IAC 2 - INS Vishal to be a CATOBAR Aircraft Carrier - There are mainly two types of aircraft carriers - 1) STOBAR (Short take-off but arrested recovery) - It is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier, combining elements of both short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) without catapult-assisted take-off but with arrested recovery (CATOBAR). Aircraft launch under their own power using a ski-jump to assist take-off (rather than using a catapult like most carriers). However, these are conventional, rather than STOVL aircraft, and thus require arrestor wires to land on the ship. The STOBAR system is simpler to build than CATOBAR — but it works only with light, and lightly armed, fighter aircraft that have a high thrust to weight ratio. As of 2013, it has only been used regularly on Russian and Chinese carriers. Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems have been proposed for STOBAR operations. 2) CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take- Off But Arrested Recovery) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Under this technique, aircraft launch using a catapult-assisted take-off and land on the ship (the recovery phase) using arrestor wires. The catapult system in use in modern CATOBAR carriers is the steam catapult. Its primary advantage is the amount of power and control it can provide. Although this system is more costly than alternative methods, it provides greater flexibility in carrier operations, since it allows the vessel to support conventional aircraft. Alternative methods of launch and recovery can only use aircraft with STOVL or STOBAR capability. NOW, TO IAC 2 - INS VISHAL: The Indian navy is likely to call an end to its tryst with ski-jump aircraft carriers, deciding that its next big vessel will be a flat-top with a catapult-launch system. While Indias first home-built carrier, known as the Vikrant, is to be a 44,000-ton short-takeoff-but-arrested- recovery (Stobar) carrier, the second ship—tentatively titled Vishal (“Immense”)—is seen as a 65,000-ton flat-top with a steam-catapult system. The Naval Design Bureau, which oversees design and implementation of all indigenous warship building efforts, is expected to freeze its requirements by year-end A commodore with the Naval Design Bureau says, “A decision has been taken to move away from conventional STOBAR and Short-Take-Off-Vertical- Landing (STOVL) designs.” The Indian carrier Vikramaditya—the former Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov—and first indigenous carrier (Vikrant) will be transition vessels to Stobar operations. The next logical step is catapult-assisted takeoff-and- barrier-arrested recovery (Catobar), “which brings with it immense advantages in the mix of assets we can deploy on deck,” says the commodore. A flat-top configuration also supports the navys interest in fixed-wing airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft for operations off a carrier, and comes as good news for Northrop Grumman, which has spent the better part of the last decade pitching its E-2 Hawkeye to the Indian navy.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 08:04:17 +0000
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