Aircraft Landing

Aircraft Landing

Aircraft Carriers - The Future

An increasing number of countries see aircraft carriers as viable platforms for projecting national power - there are currently nine countries which have carriers in at operational status: Brazil, France, India, Italy, Russia, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States. Surprisingly, China does not yet formally have a carrier in service, though this is expected to change in the near future. The worldwide total number of operational aircraft carriers is now twenty two, with half of that fleet being in US service. Eight nations have new carriers in the concept, design, bought/refurbishing or new build stages. Spain has been successful selling its 'Principe de Asturias' design to several countries, and China, Japan and India are developing a carrier build capability - in China's case, even a nuclear powered carrier. VTOL (vertical take off and landing) aircraft - the UK Harrier derivatives are used for example by India, Spain and Italy, has enabled these countries to project credible carrier power. The US F35D carrier variant - a STVOL configuration - can only 'grow the market' amongst 'western' nations.

Many see the aircraft carrier as a keystone of political influence, in spite of the vast concentration of power and investment (both political and financial) in what is a highly visible and, arguably vulnerable target.

Russia currently has one operational aircraft carrier at present and is an interesting exception. The country extends for almost 12 time zones - nearly halfway around the world . With a fleet of advanced land-based aircraft and effective missile arsenal, it can project its power without the need for a large carrier fleet, at least in the northern hemisphere.

What is an Aircraft Carrier?

A floating, mobile airbase, though not capable of handling large transport planes such as those used for in-flight refuelling. This definition is generally taken to include any vessel capable of handling fixed wing fighter aircraft, of which there are several types. For these purposes, we exclude pure helicopter carriers, as even cargo ships can carry these as was the case in the Falklands War.

Types of Aircraft Carrier

Supercarrier: these are typically greater than 50,000 tons loaded displacement, usually nuclear powered, and able to handle fast jets

Fleet Carrier: mid size typically 20,000 tons upward, not nuclear powered, maybe even diesel powered, the 'typical' size in a country's fleet.

Light Aircraft Carrier: smaller than the fleet carrier, though this definition is vague.

As can be seen, this way of classifying navy aircraft carriers is dependent on a country's fleet configuration. Some might well describe the carrier Charles de Gaulle as a supercarrier - steam catapults, nuclear powered, but is it really a supercarrier when compared to, say, US aircraft carriers such as the US Nimitz Class, of nearly 100,000 tons displacement and typically carrying well over 100 fixed wing aircraft?

Carrier Configurations

CATOBAR : catapult launching of fixed wing aircraft but arrested recovery.

STOBAR: Short take off but arrested recovery. Typically, these have been using the UK Sea Harrier VTOL aircraft in STOVL mode using a 'ski jump' launch.

STOVL: Short take off and vertical landing. As with STOBAR, but vertical landing i.e. without arrester gear. Less attractive on account of the additional fuel load (equals less armament load) required for the landing phase, and flight deck damage problems due to its down directed exhaust jet whilst landing.

Entry Barriers to the Aircraft Carrier Club

These include:

Constitutional bars, such as Japan, Germany and (until recently) Italy, following their World War 2 aggression have constitutional prohibitions on ships which launch fixed wing aircraft.

Operational Capability Development takes a lot of investment and political commitment. Used carriers and infrastructure requirements can be bought or hired. A new branch of naval operations has to be set up. This is not trivialA major task - training establishments have to be set up and operated, replenishment, repair and logistics operations have to be established, for example, and even a whole career structure for officers and ratings.

A navy must develop its tactical and strategic policies to effectively present and operate its carriers in line with its national strategic objectives in a coherent whole that is credible to other nations.

Even the basics - establishing the 24 x 7 operational tempo of running a carrier have to be developed, implemented and rehearsed endlessly if the deployment of a carrier force is to be credible - launching at night in bad weather, crew rescue procedures, anti-submarine measures, aerial defence, coordinated carrier protection - the list is extensive. Some navies cooperate in this respect.

Aircraft Carriers - The Future

The future of the carrier is assured. New generation STOVL aircraft, and the emergence of India and China into the serious carrier club (with Pakistan also likely to join during this century) means that before the mid 21st century, the carrier arms race will be accelerating.

Britain is building bigger carriers - the Queen Elizabeth Class supercarrier. These new UK aircraft carriers will be almost three times the size of their previous generation; decommissioned carriers are increasingly being bought by smaller nations, so the operational worldwide tonnage is bound to increase - average annual new build tonnage is higher than scrappage; the US is building a new generation - The Gerald R Ford Class. Countries which have an operational aircraft carrier never willingly give up that capability.

Electromagnetic launch systems - simpler, lighter, more powerful than old-tech steam catapults are being designed. These will be able to launch unmanned aircraft at G forces which human pilots could not survive. Aerial operations flown by unmanned planes flown remotely by carrier-based (or even land-based) jocks via secure data link - an extension and broadening of existing Predator operations into dogfighting.

New carrier-busting missiles such as the Chinese Dong Feng 21D (NATO CSS 5 Mod-4) will lead to accelerated defensive technology developments.

About the Author

What's the future in in
technology
, politics and culture? Find out now about the Middle East based thriller
Gate of Tears
- a thrilling blend of gold fever, politics and naval confrontationwith China.

Which naval aircraft has or had the fastest landing speed?

I was thinking about the wings on aircraft and thought of the speed at which some have to land because of lift. So I am wondering about the F-4 and the F7U. Particularly the F-4 because it is more of a delta type wing. Does this mean it had a high take off and landing speed therefore making it difficult for carrier operations?

Swept-winged jet's end speed is faster than straight-winged jets. The actual end speed differential among swept-winged jets is not much. It is all around 165 knots. The landing speeds are roughly the same too. The big difference for landing is the weight of the airplane when it traps. The wires are set by the weight of the plane, not the type of airplane. A big, heavy F-4 will require more tension on the wires than a much lighter A-4. If there is too much tension, the airplane will jerk to a sudden stop, possibly snap the wire and cause it to whip around the deck like a giant scythe. Also, the tail hook could be broken causing the plane to just roll off the angle without enough speed to fly. This all takes place within a second or so, there is no reaction time. That's why you see the pilot eject as the bird dribbles over the angle with the LSO is screaming in his ear, "EJECT, EJECT, EJECT". If the tension is too loose, the plane continues to roll out until it dribbles over the angle. Again reaction time is so short that the pilot winds up punching out as the bird is falling toward the water. The LSO is screaming in the pilot's ear to "EJECT". Every "Ball" call made by the pilot as he sees the ball in the mirror includes the weight of the fuel on board the plane as it is approaching the deck. Every plane has a max trap weight and the fuel is generally the main variable.

insane 747 plane landing!