Navy Testing ‘Magic Carpet’ for F-18 Carrier Landings

The United States Navy has been testing a new and revolutionary software for aircraft carrier landings called the Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies or what some are calling the “Magic Carpet”.

Watch: The Navy’s Magic Carpet System Explained

That was the smoothest night trap I’ve ever flown, send me up again,” said Lt. Zach “Bamboo” Hutchings, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8.

Renamed Precision Landing Modes (PLM) by aircrew, it provides improved safety, efficiency and success rates in recovering fixed-wing aircraft on board aircraft carriers while easing pilot workload, improves overall boarding rates, creates the potential to reduce tanker requirements and improves Naval Aviation’s effectiveness.

“PLM is probably the biggest advancement to carrier aviation since the IFLOLS was installed,” Moreno said. Deployed on all carriers by 2004, IFLOLS—the improved Fresnel lens optical landing system—is a stack of 12 light cells, which produce a single ball-shaped image used by carrier pilots to determine the glideslope as they approach the carrier to land.

“Every aircraft is continually on glideslope with a stable and predictable energy state. Ultimately, this makes landing at the aircraft carrier safer,” said Lt. Greg “Cinder” Blok, CVW-8 Paddles. – Naval Aviation News

The software is reportedly working with great success basically making it much easier and safer for pilots to land on the ship. That is a good thing! Navy pilots have to go fly their mission and then come back and face what may be the toughest part of the flight, landing safely on the carrier.

Testing of the system is ahead of schedule.

Featured image of Landing Signal Officers evaluating an F/A-18F Super Hornet pilot landing aboard USS Washington (CVN 73) using the Precision Landing Modes software also known as Magic Carpet by Liz Wolter, US Navy