Video shows F-16 using the tailhook to catch the arresting cable at Tulsa International Airport

Video shows F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Oklahoma National Guard in Tulsa, OK, testing a newly installed barrier arresting system at the Tulsa International Airport.

Tailhook landings by land-based aircraft are used in emergency situations to arrest a plane experiencing a failure that could imply a braking malfunction.

Some drones use a similar system to be recovered by ground crews in Afghanistan.

Oklahoma ANG’s 138th Fighter Wing F-16s tested two aircraft arresting systems on Tulsa joint-use Runway 08/26 by simulating a malfunctioning aircraft on approach requiring the aircraft to engage the arresting cable at 120 knots (138 mph).

Known as BAK 12/14s, the arresting system utilizes a retractable cable support system that gives air traffic controllers the ability to raise and lower the 1 1/4-inch diameter cable below the pavement as needed.

According to Garver, a construction company involved with the project works at Tulsa, the cable system has a runout of 1,200 feet and can stop a jet traveling up to 180 knots (207 mph).

About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.