Arresting Gear - Sea-based Systems

Sea-based Systems

Modern carriers typically have three or four arresting cables laid across the landing area. All U.S. carriers in the Nimitz-class, along with Enterprise, have four wires, with the exception of the USS Ronald Reagan and USS George H.W. Bush, which have only three. The Gerald R. Ford-class carriers will also have three. Aircraft coming in to land on a carrier are at approximately 85% of full throttle. At touchdown, the pilot advances the throttles to full power. In the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft, the aircraft automatically reduces engine thrust to 70% once the deceleration of a successful arrestment is detected. This feature can be overridden by the pilot by selecting max afterburner. If the aircraft fails to catch an arresting cable, a condition known as a "bolter", the aircraft has sufficient power to continue down the angled flight deck and become airborne again. Once the arresting gear stops the aircraft, the pilot brings the throttles back to idle, raises the hook and taxies clear.

In addition to American CVNs, the French Charles de Gaulle, the Russian Kuznetsov, the Brazilian São Paulo, the Chinese Liaoning, as well as the Indian Vikramaditya are active or future aircraft carriers installed with arresting gears.