Aircraft carriers enable a country to project its strength far away from its territory. They have been in use since World War I. Their impact have increased with the rise of air power especially from World War II.
Taking off from and landing on an aircraft caerrier has been a challenge since its inception. Aircraft need longer runways to gain enough speed for take off. Similarly during landing, aircraft need enough runway to decelerate from high speed. Aircraft carriers have limited length. So there are various techniques used to support take off and landing on aircraft carriers.
STOBAR (Short Take-off, But Arrested Recovery)
In STOBAR, the aircraft are capable of taking off from a shorter runway. The aircraft are first held by restraints at full afterburner and then released. The carrier provides a ski-jump to assist in take off. Generally the aircraft carry less fuel and fewer weapons to be able to take off using STOBAR.
The recovery is assisted via arresting wires. The tailhook catches the wire, which helps in losing speed.
The recovery is assisted via arresting wires. The tail hook catches the wire which helps in losing speed.
Both of the aircraft carriers of India INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant use STOBAR. Apart from India, China also operate aircraft carriers using STOBAR. Russia’s only carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, is also STOBAR, but it has been out of service since 2017.
CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-off, But Arrested Recovery)
In CATOBAR, the aircraft are hooked to a catapult and then thrown down the deck. It can support heavier aircraft. The catapults are steam-powered (Nimitz class, Charles de Gaulle) or electromagnetic (Ford class, Fujian).
The recovery is assisted via arresting wires. The tail hook catches the wire which helps in losing speed.
Generally western navies e.g. American and French carriers use CATOBAR. Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian also uses CATOBAR.
* The above article was written by me and the illustrations were created using Claude Opus 5.5.