The U.S. Navy has systems capable of guiding an airplane in for a landing—some aircraft can land completely on autopilot.
The very first airplane autopilot system was developed in 1912, only nine years after the Wright Brothers’ historic first powered flight—and long before anyone thought about flying a jet aircraft, let alone taking off from a Navy ship. Lawrence Burst Sperry was the American engineer who developed the system.
Navy pilots may now use advanced, automated systems such as the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System or software-based Precision Landing Modes—also known as “Magic Carpet.” These systems enable hands-off or assisted, high-precision autolandings on aircraft carriers using a tailhook and arresting wires.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (July 28, 2024) An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), July 28. The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is underway in the Atlantic Ocean completing integrated naval warfighting training. Composite Unit Training Exercises are an intense, multi-week exercise designed to fully integrate a carrier strike group as a cohesive, multi-mission fighting force, to assess their ability to carry out sustained combat operations from the sea, and drive future warfighting development. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Logan Nystrand)
When the Magic Carpet autopilot is engaged, the plane will fly on a 3-degree glideslope to the carrier deck regardless of wind and other conditions outside, according to reporting by USNI News.
By calculating the carrier’s movement while sailing over the ocean, Magic Carpet accurately predicts the location of the landing place by the time the fighter reaches it.
These systems, along with the traditional optical landing system and guidance from a landing signal officer, enable safe carrier traps.
However, naval aviators primarily land manually to maintain essential airmanship skills for combat. Autopilot can fail in turbulent weather conditions or during high-stress, dynamic scenarios, such as a pitching deck.
Lieutenant Commander Matthew Dominick, a test pilot in the carrier suitability flight test department of the VX-23 Air Test and Evaluation Squadron, said that while “I am still uncomfortable with how few inputs I’m making,” the system has earned his trust. This was especially true once he started intentionally off-nominal passes.
Landing On A Aircraft Carrier, Aim For The One In The Middle:
Adam Daymude, a former Navy EA-18G Growler pilot, was quoted on Quora as saying that pilots do not trust autopilots for landings on aircraft carriers:
“There is an inherent refusal to accept autopilot as the method for recovery with Navy pilots. I will be the first to stand up and say, ‘Hell, no!’ On a nice, calm day with natural wind of 25 knots or so, the autopilot is amazing. It fails spectacularly under other conditions.”
ATLANTIC OCEAN, (Feb. 15, 2024) An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Pukin Dogs” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 210 returns to flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman is the flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and is currently underway conducting flight deck certification as part of the basic phase.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Natalia Thoen)
As Daymude and other pilots argue, the autopilot struggles with the complex, non-repeatable conditions of a moving flight deck and turbulent airflow:
“A pilot will look at the wake and will know what that wake means for landing. I’m here to tell you that unless they’ve massively improved auto-recoveries in the ten years I’ve been out, I would never trust full autopilot.”
Auto-throttle or automatic systems can fail in critical moments, such as pulling power when it is needed to increase speed—this can be fatal:
“Setting auto-throttle, which will try to keep you at speed, was a bust. I flew auto throttle for half a cruise… around 100 landings, and no problems. On landing 101, the auto throttle tried to kill me by pulling power at the exact moment that I needed to add power. So, 1 percent of the time, my trusty steed is going to try and kill me.”
On final approach, Navy pilots aim for the middle arresting wire, which is either the second or third, depending on the carrier’s configuration.
Once the aircraft touches down, the pilot holds the throttles at full power for 3 seconds. This is done to keep the engines spooled and provide thrust in case a bolt occurs—meaning the plane misses every wire—or a cable snaps.
U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Dec. 29, 2024) A U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) prepares an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81, for launch from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
Afterward, the pilot reduces the engine to idle, and the hook is raised on the aircraft director’s signal.
Manual Landing Is Safer Than Auto Pilot Landings:
Daymude argues that manual aircraft landings on carriers are safest:
“Manual landings are still the safest way to recover. We’ve tried, in particular, I, working with our simulator software development team to build an algorithm that works in all situations.
“How do you tell a software engineer why you added power at a specific moment when it didn’t look like you needed it, but turned out to be the right correction at the time? I literally shrugged my shoulders and said, “I don’t know! The plane seemed to want to descend.” That’s called seat of the pants, and you can’t model it easily.”
Manual landings are considered the ultimate test of a naval aviator and are necessary to maintain high-level proficiency.
U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Dec. 29, 2024) A U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling), left, and a U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) prepare an F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81, for launch from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
Pilots must be able to use visual cues—the optical landing system, lineup, and angle of attack—to ensure a safe landing.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
