# Project 4004 — EMALS

**Program element:** 0604112N — Gerald R FORD CI NUC Aircraft Carrier CVN 78-80  
**Project:** 4004  
**Component:** U.S. Navy  
**Appropriation:** 1319 — RDT&E, Navy  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604112N/4004  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604112N

## Summary

Project 4004 — EMALS requests $30.0M in FY2027, 27% of the $111.2M requested for program element 0604112N, up 34% on FY2026. 1 R-2A activity decomposes the request. General Atomics is the largest named R-3 performer at $19.0M, 63% of the project's FY2027 R-3 total.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 7.7 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 22.4 |
| FY2027 | Request | 30.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 21.7 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 7.7 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 1.6 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 1.7 |

> Estimate types are not summed. This project is one leaf of PE 0604112N; the PE total is the sum of its projects, never added to them.

## What project 4004 buys

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is an advanced technology system developed as part of, and integrated on new FORD Class Carrier ships, beginning with CVN 78. EMALS provides better control of applied forces, both peak and transient dynamic loads, improved reliability and maintainability, increased operational availability, and reduced operator and maintainer workload. The EMALS program will undergo future system improvements to address safety, obsolescence, and reliability, to include but not limited to Automated software testing, Electrical Isolation, Advancing Additive at Large Scale to Address Readiness and Sustainment (AALSTARS), Block Switch Controller (BSC) Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), Software Support Activity (SSA), Autosuspends, Maintenance Laptop, Catapult Status Dashboard (CSD), Windows 10 End of Life Transition, and EMALS Server & PC-104 Obsolescence, and other emergent requirements. Automated software testing development provides for rapid, repeatable tests, resulting in higher quality software. Automated testing enables rapid diagnosis of system faults and decreases troubleshooting response time for the fleet. EMALS is a software intensive system and highly dependent on reliable software operation. The readiness and mission benefits include the ability to provide the fleet with affordable, quality, well-tested software capable of launching and recovering aircraft on Ford-Class carriers. Development of Electrical Isolation provides for EMALS capabilities to continue launch operations while being able to isolate catapults for regular maintenance, in turn improving maintenance cycle times. This provides readiness and mission benefits to enable continued operations and increases system mission capability. Implementing the AALSTARS initiative will demonstrate alternative manufacturing methods of select EMALS components. This will reduce manufacturing lead time and costs for highly complex, long lead time items. Developing BSC CPLD provides additional space on a critical control card to allow for future firmware and logic updates in order to ensure timely functionality and to support future changes. This also addresses a known obsolescence issue.

**R-3 lines of work:** Product Development; Support; Test and Evaluation; Management Services.

## Named R-3 performers

| Performer | $M | Share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total |
|---|---|---|
| General Atomics | 19.0 | 63% |
| NAWCAD Lakehurst | 10.9 | 37% |

> Budget-justification contract funding, not obligations. Shares need not reach 100% — unnamed and government work is in the denominator.

## Activities (R-2A) — 1

| Activity | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 | Move | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMALS System Improvements | 7.7 | 22.4 | 30.0 | +34% | [a0](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604112N/4004/a0) |

> Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. In the request year they partition this project exactly; in earlier years they can under-cover it.

### EMALS System Improvements

To continue Primary Hardware (HW) Development for Electrical Isolation and conduct the Critical Design Review (CDR) and Test Readiness Review (TRR); the development of additive manufacturing capability on select EMALS components via the Advancing Additive at Large Scale to Address Readiness and Sustainment (AALSTARS) project; and the…

Full year-by-year narrative: https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604112N/4004/a0

## What is NOT on this page

Congressional marks, the R-2 mission description and acquisition strategy, the industry vs government split of the whole request, and related program elements are recorded at **program-element** grain — an NDAA mark lands on a PE, never on a project. They are at https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604112N.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Navy RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-2A/R-3, PE 0604112N project 4004 (PB PB2027).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604112N")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*