulation and
visualisation of helicopter approach, landing,
departure and circuits, including manual and
automated flying; flight deck operations, in-
cluding animations of the deck crew and asso-
ciated deck equipment, such as the tele-brief
cable and refuelling hose; and airfield opera-
tions, to enable training of ground marshalling
skills.
This is an exciting time for naval aviators, as
new deck operations technology and systems
begin to enter service. Some of these systems,
such as EMALS, have been delayed for techni-
cal reasons but they now seem to be coming
on line and will revolutionise the operation of
aircraft from carriers. NAFO

f MH-60R of HSM-48 lands on
USS “Vicksburg “during
Exercise Joint Warrior.
Note RAST probe below the helicopter.
(Photo: Tim Ripley)
48 NAVAL FORCES III/2017