Despite their short decks, aircraft carriers can operate heavy aircraft with the CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-off but Arrested Landing) system.

Traditional steam-powered catapults gave its place to electromagnetic EMALS (Electromagnetic Launch System) on the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carriers built for the US Navy. The system, which operates in a similar manner with the new generation electromagnetic weapons, brought many unknowns along with its advantages. USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has been launched recently with the highest number of aircraft deployed with CVW-8 air wing during the post-delivery test and trial process. In the course of safe communication, tactical data link and network enable weapon tests, EMALS system malfunctioned. Research continues on the failure of power handling equipment during manual reset of the system.

The Navy launched study to review procedures and identify steps that might have a negative impact on EMALS.