The aura of steam is as expected on the deck of a Navy carrier as is the smell of jet fuel.  The steam catapult has been launching aircraft from Naval aircraft carriers for decades.

The Electro-magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) of the new Gerald R. Ford class carriers hopes to change that.

The EMALS system would be the first new launch system since the Navy replaced hydraulic catapults with steam-powered systems in the 1950s. An electro-magnetic system has numerous advantages over steam. EMALS, which involves energizing a series of electro-magnets, is less stressful on aircraft and can launch a wider range of aircraft.

Of course, the entire concept is predicated on electromagnetic fields, so one wonders what kind of interference such a system will have not only on the ship on which it is installed, but also the aircraft its launching.

The EMALS successfully “launched” an F/A-18E Super Hornet on December 18th from a modified runway in New Jersey.  Though the Hornet wasn’t tossed precariously over the water as with other carrier-based launches, it presumably reached its required launch speed at the specified distance.