Naval Aviation

Firsts

Leading the way in

Innovation
Ski-Jump
In the 1970s Lt Cdr Doug Taylor invented the Ski-Jump. This upwards
curving ramp at the forward end of the flight deck ensures that the aircraft
is launched on an upward trajectory giving considerable performance gains,
including much greater payload and range, than a corresponding flat
deck, short take-off. The early trials proved so successful that the
Ski-Jump was incorporated into the design of HMS Hermes
and the Invincible Class carriers.

Click Left for

LAST HARRIER
(GR9) EVER Ski
Jump Take Off
royalnavy.mod.uk/flynavy100
HMS Ark Royal
24 Nov 2010

SRVL

Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing

1909 - 2009

BAe/McDonnell Douglas Harrier by Andy Evans | CROWOOD AVIATION SERIES 1998

...A study which evolved from an idea by a Naval officer, Lt Cdr D.R Taylor. was undertaken at Southampton University in 1972. This was to have a great impact on the Sea
Harrier's ability to carry a heavier load direct from the ship, thus increasing its effectiveness. He showed that an appreciable advantage could be gained by launching a VSTOL
aircraft from a flat deck with an upward inclined ramp at the end. RAE Bedford undertook
to try out the theory, building an adjustable, scaffolded ramp, and between August 1977
and June 1978 tested it at inclinations varying from 6 to 20 degrees. with Bill Bedford
making the first 'leap' in XV281, followed by the two-seater XW175. The idea was that the
pilot would start a 90ft run, and the ramp would impart a ballistic trajectory to the aircraft,
while the pilot would select 35 degrees down nozzle to arrest the aircraft's sink rate as the
white line at the end of the ramp passed the edge of his peripheral vision, before he gradually moved the lever aft as the aircraft achieved wingborne flight. The gear came up as
the aircraft reached 220 kts pulling 12 degrees AOA (angle of attack): a simple yet devastating answer to a big VSTOL headache. Thus for any Harrier take-off weight, the launch
speed could be about 25 kts or less than from a flat deck. This also then translates into a
50 per cent shorter take-off run, or more importantly 30 per cent more fuel or weapons can
be carried. So conclusive and impressive were the test results that the Navy took the decision to incorporate a ski-jump on the Invincible class carriers, where for reasons of self
defence (mainly due to the position of the forward Sea Dart launchers) they were initially

set at 7 degrees, but during Hermes's refit her ramp was set at what was considered to be the optimum, 12. The ramps were later revised to a 12-degrees fit on Ark
Royal, Invincible and Illustrious....

SHAR
BAe/McDonnell Douglas Harrier by Andy Evans
CROWOOD AVIATION SERIES

John Farley 25 Nov 2012: It is easy to misunderstand

the benefits of a ski-jump, or inclined ramp, on a ship.
If you run a car or a bike up one you will fly (remain above the height of
the level deck ) for a while even though these vehicles have no lift generating
capability.
If you use an aeroplane that has some lift generating capability you will
fly for longer even though you may not have lift equal to your weight. In this
case if during the time you fly (thanks to the ski-jump) you can accelerate to
a speed where lift will equal weight you have completed your takeoff.
So to obtain the advantages of a ski-jump (with any aeroplane) you need
two things:
1. A good t/w [thrust to weight] ratio very common with many current
military aircraft enabling you to take full advantage of the seconds of flight
that the skijump provides.
2. You need to be able to control the aircraft pitch and roll attitude at the
(low) ramp exit speed either by good aerodynamics or a reaction control
system.

[Art Nalls would add: ...and a good WOD (Wind Over Deck)]
-

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/501297-china-lands-jet-first-aircraft-carrier.html#post7539618

Ski Jumping for STOVL

25 Apr 2014

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/538128-f35-display-uk-year-3.html#post8450029

ENGINES: ....Ski jumps can be used by both conventional and powered lift (STOVL) aircraft.
In both cases, they launch the aircraft into the air below its normal takeoff speed, and the
aircraft then spends a period of time in a reducing rate of climb while it accelerates to full
wing borne flight, and then climbs away. It's been described to me as a 'runway in the sky'.
However, the two types get very different levels of advantage.
A conventional aircraft (e.g. Flanker, or Fulcrum as used by Chinese and Russia) cannot be launched
below normal takeoff speed at max gross TO weight (MGTOW), as the only way they can maintain a safe
minimum rate of climb is to adopt a high angle of attack and use engine thrust as best they can. That
creates more drag, which delays acceleration, which means lower rate of climb away from the sea. This
is why you don't see these aircraft launch with many external stores, and it helps explain an unusually
public complaint by a Chinese Navy Admiral over the poor performance of his aircraft.

Conventional ski jumps aren't new, but have usually been discarded due to the
inherent limitations I've summarised above.
A STOVL aircraft can launch at much higher relative weights, because it can vector
its thrust to the optimum angle to support the aircraft by a combination of wing lift and
powered lift so as to deliver the required acceleration and climb out. The angle will be
scheduled after launch to move aft as wing lift builds. (Of note, the UK sets a minimum
400 fpm rate of climb as the limiting performance measure for ski jump launches).
Ski jump launch is an extremely effective system for maritime STOVL aircraft, is low workload and
safe, as the pilot is guaranteed to be climbing away from the sea, and has more time to react in the event
of an engine failure. It also delivers a large improvement in launch weight compared with a flat deck STO.
Oh, and the ski jump was a Royal Navy invention. And the F-35B lift system integration & flight controls design was led by some amazingly talented Brits. And Brits are leading the STOVL flight testing...."

Ski Jumping for STOVL Pt

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/538128-f35-display-uk-year-3.html#post8450458

ENGINES: ...the powered lift system on the F-35B can't vector all the
thrust aft like the Harrier does. That's part of the trade off in getting your
main propulsion engine located at the rear of the aircraft, where it really belongs for a fighter/strike type aircraft.
The lift fan can vector aft to around 50 degrees: on the X-35 there was a
sort of 'pram hood' device that gave further aft vectoring - however, this was
replaced in development by a much lighter 'vane box' device (UK designed)
which still gave enough aft vector to meet the requirements. These were a
set distance for a flat deck STO, and another shorter distance for a ski jump
launch. The launch weight was driven by a defined operational scenario.
The roll posts deliver around 2,000 pounds thrust each in balanced
operation, but they are turned off during the STO run and switched back on
just before launch. This facility was suggested by a very talented RN FAA
air engineer, and gratefully adopted during the weight saving programme.
Another excellent Brit contribution.
The point overall is that the F-35B meets all its STO requirements, as well
as its short landing targets. And it's a much heftier bird than the Harrier

over 55,000 pounds off the ramp....

Engines 26 Apr 2014 http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/538128-f35-display-uk-year-3.html#post8452299

The ship and the aircraft have proceeded side by side for many years now. At meetings in
2003, the CVF team were demanding a ski jump profile from LM. That profile wasn't available then, but was provided around 2006/7 once the F-35 team had done enough sim work
on ski jumps with mature flight control models.
The thing to grasp is that ski jump ops are a low risk area of the F-35B programme. Ski
jump launch is not as 'dynamic' as a flat deck STO, & in some areas the F-35B offers less
challenges than the Harrier.
-

Engines 29 Apr 2014 http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/538128-f35-display-uk-year-4.html#post8455995

The landing gear layouts on the Harrier and the F-35 are fundamentally different, especially
in the nose leg area. The Harrier has a 1950s style 'bicycle' or 'tandem' layout, & the weight
of the aircraft is split almost 50/50 between the aft leg (we called the 'main') & the forward
leg (which we called the 'nose leg').
What this meant for Harrier ski jump ops was that the front leg was fairly heavily loaded. We increased the liquid spring pressure for ski jump ops, and the limiting condition
was to avoid total closure of the nose leg spring as it reached the end of the ski jump. (The
leg started closing as it entered the ramp, & closed steadily as it approached the exit lip).
The F-35 has a more conventional 'tricycle' layout, with the two main gears taking
around 90% of the load, the nose leg taking around 10%. The early checks on ski jump profiles & predicted launch speeds showed that the nose leg loads during ski jump launches
were well within the highest design load, which was driven (I think) by vertical landings,
with an arrival on the nose leg as the worst case, or with high lateral drift. The forthcoming
tests at Pax will provide the real data.

...the convoy was HMS Argus, the 1918

progenitor of all aircraft carriers. With Hurricanes as deck cargo, they approached to
within a couple of hundred miles of Murmansk when she flew off the Hurricanes to
find their own way to Russia. Two damaged their under carriages on the launching
hump at the end of the deck and had to fly
wheels down all the way.... c. mid 1941
-

http://www.raafinrussia.com/commandernatgouldran.html
-

Commander Nat Gould RAN

14 Dec 2010 by Geoff Raebel
http://images.yuku.com.s3.amazonaws.com/image/jpeg/af815e98d165935bcdb1e3deefd6993a4224cc3.jpg

HMS
Argus
with
Barracudas
and
RAMP
aka
launch
-ing
hump
17 July
1944
http://
images.yuku.com.
s3.amazonaws.co
m/image/
jpeg/15d352f19efd
daad62249702588
bd551ab3e438.jpg

such an advantage due to the extra payload it permitted. The British very early on foresaw

of the rolling take-off and this is why they developed a simple, reliable and above all
Short take-off and vertical landing; a close advantages
very fast-acting (100[degrees]/s) vectoring system.
look at anhistorical technical breakthrough Where do We Stand Now, Thirty Years On?

Author: Bally, J.J. Date: Oct 1, 1989

Publication: Armada International

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Short+take-off+and+
vertical+landing%3b+a+close+look+at
+an+historical...-a08530123

Today, with the exception of a few British Harrier units, the NATO Tactical Air Forces still depend
on their 2 400 metres-long, paved runways. The number of such suitable airstrips available in
Western Europe is well below a hundred. The potential enemy knows their exact position and they
are not likely to move overnight. It should not be forgotten that during the past three decades,
anti-runway munitions have made tremendous strides. Not only are they now extremely accurate,
using submunition-dispensers carried in stand-off guided missiles, the pilots no longer have to
overfly the target. What is more, these munitions are now interspersed with a mix of antipersonnel mines intended to slow down or prevent the repair work.

Short Take-off and Vertical Landing

A Close Look at an Historic Technical Breakthrough

To pretend that airbases can be defended 100% against air attacks at a reasonable cost is
another typical example of refusing to face unpalatable facts. Who can say how many runways will
still be usable at dusk on D-day? The most pessimistic optimists maintain that even on a cratered
Vertical take off was not really a new idea. At the beginning of the 1940s, the Germans developed runway an undamaged section 500 or 600 metres long can always be found to allow take-offs.
the Bachem 339 Natter, a rocket-engined fighter which took off from a tower just like the Space
Granted. However, the real problem is landing. A modern conventional fighter can take off on a
Shuttle with the help of four solid propellant boosters and was recovered by parachute. Not until
very short strip thanks to its 1 g acceleration at full throttle. But on landing its deceleration is about
the emergence of the jet engine was the concept revived.
0,25 g on a dry surface and never exceeds 0,5 g even when making full use of thrust reversers
(only fitted on Tornados and Viggens). While on take-off the pilot can use every foot of the
From the end of the 1950s onwards, there was a blossoming of several exotic designs whose
available lenght by releasing brakes at the very edge of the paved surface, the precision of the
main merit was to clarify the problem and to "darwinize" potential solutions. Almost every
touchdown point on landing is far from being so accurate, never being less than within about a
manufacturer had a go, with the exception of Bell, who tackled the problem the other way round
hundred metres even for a very experienced pilot. By and large, the minimum length required for
and launched research into the tilt-rotor. Thirty years later, Bell's V-22 Osprey is a remarkable
landing is at least twice that required for take-off.
example of rewarding tenacity.
To close this chapter, it is an odd fact that the only West European countries whose tactical air
forces can reasonably hope to survive an all-out war are two neutral powers, Sweden and
The various designs which were tested at the time can be divided into five main families: * The
"tail-sitters", which rested on the ground on their tail, taking-off vertically: in the USA the Ryan X- Switzerland. With a population of 8.3 million people, Sweden maintains 500 modern combat aircraft
(France has barely 200 more) sheltered in tunnels and operated from a score of narrow strips
13 (1956) and in France the SNECMA "Atar Volant" (1959). * The "flow-switchers", with twin 2D
thrust diverters and aerodynamic "gearing": e.g. the Lockheed XV-4A (1963), Ryan XV-5A (1964) scattered in the forests or from highway sections. The 300 Swiss fighters are safely protected in
caves dug in the mountains, together with all their logistics. Runways are generally sited in deep,
and Rockwell XFV-12A (1978). * Aircraft using pure dynamic lift. Several small, fixed jet engines
narrow valleys, surrounded by 3,000-metre mountains which provide the cheapest and most
located in the wing and fuselage provided vertical thrust while the cruise engine installation was
efficient protection against air attacks.
conventional: e.g. the Shorts SC-1 (1960), Dassault Balzac (1963), Dassault Mirage IIIV (1966)
and Lockheed XV-4B (1966). * Hybrids (lift engines plus a cruise engine supplying vectored
At Sea
thrust), e.g. the EWR VJ-101C (1963), Dornier DO31 (1967), VAC 191B (1972) and the Soviet
Yak-36 Freehand (1976). * Pure vectored thrust: e.g. the Bell X-14 (1958), the British P.1127
Even more than on land, gigantism at sea has now become a chronic affliction that leads
(1960) and the Soviet Yak-38 Forger (1967).
inexorably to a budgetary and operational dead-end. The well-proven deck-landing system aboard
The prototypes mentioned above are only a few of the numerous designs which were flight-tested. ships has not changed in more than half-a-century, consisting of arresting wires on the deck and
a tail hook on the aircraft.
Most of them, at least in the West, were fitted with British engines.
Of all the configurations tested during the past three decades, only two survived and were
developed to the production stage: the Soviet Yak-38 Forger and the British P.1127, which gave
birth to the Kestrel

Launching and recovering aircraft at sea still require a strong relative wind over deck, exactly foreand-aft. The carrier - and her escorts - must therefore constantly change course and speed
according to the tactical situation, even if a single aircraft has to be launched or recovered. All this

takes time and planning and wastes ship's fuel.

A Carrier Vessel Battle Group (CVBG) at sea is far more vulnerable than it was three decades
ago. The threat of new weapons like long-range anti-ship missiles and nuclear attack submarines
is such that defending the so-called sanctuary in which the carrier is supposed to move around
freely and safely takes up an ever-increasing proportion of its shipborne aviation, in fact
considerably more than 50%. Paradoxically on its "attack" carriers, the US Navy spends the bulk of
its budget on defensive assets.

From 1971 onwards, the US Marine Corps ordered a total of 110 Harriers, including eleven twoseaters under the American designation AV-8A to be operated from LPHs and LPDs. For years,
the Marines had been trying to achieve the operational self-sufficiency which only the STO/VL
could provide. They had nasty memories of the abrupt departure of the Navy carriers at
Guadalcanal in 1942, leaving them in the lurch with no air support. Their initial experiences with
the AV-8A proved very satisfying and they are now in the process of acquiring a total of more than
300 AV-8Bs, the American version of the Harrier II developed jointly with the UK and now in
production in the USA by McDonnel Douglas. A first batch of 72 aircraft was authorized at the rate
of 24 yearly in FY 1989, 90, and 91.

The net result of these aberrations is that the "cost-effective" size of an aircraft carrier able to
operate modern conventional fighters is now close to 100 000 tonnes at a unit price of roughly $ 4
billion, which is an awful lot of eggs in one basket. At that rate, even the USA can hardly keep up. The Lessons of the Falklands Campaign
Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman's "Maritime Strategy" called for maintaining 15 superThe Harrier is far from being an unproven newcomer. In service for almost twenty years, its
carriers in the fleet, but the actual projected number is already dwindling to 12.
various versions had logged more than half-a-million hours of flying time by the end of 1986.
During the Falklands conflict in 1982, the 28 Sea Harriers operating from HMS <<Hermes>> and
The British Answer
<<Invincible>> shot down 23 Argentinian aircraft, while on the British side not one was lost or
even hit in air combat. Ten Harrier GR3s from the RAF, whose pilots had no previous deck
Despite official scepticism and the abandonment of VTOL development by most manufacturers,
the British, alone, did not give up. Pragmatic, inventive, stubbornly sticking to their own views and training, were also engaged. Four Harriers/Sea Harriers were lost in accidents and five were shot
with supreme disregard for outside opinion they casually went their own way. They grasped very
down by the Argentinian ground-to-air defense. The operational attrition rate was never greater
than 0.5% per sortie. Aircraft serviceability never fell below an astonishing 85% throughout the
early on that thrust vectoring was the right approach.
campaign.
Incidentally, the basic configuration of the four vectoring nozzles was brought to England by a
French engineer, Michael Wibault, who in 1956 approached Bristol Aero Engine (now part of Rolls- Appalling weather conditions, which would almost certainly have precluded operating conventional
Royce) with his Gyroptere design, the ancestor of what was to become the Harrier.
aircraft from a large carrier, very seldom kept the Harriers/Sea Harriers idle on deck. Some were
recovered in almost zero visibility (less than the ship's deck-width) or in extreme sea-state
The experimental Hawker P.1127 built on the Gyroptere design first flew in 1960 equipped with a conditions with the flight deck moving vertically through as much as 10 metres.
Rolls-Royce Pegasus jet engine. Then came the Kestrel and eventually its production derivative
(more than 90%) the Harrier, which entered service in the Royal Air Force in 1969. The Royal
In people's minds, the Harrier is now the symbol of the Falklands campaign, much as the
Navy joined in much later and rather hesitatingly with the Sea Harrier (a "navalized" Harrier GR3) helicopter gunship is of the Vietnam war.
which only entered fleet service in 1979. But how could the Navy have guessed at the time that
The Harrier: a Few Facts
the ski-jump take-off technique would so enhance the payload performance of the aircraft?
Incidentally, turning the Harrier into Sea Harrier was achieved at a "cost" of only 45 kg in empty
weight, as compared with several hundred kilograms for the navalization of a conventional fighter. The non-reheated Rolls-Royce Pegasus turbofan of the Harrier/Sea Harrier/AV-8B has of course
been upgraded since that of the original Kestrel. Its thrust is now in excess of 10 tonnes, almost
Interestingly, the costs of the initial development stage (the first three years on the P.1127 and the double what it was 25 years ago, but its general architecture remains unchanged. The four
nozzles, arranged in a rectangle, two either side under the wing and two further aft, can be
first four years on the Pegasus engine) were entirely borne by the manufacturers without any
rotated through 100 [degrees] from fully aft to about 10 [degrees] forward of the vertical. The
order, grant or subsidy from the government. This was very fortunate for had the government
control mechanism is simple (a "bicycle-type chain" driven by pneumatic actuators) and fast (100
funded the project, it would certainly have imposed its own solution, which at the time was the
hybrid concept (separate lift plus lift and cruise engines), and there would today be no Harrier. The [degrees]/s). The front nozzles exhaust more than 60% of the air flow (at 360 m/s and 110
[degrees] C), the aft nozzles 40% (at 550 m/s and 650 [degrees] C).
programme suffered from the usual inter-services rivalry. At the time, the RAF considered it
essential for a fighter to have a speed of Mach 2 and therefore showed very little interest (except
In dynamic flight, the aircraft is controlled in pitch/roll/yaw and trim through the Reaction Control
that it saw in the Harrier the spectre of the re-emergence of the Fleet Air Arm). When the Navy
finally came round to accept the STO/VL concept, it had to take care to conceal its true intentions. System (RCS ) consisting of small, variable-area shut-off valves located at the wing tips and at
HMS "Invincible", the lead ship of a batch of three new aircraft-carriers, was designated "through- both ends of the fuselage, fed from HP compressor bleed at about 10 kg/[cm.sup.2] and 400
deck cruiser" and at the time of her commissioning, the Navy selected a name which no previous [degrees]. These valves are controlled by stick and rudder the same way as ailerons, rudder and
carrier had ever borne.
elevators in aerodynamic flight. They start to operate automatically when the main nozzles are

vectored down to 20 [degrees] regardless of airspeed, the pilot having to take no specific action
and being in fact unaware of what type of control (aerodynamic or dynamic) he is operating when
he moves his stick or the rudder pedals. On the ground, the front wheel of the tandemtype main
undercarriage can be steered with the rudder pedals. In the cockpit, the thrust vectoring lever is
the only additional control that distinguishes the Harrier from a conventional fighter. Located within
the throttle box, the lever has an adjustable stop for short take-off. This allows the pilot to
preselect the vectoring angle at the selected lift-off speed or lift-off point, according to the landing
run available and other usual parameters (load, wind, temperature, elevation, etc.). The take-off
run is then initiated with the nozzles fully aft. When the pilot reaches the selected lift-off speed (or
the end of the ramp in a ski-jump takeoff), he slams the nozzle lever to its preselected stop and is
airborne, about two-thirds on engine power and one third on wings.
Specific Operating Procedures and Limitations
The Harrier is not a helicopter. In the hover, it is less sensitive to gusts and wind direction. It is
less manoeuvrable than a helicopter, particularly in the vertical axis. The aircraft is a bit "sluggish"
and hence slower to recover from over-control. Touch-down is not as accurate as in a helicopter
but typically within about one metre of the intended point.

quiet about it.) Subsequent trials gave this phenomenon the official seal of approval.
"Viffing" has several advantages whose cumulative effects greatly enhance the aircraft's air
combat capabilities. * It increases total lift, thus permitting tighter turns. * It generates (even with
as little as 20 [degrees] of vectoring) a powerful nose-up trim change, enabling the pilot to bring
into his sights an enemy at which he would otherwise have no hope of shooting. * The Reaction
Control System, which starts to operate automatically at 20 [degrees] of vectoring, greatly
enhances the manoeuvring capabilities in a dogfight. * It produces an extremely powerful
deceleration (-2g), enabling the pilot swiftly to shake off a pursuer or missile. * While "viffing", the
engine remains at full power, allowing the pilot instantly to reaccelerate when he brings back the
vectoring lever to the full back stop.
These various factors combine to give the Harrier a decisive advantage in a dog-fight. Because
his flight path is unpredictable, the Harrier pilot is liable to open fire at any moment. In a ground
attack, the increased rate of turn through "viffing" enhances survivability and increases the
chances of hitting the target on the first run. "Viffing" also provides for easier speed control in a
dive and shortens the reaction time in attacking a target of opportunity.

"Viffing" so enhances manoeuvrability in air combat that irrespective of the STO/VL performance,
On take-off, when applying full throttle, the pilots should be careful not to "drift" on the tyres since this capability would certainly spin off on conventional fighters if it could be afforded without
the engine takes several seconds to reach its maximum thrust (one aircraft just skidded overboard incurring too heavy a weight penalty. The vectoring mechanism weighs a mere 45 kg. Together
with the RCS, the total weight of the systems is in the order of 160 kg, less than 3% of the
during the Falklands campaign).
operational weight empty. Peacetime dummy engagements against various fighter types (F-14, FFor various reasons, notably due to the design of the tandem-type under-carriage, an aircraft at a 15, F-16, F-4, F-5E) showed that the Harrier/AV-8B outperformed them all in "visual initial
encounters" by 3:1. Aircraft on both sides were flown by experienced pilots of equivalent training
weight significantly greater than maximum hover weight cannot be recovered at airspeeds below
70 to 80 knots, thus precluding a carrier landing at this weight without an arresting system. In any levels. In the contest, the F-16 was the runner-up. * The second technique unforeseen when the
Harrier was developed is the ski-jump take-off. Lt. Cdr. Doug Taylor, RN, first proposed this
case, the gear is not designed for high vertical impact velocities.
technique in 1973. It seems that his initial concern had been to make a rolling take-off safer on
board ships, particularly on a pitching deck. In a large conventional carrier, pitching is quite
The Harrier is not a good glider. Its lift-to-drag ratio is of the order of 3:1. Ejection is the only
moderate even in heavy seas. Moreover, a catapult launch is so fast that the flight deck officer
emergency procedure. Contrary to a widely spread legend, wooden decks (as in the Spanish
can adjust his timing to the pitching of the ship and launch when the deck comes up so as to be
"Dedalo") do not catch fire due to the hot exhaust jet. On a steel deck, one can walk barefoot
from where a Harrier just took off. The Pegasus engine produces no smoke, being a turbofan. Its sure not to "shoot" on a downwards trajectory. However, the Sea Harrier is designed to operate
from relatively small ships, more sensitive to sea states and with shorter pitching periods, and
IR signature is low due to the low temperature exhaust, masked underwing.
when performing a rolling take-off from a downwards pitching deck it might come dangerously low
over water. A ski-jump guarantees that regardless of the pitching angle the initial flight path will be
"Viffing" and Ski-jump Take-off
upwards.
Surprisingly and significantly enough, two important operating procedures of the Harrier which are
The ski-jump take-off procedure is similar to that of a rolling take-off on a short field. Before
today its two main selling points were initially developed by those that flew them and not by the
applying full power, the pilot sets the thrust vectoring lever stop to about 50 [degrees]. The
designer or offical research bodies. It just goes to prove that computers are not about to replace
nozzles are vectored fully aft during the deck run but as the aircraft reaches the top of the curved
the human brain and that the craftsman's skill can still challenge the best designer. * The first of
ramp, the pilot slams the vectoring lever to the preselected stop. At this point, the lift is split about
these is "Viffing" (<<Vectoring In Forward Flight>>) i.e. using
one third between the wings and two-thirds the vertical component of the engine thrust. The
airspeed is still too low for the aircraft to "fly" but as it arches up and levels off, the forward thrust
the thrust vectoring control in flight. The development of this technique owes much to the
component builds up speed while the pilot progressively brings the nozzles aft. Typically, the
pioneering work done by the US Marine Corps, in particular by the then Major Harold W. Blot
transition takes about 10 seconds to reach 180 knots in normal flight.
(now Brigadier-General and V-22 programe manager) who, in flight at 500 knots on an AV-8A,
slammed the vectoring lever to the hover stop, discovering that the deceleration effect was more
Another advantage of the ski-jump is that, should anything go wrong, it gives the pilot more time
powerful than any airbrake. (Some RAF pilots are said to have "played" with it before, but kept

to eject.
The ski-jump can also greatly reduce the take-off run or, using the same available strip length
with a ramp at the end, greatly increase the maximum take-off weight, and hence the payload.
Alternatively, the same payload can be flown off from a much shorter field. The gains are roughly
of the order of 50% (of load or length). During trials at maximum weight, astonishing end-speeds
of 75 knots were recorded on a 12 [degrees] ramp (65 knots less than a "flat" short take-off) and
even as low as 42 knots on a 17,5 [degrees] ramp. Ramp settings in excess of 20 [degrees] were
not tested for at 20 [degrees] the aircraft sustained a 4 g vertical acceleration and the wheel's
oleos just bottomed.
These gains are such that studies are now being made to transfer the ski-jump technique ashore
in the form of grid matting strips equipped with a mobile ramp. At sea, the ski-jump is now
standard on all new STO/VL carriers.
Jump Take-off and "2D" Nozzles

The Harrier is often accused of being incapable of lifting its maximum payload in the VTO mode.
True. But the Harrier is basically a STO/VL aircraft and the diehards are invited to name a single
conventional fighter able to lift its maximum payload on its shortest take-off run. * As for its
performance endurance, * the Harrier only burns some 50 kg of fuel in a typical take-off sequence
versus 250 kg for a modern twin jet fighter; * the fuel cost of a typical landing sequence is only 70
kg, with no extra allowance necessary for a missed approach; * in a dogfight the Harrier forces his
opponent to go over to reheat, without increasing his own fuel consumption; * above all, an almost
total disregard of weather conditions at the time of returning to base or to ship allows pilots to
draw much deeper on their fuel reserves and thus perform their mission with much greater peace
of mind. The typical fuel reserve of a Harrier at the break is in the order of 100 to 300 kg versus
800 to 1200 kg for a conventional fighter. * Payload
In ISA + 15 [degrees], an AV-8B taking-off from a flat 300 metre strip carries 4 tons of bombs with
a radius of action of 350 km. It should also be borne in mind that the forward basing capability
further reduces the actual range and reaction time to reach the target zone.

Ski-jump take-off and "viffing" have now gained so much favor that some aviation circles are
anxious to extend their benefits to conventional fighters. Within the framework of the painful A-6
replacement programme for instance, McDonnell Douglas is studying a Super Hornet F/A-18
equipped with "2D" nozzles (i.e. vectorable through an are below the fuselage axis) with
reheat and thrust reversers. This would give the F/A-18 some STOL capability, enhance its
manoeuvrability and increase its payload and/or endurance. Of even greater interest on that same
aircraft, the three legs of the undercarriage would be fitted with powerful actuators which would
play a role similar to that of pre-loaded springs. On take-off, at a given speed, they would
suddenly expand (nosewheel first for rotation), literally thrusting the aircraft off the ground without
having to wait for airspeed to build up and the stick to come into play.

At sea, the so-called performance gap between the Harrier and conventional fighters dwindles to
such a point as to turn to the advantage of the former, except in interception beyond visual range.
Anyone with carrier experience can remember how suddenly the casual routine of launching and
recovering aircraft becomes an emergency whenever a pilot reports low on fuel or if the deck is
unexpectedly fouled, even in fair weather. In peacetime, captains usually operate within gliding
distance of an emergency airbase ashore, which of course breeds bad habits. When the ship is
actually way out at sea, safety requires that a ship-based tanker aircraft be kept overhead roundthe-clock to help any plane short of fuel.

Last May, a US Air Force/McDonnell Douglas team began test-flying an F-15 STOL Maneuver
Technical Demonstrator (S/MTD ) fitted with "2D" nozzles and thrust reversers, a modified "rough
field" landing gear and an integrated flight controls/propulsion system (involving some kind of
dynamic attitude control at slow speed). The study contract, awarded in 1984, specifies that the
demonstrator should be able to operate from a 450/15 metres strip. Both initiatives confirm that the
main purpose of the ski-jump take-off is to get the aircraft airborne sooner than it would otherwise,
and this is only possible if control on the three axes is achieved at speeds lower than normal takeoff speed.

Spotted for the first time on the "Kiev" in 1976, the Soviet VTOL Yak-38 Forger belongs to the
hybrid family. In the hover, the lift is roughly split evenly between its cruise, vectored thrust engine
(a pure jet) and two vertical thrust jets situated aft of the pilot, which leads to several inevitable
complications.

At sea, arrested landing at high speed has apparently been stretched to its ultimate technical limit,
and the ability of designers to invent new aerodynamic gimmicks intended to slow down the
approach speed is reaching the point of exhaustion. But the catapult is most likely to survive. It
may even gain more favor and see its use extended to land operation.

The Soviet Yak-38F

When the Russians decided to develop fixed-wing shipborne aviation starting from scratch, they
deliberately preferred to deploy a rather poor VTO to start with, rather than try to copy the Western
saga of catapults and arresting wires. The price paid for this conservative approach is that their
four "Kievs" are hybrids, more helicopter-carriers than full-fledged aircraft carriers. It should be
noted, however, that the latest Soviet aircraft carrier the 65 000t "Tbilisi" (ex-"Leonid Brezhnev")
has a 12 [degrees] ski-jump at the bow and an 8 [degrees] angled deck. "Belt and braces", some
will mutter. Though the ship has no catapult, her configuration seems to confirm that the Russians
are developing a conventional naval fighter (a derivative of the Su-27 Flanker?) and an improved
derivative of the Forger, the STO/VL Yak-41.

Performance
The Supersonic Harrier
The raw performance of the Harrier in terms of speed, payload and endurance does not of course
match the F-14, F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. A fair comparison must however take into account their
respective capabilities.

The Harrier design team very early on undertook the development of a supersonic derivative of the
basic aircraft. In 1965, only five years after the subsonic prototype (P.1127) first flew, a supersonic

prototype (P.1154) was about one-third completed at Kingston when the British government of the
day cancelled the programme.
The main challenge of course was to increase the engine thrust while keeping the original welltried configuration of four vectoring nozzles. Merely adding an afterburner to the existing engine
was out of the question as it would have unbalanced the longitudinal thrust split of the four
nozzles in the hover. The original solution for the P.1154 was Plenum Chamber Burning (PCB) i.
e. heating the relatively cool fan flow directed through the front nozzles. While the PCB principle
was extensively tested on the ground, it never flew. Several other concepts were also investigated
including those of a "tandem fan" and RALS (Remote Augmented Lift System), which diverts part
of the compressed air flow to the front nozzles.
Whatever configuration may eventually emerge on some future supersonic Harrier, one thing is
certain: because the speed of the ejected flow in the hover will be significantly higher, two factors
will be of a major concern that are not critical on the existing Harrier: the recirculation of burned
hot gases (reducing engine efficiency) and the ingestion of ground debris in the air intakes.
While the development of a supersonic Harrier has officially been shelved for about twenty years,
the British have never actually closed the file. In line with their practice, they have quietly,
inventively and tenaciously kept on working, particularly on the engine side. The signature in
January 1986 of a MoU with the USA for the joint development of an Advanced [i.e. supersonic]
STOL aircraft is an indication that they did not come to the negotiation table empty-handed.
Nothing has leaked of what is being done (the programme is classified) but the ultimate outcome
is fairly certain: the future supersonic Harrier will be Anglo-American.

http://www.flightglobal.com/
pdfarchive/view/1980/1980%
20-%200091.html

HMS Invincible
c.1980

ski jump slope was initially 7,

later increased to 12 for all

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2944/dsc01461.jpg

JSF-B mockup Thames River HMS Invincible 2009

Harrier GR7 taking

off HMS Illustrious
(R06) 1998

http://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/c/c7/
Harrier_GR7_taking_off_HMS
_Illustrious_(R06)_1998.JPEG

I was TAD from VS-32 to FOF-3 as the S-3 (Viking) Liaison Officer. We didnt get into
Vestfjord, but Airops just outside were quite colorful. Watching a SHAR mis-time his roll and
fly through a wave (totally, and I mean totally, submerged) after he jumped off that pointy-end
ramp thing-a-majingy was quite an experience. Especially when Wings (their Airboss/CAG
equivalent) turned and looked up at me, stogie belching, and remarked:
Well Yak, thats gonna f!k up the bloody corrosion effort! Old Phantom driver he was.

http://www.neptunuslex.com/2010/12/15/final-flight/comment-page-1/#comment-663784

Old Hairier Driver Retort:

1) you can't "mis-time" to that extent.
2) a Sea Harrier flying through water is impossible
3) if a Sea Harrier was still on the ski-jump as the
wave broke over the bow it might look spectacular,
but the aeroplane would still be primarily in the air
and going upwards relative to the surface.

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/ontheroger/jump2.jpg

The 2011 SDSR saw the

withdrawal of the Harrier
from the Fleet Air Arm

http://www.fleetairarm
oa.org/Content/sites/
FAAOA/pages/164/
royal_navy_
matters20110.PDF

Flying the Sea Harrier: a test pilots perspective By Peter Collins, Flight International 20/04/09
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/04/20/325254/flying-the-sea-harrier-a-test-pilots-perspective.html
-

Royal Navy Cdr Nigel "Sharkey" Ward and the Royal Air Force's David Morgan gained their place in British
military folklore by flying the navy's British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS1 fighter with distinction during the 1982
Falklands War. Flight International's UK test pilot Peter Collins offers a rare insight on flying the "SHAR", having
sailed south aboard the rapidly completed aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious as the combat action drew to a close.
Freshly posted to Germany as an RAF Harrier GR3 ground-attack pilot, Collins was recalled to the UK after the
war broke out and diverted to the Fleet Air Arm for a short tour flying the Sea Harrier. Type conversion was conducted with 899 NAS at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset between June and July 1982. "My first memory is of my first
FRS1 familiarisation flight, including 'Ski Jump' launch," says Collins. "The FRS1 cockpit wasn't like the GR3's at
all, with the engine and critical aircraft systems instrumentation on the left [rather than the right], to allow space for
the Blue Fox radar display. There was no Sea Harrier T-Bird [two-seat trainer] and no simulator training; just a
quick cockpit self-assessment in the last FRS1 left in the UK. And then go: taxi up to the very bottom of

the ramp, gaze upwards at what looked like Mount Snowdon (the ramp was set at the
maximum angle of around 18), remember some words of wisdom from somewhere,
pause, slam the throttle, depart the lip, take nozzles and fly away. Piece of cake!"
Collins then moved aboard HMS Illustrious aka "Lusty" with 809 NAS for the voyage to the South Atlantic.
The vessel arrived in the Falkland Islands Protection Zone in late August, with its SHARs flying combat air patrol
sorties to plug a gap until a new landing strip could be completed for the RAF. Recalling one experience, Collins
says: "It was a perfect day, but Lusty was heaving in a massive swell and the flight deck was pitching through
6. I manoeuvred into my launch position while Flyco [Flying Co-ordination] had a think about it. Through my
forward canopy the entire world alternated from completely bright blue to completely bright green (the sea was
alive with plankton) as the ship pitched through more angles than I had ever seen before. Refusing the launch is
mutiny: it has to be done by the pilot slamming the throttle as the deck starts to pitch

down. Thankfully Flyco scrubbed the launch!" Illustrious returned home after two months of duty, with Collins
having logged a total of 66 deck landings. "I am immensely proud of my short time with the Fleet Air Arm," says
Collins. "I wish them every continued success as a uniquely professional element of our fighting services.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/d/de/
YAV-8B_Harrier_testing_a_ski_jump.jpg

Operation Ski Jump was the test taking off of a Marine Corps YAV-8B Harrier aircraft, from a specially
built ramp was constructed by the Bridge Co., 8th Engineer Support Bn., 2nd Mar. Div., Fleet Marine
Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Location: NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND (MD)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
Date Shot: 1 Jul 1979

...The important difference between a ski jump and

a flat deck is that the heavier the aircraft, and the
higher the wind over the deck, the greater the
advantage of using a ski jump.
The aircraft takeoff performance was so
dramatically improved that the heaviest Harrier ever
flown from any ship 31,000 pounds gross weight
was launched from Asturias with only a 400-foot
deck run. The 31,000 pounds equals the maximum
gross weight capability of the AV-8B. To put this In
perspective. a typical AV-8B with a close air
support ordnance load of full fuel, full water, guns,
and 12 MK-82 bombs would weigh only about
29,000 pounds. On a typical 59-degree Fahrenheit
day, with 35-knot winds over the deck, this load
could be launched from a 300-foot deck run with a
12-degree ski jump. The same ordnance load would
require the entire 750-foot flight deck of an LHA....
Harrier Operations on a Ski Jump by Major Art
Nalls, USMC, Naval Aviation News, May June 1990

http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1990s/1990/mj90.pdf

http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1979/1979%20-%202348.PDF

FLIGHT International, 23 June 1979

Harrier Operations

signal, he slams full power and

accelerates. When he reaches
the bow, the pilot rotates his four
engine ex-haust nozzles downward.
by Major Art Nalls, USMC, Naval The combination of engine lift from
Aviation News, MayJune 1990 the nozzles and wing lift allows the
aircraft to fly. The amount of deck
In December 1988. a detachment
run is determined for each takeoff
from the Naval Air Test Center
and varies primarily as a function
(NATC), Patuxcent River, Md.,
of aircraft gross weight, wind over
conducted a flight test program
matching up a Spanish aircraft car- deck, and ambient temperature.
The most limiting factor in Harrier
rier, Principe de Asturias, and the
takeoff gross weight capability is
U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier
the deck run available. It is curII vertica/short takeoff and landrently limited in U.S. amphibious
ing attack aircraft. The flight test
results were nothing short of amaz- ships to 750 feet on the Tarawaclass amphibious assault ship (LHA)
ing. Takeoff performance of the
and approximately 800 feet on
AV-8 was dramatically improved,
as well as safety and the potential the new Wasp-class multipurpose
amphibious assault ship (LHD).
for true Harrier/helicopter interWhat makes this Spanish carrier
operability. All of this was realized
so different from any U.S. ship is
from a single device with no movthe additlon of an upwardly curving
ing parts the ski jump.
surface on the ships bow, called
For Shipboard takeoffs, the
a ski jump. Based on an original
AV-8 does not use a catapult like
U.S. design for sea control that
other conventional aircraft. The
AV-8 pilot simply aligns the aircraft was never constructed, Asturias
was built in Spain and delivered to
with the short takeoff line on the
the Spanish Navy in May 1988. ln
flight deck. On the launch officers

on a Ski Jump

December of that year, the United

States was given the unique opportunity to perform, for the first time,
a complete shipboard flight test
program using instrumented AV-8Bs
on an operational ski jump up to
the gross weight limits of the AV-8B.
Ski jump operations are not
entirely new. Since the mid-1970s,
the British have routinely employed
ski jumps on their Harrier carriers.
but they fly the Sea Harrier, which
is a variant limited to roughly
25,000 pounds gross weight. NATC
also performed a brief flight test
evaluation of the YAV-8B on a landbased ski jump in the late seventies, but a land-based ski jump is
limited to the ambient winds (low
wind over deck) and the YAV-8B
was basically an AV-8A with an
AV-8B wing and was still limited to
23,000 pounds gross weight. These
operations were far too limited in
maximum gross weight and wind
over the deck, which are where the
real advantages of the ski jump
become apparent.
For years, it was thought that

the performance improvements

in the AV-8B were so substantial
over the AV-8A that a ski jump
was unnecessary. Its true that the
AV-8B clearly out performs the -A,
but the aerodynamic improvements
that make the AV-8B superior also
make it ideally suited for ski jump
operations: excellent slow-speed
handling qualities, rapid acceleration, and improved vertical/short
takeoff and landing capability. The
important difference between a ski
jump and a flat deck is that the
heavier the aircraft, and the higher
the wind over the deck, the greater
the advantage of using a ski jump.
The aircraft takeoff performance was so dramatically
improved that the heaviest Harrier
ever flown from any ship 31,000
pounds gross weight was
launched from Asturias with only
a 400-foot deck run. The 31,000
pounds equals the maximum gross
weight capability of the AV-8B. To
put this In perspective. a typical
AV-8B with a close air support
ordnance load of full fuel, full water,

guns, and 12 MK-82 bombs would

weigh only about 29,000 pounds.
On a typical 59-degree Fahrenheit
day, with 35-knot winds over the
deck, this load could be launched
from a 300-foot deck run with a
12-degree ski jump. The same ordnance load would require the entire
750-foot flight deck of an LHA.
Any flight deck in front of a
Harrier is unusable for any other
flight ops until the AV-8 is airborne.
On the other hand, any flight deck
behind the Harrier can still be used
for concurrent heIo/MV-22 Osprey
operations. If the deck run can be
shortened from 750 to 300 feet,
a valuable 450 feet for concurrent flight ops is acquired an
important consideration in amphibious operations. For all practical
purposes, the 820-foot flight deck
of an LHD could be utilized like two
completely separate ships the
front 400 feet for Harrier launches
and recoveries, and the back for
completety separate and concurrent helo/MV-22 ops.
Another important aspect of

ski jump operations is the inherent

safety over a flat deck launch, after
which the aircraft is only 60 feet
(height of the flight deck) above the
water for the accelerating transition
to airborne. With a ski jump, the
Harrier ALWAYS has a positive rate
of climb due to the incline of the
ramp. The accelerating transition
begins at approximately 150 to
200 feet, vice 60 feet [ASL]. This
altitude cushion is a considerable
increase in safety should the pilot
encounter any emergency.
This NATC flight test program
served to highlight the significant
performance improvements in
takeoff capability and safety that
could be realized by the addition of a ski jump to our existing
amphibious ships for the AV-8B.
In fact, every navy in the world
that operates Harrier carriers uses
ski jumps, except one: the United
States. Rarely before has such a
dramatic increase in performance
been achieved from a device with
no moving parts.
http://www.history.navy.mil/nan/backissues/1990s/1990/mj90.pdf

STOVL Air Power | The Ramps, Roads, and Speedbumps

to Exploiting Maneuver Air Warfare Major Charles R. Myers, 01 April 1996
-

Amphibious Ships http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a527872.pdf (50 Kb) Page 7

-

The most significant contribution that the Navy could make to STOVL air and helicopter-borne
power projection is adding a ramp (ski jump) to all Tarawa- and Wasp-class amphibious assault
ships. The technology is proven and for return on investment relatively inexpensive. A ramp not
only improves dramatically a STOVL aircraft's takeoff performance, it facilitates concurrent
fixed- and rotary-wing operations afloat. Of all countries that operate STOVL aircraft (the United
States has more STOVL aircraft and ships to employ them than anyone) the United States is the
only country without a ramp-equipped STOVL assault ship. Now is the time for ramps....

& on page 9: ...The skeptics insist that ramps will displace landing spots. Tests
prove otherwise. On a 12 degree ski jump approximately 150 feet long, the slope gradually increases from zero up to 12 degrees at the bow. The first half of the ski jump has a
slope no greater than that of an LHA during wet-well operations with the well-deck
flooded both Harriers and helicopters can land on it...." [Major Art Nalls, USMC, "Why
Don't We Have Any Ski Jumps," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, November 1990, 81.]
The ramp not only bolsters a STOVL aircrafts combat payload to its maximum and enhances
fixed- and rotary-wing interoperability, it provides a margin of safety to the pilot in emergency
situations. The upward vector off the bow offers the pilot extra precious seconds to handle
takeoff emergencies and an expanded ejection envelope if required. The price of one saved
STOVL aircraft, and potentially the pilots life, would probably fund several ramps on amphibious ships. The Navy and Marine Corps need ski jumps on the big-deck amphibious ships....

The Hawker Association NEWSLETTER NUMBER 16 - SPRING 2007

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanewsletterpdf/hanewsletter016.pdf
-

...[Art Nalls] was the project officer for the ski-jump testing aboard ship. The first ship
was the Italian Navy Garibaldi, with a 6 deg ramp, designed specifically for Harriers. The
ship must have been designed by someone who had never actually been aboard a fighting ship - centre deck elevators, centre hangar bay with passages round the outside, fuel
lines running round the ship perimeter, no deck-edge scuppers and no lights but it
does look good! Anyway, we did the tests and provided the launch bulletin for them. The
second ship was the Spanish Navy Principe de Asturias with a 12 deg ramp. This had a
much better configuration being based on the unbuilt US designed Sea Control Ship
sponsored by Admiral Zumwalt, USN.
The ski-jump so impressed me that I authored several technical papers and was a
huge advocate for the USMC to push the USN to install it in our amphibious ships (LHDs).
We could then use the single flight deck as essentially two runways; the helos launching
from the stern, the Harriers from the bow. There is nothing that can be loaded on a
Harrier that it can't take off with from 400 ft with 15 knots wind over deck absolutely
nothing and the flight deck is 800 ft long on the LHDs. Doubled take off performance,
increased inherent safety from the launch trajectory and no moving parts. Seemed like a
no-brainer to me but the USN didn't want to jeopardise their big deck carriers. I even
attempted to orchestrate a cross-deck operation with the Russian ski jump ship Tiblisi.
Towards the end of my flight testing career I conceived and got official approval to
take a test team to Russia to explore the YAK-141 supersonic VSTOL fighter and to fly
and report on the YAK-38 Forger. I was the first western TP to do this.

Guests Visit HMS Illustrious, Get Sneak Preview of War Game 23 Jul 2007
John J. Kruzel, American Forces Press Service

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46816

...brought the special guests and media members to HMS Illustrious to see the
joint task forces inner-workings as it prepares for the war game. On the flight
deck, we watched as Marine aviators in Harrier jets readied to blast off the ski
jump. Cutting through the deafening engines were British and American members of the flight line, working in concert to direct the assault aircrafts & speaking in hand signals.
As Harriers whizzed by spectators, then up and off the ramp, the engines
bathed us in hot combusted jet fuel, which felt like sticking your face before a
scalding oven and ripping the door open. Thickly-padded headphones couldnt
damper the lions roar of takeoff that rocked the flight deck and jostled onlookers viscera.
In stoic terms, Marine aviator Maj. Stephan Bradicich, of the Marine Attack
Squadron 542 Tigers described the drama involved in taking off from the short
runway. When youre flying off a ship like this and youre looking 300 to 400 feet
in front of you and then, all of a sudden, youre dropping off the end of the boat,
theres a little apprehension, he said. But the kick in the butt when you throw
the power in the corner is absolutely phenomenal in the Harrier. Particularly
with the ski jump on this ship, he said. When you hit the end of the boat youre
going up fast....

1983 abstract: The U.S. Navy is evaluating ski jump launches as an alternative to shipboard
catapult launch for conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) airplanes. The Naval Air Test Center
(NAVAIRTESTCEN) conducted a ski jump launch test program using a T-2C and an F-14A airplane
operating from a variable exit angle ski jump to: (1) evaluate the feasibility of the concept; (2) define
the operating limitations; (3) document performance gains; and (4) verify aerodynamic & structural
ski jump simulations. A ground and flight test build-up program was conducted prior to actual ski
jump operations. This phase consisted of ground acceleration runs, definition of aborted takeoff/
committed to takeoff criteria, and high angle of attack (AOA) and dynamic single engine flight
characteristics. A total of 112 ski jump takeoffs with the T-2C and 28 with the F-14A was obtained.
Tests were conducted from both a 6 and 9 deg exit angle ramp. Significant performance gains were
obtained. Reduction in takeoff ground roll in excess of 50% was obtained with the T-2C. Maximum
capability with the F-14A was not achieved due to single engine considerations. With longitudinal
trim set properly, stick free ski jump takeoff is possible. A stick free ski jump launch is an easier
maneuver than a normal field takeoff. Any operational CTOL ski jump airplane should have a

Head-Up Display (HUD), nosewheel steering, stability augmentation in all axes, and an
accurate, repeatable flight control trim system. Investigation should continue to fully
define the application of the ski jump takeoff to both Shipboard and Shorebased use.
http://forum.keypublishing.com/
showthread.php?t=41054
NAS
Patuxent
River 1982
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDc1WDcwOA==/$
(KGrHqJ,!hQE8mHt10HqBPMS3ZesC!~~60_3.JPG

26 September 1983 The first takeoffs of an

F/A-18 Hornet from a ski-jump ramp were
conducted at NAS Patuxent River, Md. The
tests were part of an evaluation of conventional jet aircraft using an upward curved
ramp to shorten takeoff roll. http://www.
history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART11.PDF

USN F/A-18 Hornet

New Light Combat Aircraft to be custom made

for [INDIAN] NAVY by Leena Dubey 07/07/2010
http://www.stockwatch.in/new-light-combat-aircraft-be-custom-made-navy-27995

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), now to be a part of the

Indian Naval fleet Indias first indigenous aircraft is all set
to make its maiden flight this October.
The aircraft was first developed for the Indian Air force,
and reworked on to then be included in the naval fleet. A
new structural design was required to better able the
aircraft to land and take off a carrier. The aircraft has been
designed to take off at a distance of 200 meters with a ski
jump and land at a distance of 90 meters. The aircraft will
use avionic systems, flight controls, and a GE-F404 engine
similar Indian Air Force Light Combat Aircrafts. However,
the flight control technology will be redesigned in order to
provide a greater reduction in landing approach speeds.
The aircraft will be deployed in 2015 alongside the
aircraft carrier being built in the Cochin shipyard. The
aircraft is scheduled to take systems integration tests,
ground runs, taxi trials and eventually flights before it is
deemed ready for deployment. The aircraft has been
developed under the Aeronautics program of the Aerohttp://www.nhhs.org/src/nhsTimeline1980.htm nautical Development Agency (ADA) and will use a U.S.
1980 July 31--A T-2C Buckeye was successmade machine. It has been designed to make ski jump
fully launched from a fixed-angle, threetake offs and arrested landings on aircraft carriers.
degree ski jump at Naval Air Test Center,
Shore based test facility, at the naval air base in Goa,
Patuxent River, Maryland. This launch was the
will rum simulated take offs and landing runs for the
first part of feasibility demonstrations to
aircraft. Mr. Antony said that this facility is already being
evaluate the use of ramps for takeoffs by
used to train pilots flying the MiG-29K fighter jets, bought
conventional, as opposed to V/STOL aircraft.
from Russia, which are also to be deployed abroad aircraft
http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2007test/Fischer_SessionH4.pdf
carriers.

26 September 1983
The first take-offs of an F/A-18
Hornet from a
ski-jump ramp
were conducted
at Patuxent River

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.download&key=E2F96F0A-8324-40BB-BF94-6D2E9D04FDAA

FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL Magazine 14-20 February 1990

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/
view/1990/1990%20-%200402.html

USN moves towards ski-jump use

Run & Jump!

Aircraft ski jumps interested the military for two reasons. The Air Force
and Marines wanted a way for aircraft to operate from the short
stretches of runway remaining after airfield bombing attacks. The Navy
and Marines wanted a way to reduce the length of carrier flight deck
needed for an aircraft to become airbornewithout the aid of a
catapult. The Air Force decided not to use ski jumps, but the Navy
proceeded with the idea. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the
Naval Air Test Center (NATC) performed ski jump tests at NAS
Patuxent River using the T-2, F-14, F/A-18, and AV-8 Harrier.

Ski Jump Testing at Pax River

The T-2 Buckeye flew 112 ski jump takeoffs in July of 1980. Takeoff
distances were reduced by than more than 50% using ramp angles of 6
and 9 degrees.

The Marine Corps tested an instrumented AV-8B Harrier II on the Spanish aircraft carrier
Prncipe de Asturias (R-11) in December 1988. Then-MajorArt Nalls, USMC, reported a
Harrier at its maximum weight could takeoff in 400 feet instead of 750 feet on a flat deck.

However, the ski-jump design has drawbacks: the forward part of the
flight deck is no longer available for parking aircraft and there is less
space available for moving aircraft around on the already crowded
carrier deck. In addition, the upward push of the ski jump also means
that aircraft structures may need to be stronger to bear the extra launch
loads. This could lead to aircraft that weighand costmore.

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat flew 28 times from a ski jump at NAS
Patuxent River in 1982, but never achieved maximum takeoff
capability because of single-engine operating concerns.

http://api.ning.com/files/xEh6B1KdSWQzOLt
*6Obkl-o0BM3q-SWX-dPNkEiSNU4zPiQadll1
LZc25fyGf9FsagaZJyoSrzjuoPESusZ4iYKXt
OXO6wOC/KneeboardWinter2014reduced.pdf

Flight tests showed that the basic theory was sound: all aircraft tested
took off in significantly shorter distances than they could from flat
decks. But except for the AV-8 Harrier, none of these aircraft ever flew
from ski-jump-equipped carriers.
The F-35B VSTOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off & Landing) version of the
Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will soon take its turn on a new ski
jump at NAS Patuxent River. These tests will support the Marine Corps
and JSF partner nations Great Britain and Italy, which operate carriers
designed with ski jumps.

The Harrier ski jump at NAS Patuxent River as seen from the
t air (left). The Harrier is seen
h
position (center). Cam
meras mounted underneath the
leaving the ski jump from a head-on
Harriers fuselage provided close-up views of how the landingg gear behaved during launches off
of the ski ramp (right).

The Kneeboard
The Kneeboard

www.paxmuseum.com

The McDonnell F/A-18A first flew from a ski jump on 26 September

1983. It flew 91 ski jump tests at ramp angles of 6- and 9-degrees and
achieved takeoff distance reductions of 66%.

The McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier was tested on a 12-degree ski

jump for suitability on small-deck carriers in July 1979. It was flown
by Capt. Russ Stromberg, USMC.

Like Us on Facebook

Winter 2010
Winter 2014

http://api.ning.com/files/xEh6B1KdSWQzOLt*6Obkl-o0BM3q-SWX-dPNkEiSNU4zPiQadll1
LZc25fyGf9FsagaZJyoSrzjuoPESusZ4iYKXtOXO6wOC/KneeboardWinter2014reduced.pdf

voriable AnaJe hdius

USN Ski Jump Experience & Future

Applications
1991

6 deg,. 9!1Ht (291.1 m)

9 deg,. S91 ft (180.lm)

Fixed Angle Section ____..

9 Depee Ramp Depicted

Distanee
Along Ramp
ft
(m)
0
42.4
(12.9)
52.4
(16.01
62.4
_09.0)
72.3
{22.0)

Ramp Height
ft
(m)
6de2
0

9de2
0

1.16
(0.35)
1.68
(0.51)
2.30
(0.70)
3.03
(0.92)

1.16
(0.35)
1.71
(0.52)_
2.44
(0.74)
3.33
(1.01)

DistanCe
Along Ramp

Ramp Height
ft
(m)

ft
(m)

6de2
3.88
(1.18)
4.81
(1.47)
5.85
0.78)
5.85
(1.78)

82.3
(2S.l)
92.3
(28.1)
102.2
_131.2)
112.1
(34.2)
122.1
(37.2)

9de2
4.40
(1.34)
5.62
(1.71)

7.02
(2.14)
8.58
(2.62)
8.S8
(2.62)

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=
Figure 10
ADA244869&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Ski Jwnp Generol Amnsement
Test AjJplw
The F/A-18A airplane is a single-place, midwing. high
performanee, twin-engine strike fighler powered by two Genetol
Electric F404-GE-400 engines with an uninstalled thrust of
16,000 lb (71,171 N) each. The F/A-18 incorporates a digital flyby-wire flight control system. The test airplane was aerodynamically and structurolly represenWive of production airplanes.
No modifiCations were mode to the test airplane for the conduct of
the tests. The following speciol flight test instrumentation installations were available:

All build-up ground and flight testa and aki jump laUDCb
operationa were conducted in the normal takeoff configuration.
Table 2 details the test conditions. Two airpll!!e gross weights
were choaen to vary the thrust/Weight ratio. External stores
comprised two inert wingtip mDIDIIed AIM-9 (Sidewinder) and two
inert nacelle mounted AIM-7 (SJMfiUW) missiles.
Table2

Configuration S11111111ary
FtA-lBA~

Groll
a) Magnetic tape and telemetry syatem to record/tranamit
all required parameters.
b)

Takeoff
Configuration

Weight
lb
(k&)

Field
Takeoff
Airspeed
KEAS

Thrust/Weight

Flight test instrwnentation controls in the cockpit.

c) Ballast waa inatalled to simulate the weight and CG of

production equipment not inatalled in the airplane.
Rodome mounted angle of sideslip vane which was
displayed on the Heed Up Display (HUD).
d)

HolfFIIIJII
(30deg)

32.800
(14,878)

146

37.000
(16 783)

154

O.S2 MIL
0.76 Max

AlB

0.46 MIL
0.67 Max

AlB

Mmqod SinmJ"im

e) Retro-reflectors near the tip of each vertical tail to

provide LASER lrackina spatiol data.
f)
Landini gear instrumentation to obtain shock strut
deflections and atrueturol loads.

Exlllllive simularion effon wa expended prior 10 the first ski

jump takeoff. Simulation included boch an aeroclyMmi<: 111111 a

lanclins par loads model. The limulaticllll not only were llllld 10
predict performance pina and lllniCIUral loads. but enabled the team to develop a build-down procedure durin& actuo1 ski jump

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA244869&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

Jump
Ski
Midfield

Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, USA

Naval Aviation News Jan 1981

http://www.scribd.com/doc/71164640/Naval-Aviation-News-Jan-1981

Naval Aviation News Jan 1981

http://www.scribd.com/doc/71164640/Naval-Aviation-News-Jan-1981

http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA237265

May

1991

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20-%202666.html

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1976/1976%20%202835.html

Obi Wan Russell (2-Apr-2011): http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/16154/Kuznetsov-video

Remember when aircraft leave the end of the ski jump, they aren't actually flying yet,
flying peed being in the region of 130+knots. Ramp exit speed is around 80 knots,
taking a longer run isn't reaaly an option because ramp exit speed is defined as much
by undercarriage limits as anything else. Going up ramp puts a lot of stress on the
nosewheel, even moreso when the aircraft has a larger payload. In the RN the
Invincibles had charts kept aboard showing the required takeoff distance from the
ramp needed for a given payload, to ensure ramp exit speed did not exceed 80 knots.
[WOD Wind Over Deck needs to be considered also.]
After leaving the ramp aircraft are not yet flying as such, their wings are generating
some lift but not enough. The aircraft will have a ballistic component to it's momentum
that keeps it moving upwards and forwards, and during this time it is still accelerating.
before it reaches apogee and begins to drop back down again it will have reached/
exceded wingborne flying speed (130+knots), will also have reached a minimum of
200ft altitude (compared to a catapult lauched aircraft or a Harrier making a free takeoff from a flat decked LHD for example which leaves a 60 ft high deck and stays at that
height for several vital seconds) so if there is a problem such as engine failure the
pilot will have several vital seconds to decide to eject before hitting the sea.

RAF GR3 PreFalklands War

Work Up 1982

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk.nyud.net/documents/Research/RAF-Historical-Society-Journals/Journal-35A-Seminar-the-RAF-Harrier-Story.pdf

http://forum.keypublishing.com/
attachment.php?
attachmentid=179279&d=1259512375

SKI
P
-M
UJ
http://forum.
keypublishing.com/
showthread.php?
t=92518&page=4

Obi Wan Russell: "I get asked to explain the ski jump regularly,
since many seem unable to grasp the point. When you leave
the end of the ramp, you will only be at about 80 knots and you
aren't actually flying yet. But you are still accelerating and the
ramp has converted some of your forward momentum into
vertical thrust so you gain altitude whilst you are accelerating.
Before you reach the top of the arc you will have reached true
flying speed (about 130knots, and you will be at about 200ft)."

CARRIER SUITABILITY OF LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT Jos-Luis Hernando and

Rodrigo Martnez-Val Universidad Politcnica de Madrid http://www.icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/ICAS2012/PAPERS/167.PDF

Abstract
The paper describes the first steps of a study aimed at assessing the modifications that should be introduced in ground-based combat airplanes to make them compatible with aircraft carriers designed with skijumps & arresting devices. The present analysis includes operational and performance aspects, & describes
the complexity of the take-off and approach/landing manoeuvres, identifying the key variables intervening in
such manoeuvres. A last section is devoted to summarise the most critical features for carrier suitability....

...4 Final considerations

The present paper has described the take-off and approach/landing manoeuvres, as they are performed on aircraft
carriers equipped with ski-jumps and arresting mechanisms. The operations are very different from those on ordinary runways, for the size and longitudinal motion of the deck, for the pitch and heave displacements of the carrier,
and for the potential interference between the carrier superstructure wake or the rough sea generated air turbulence
and the approach glide path. The findings include the following critical items:
- The thrust-to-weight ratio at take-off must be appropriately matched to the available deck length & the ski-jump
geometry, including wind-on-deck effects;
- The approach speed must be compatible with wind-on-deck & the available landing distance to completely stop
the airplane after engaging the last arresting pendant;
- The thrust-to-weight ratio at approach must be high enough as to allow fast acceleration and safe lift-off should
the airplane hook failing engaging the arresting pendants.
Obviously, since the present paper only describes the first steps of the study there are other important aspects that
will be addressed in future works. They include, for example:
- Very fast control to give the pilot full authority on the aircraft after the semi ballistic jump at the end of a handsoff take-off;
- Suitable aircraft attitude during ground runs, that may require meaningful modifications of the nose landing
gear; and
- Rear fuselage modifications to fit the arresting hook, as well as structural reinforcements to withstand the hook
transmitted loads.
-

Side view and dimensions of the

Spanish Juan Carlos I (JCI), top,
and Russian Admiral Kuznetsov

Fig. 2: Wind-on-deck effect in the ski-jump:

v
increase in s

vOD
vT

qf

12

12

175 m
0m

100 m

15

200 m

15

LHD L-61: SKI JUMP

flush deck with 216m,
708 ft x 32m, 105 feet
http://www.navantia.es/ckfinder/userfiles/files/lineas
_act/Fichas_antiguas%20espa%C3%B1ol/LHD.pdf

68 m
242 m

140 m

CARRIER SUITABILITY
OF LAND-BASED
AIRCRAFT
http://www.
icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/
ICAS2012/PAPERS/167.PDF

Ski-jump take-off for light combat aircraft Tejas

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ski-jump-take-off-for-light-combat-aircraft-tejas_1401783

Bangalore: The Naval Air Station in Goa is quietly readying a first-of-its-kind

facility in India for flight tests on the light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas naval
variant. The shore-based test facility (SBTF), when fully-operational, will be the
third such test facility in the world after the US and Ukrainian navies. After the
initial flight tests, we will shift all action to SBTF. The ramp for the take-off area
will be ready by the last quarter of 2011 and the landing area in 2012. A fullfledged telemetry unit is also coming up in Goa, sources in the Indian Navy
told DNA.
The sources said the SBTF simulates an aircraft carrier with ski-jump takeoff and arrested recovery landing wherein the incoming aircraft is brought to a
standstill after touchdown when a hook attached to its underbelly engages a
taut arrester wire placed across the landing path. Its recreating a ship on the
shore. The one thats coming up in Goa is based on the Indigenous Aircraft
Carrier (IAC) thats being built at Cochin Shipyard. The SBTF is constructed
with the same measurements of IAC, sources said. All the specialised equipment for the facility is being supplied by the Russians, while the steel structure
is being made by Goa Shipyard and civil engineering work by R&D Establishment (Engineers) in Pune.
by Anantha Krishnan M / DNA June 27, 2010

htt
p://
exp
ert
she
re.f
iles
.wo
rdp
res
s.c
om
/20
10/
09/
ima
ges
trat
for
1.jp
g

http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/INS_Vikramaditya

Indian Navy Fighter RFI: Lockheed To Respond With Both F-35B & C
28 June 2010 Shiv Aroor http://www.livefistdefence.com/2010/06/indian-navy-fighter-rfi-lockheed-to.html
-

Lockheed-Martin plans to respond to the Indian Navy's recent RFI

for a new generation carrier-based figher with two parallel dockets
on the STOVL F-35B and the carrier variant F-35C. While it was initially thought that the F-35B would be the variant offered (since it appeared a logical replacement for India's Sea Harrier jump jets), Lockeed-Martin Biz Development (India) VP Orville Prins told me and a
few other journalists today that Lockheed-Martin is conducting simulation and analysis studies to support the team's supposition that
the F-35C -- built for a steam catapult launch off aircraft carriers -- is
also capable of short take-offs from ski-jumps. The simulation and
analysis will take into account various stress and strain parameters.
The RFI to Lockheed-Martin simply requested information on the
F-35 as a potential future carrier-based asset for the Indian Navy, and
did not specify a variant. While LM has provided the Navy with programme-level briefings it will shortly begin a round of technical briefings on both the F-35 variants it plans to offer....

Top LCA-Navy Team In Russia For Talks, Aug 3, 2010

By Anantha Krishnan M.- BENGALURU

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?id=news/awx/2010/08/03/awx_08_03_2010_p0-245338.xml&topicName=India
-

A high-level naval delegation from the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) the government makers of
Indias much-anticipated Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is in Russia for contract negotiations and issues
related to the programs shore-based test facility (SBTF). A senior official from the Defense Research &
Development Organization (DRDO) told AVIATION WEEK that the team is being led by Satish Babu, the financial
advisor to DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat, who also is ADAs director general. LCA Navy Program Director C.D.
Balaji is also on the ADA team. The team is currently holding contract negotiations with Russias
Rosoboronesport, the DRDO official says. The talks are mainly revolving around SBTF, thats coming up at
the Naval Air Station, Goa, to flight-test LCA naval variants. A naval prototype of the LCA was officially rolled
out by Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony on July 6.

The SBTF would be the Indian navys first such facility.

Building the SBTF in Goa is a huge technological challenge for ADA and the Indian Navy, and Russian help is
critical. It will have to be an exact ship-on-the-shore facility based on Indias Indigenous Aircraft Carrier [IAC]
being built at Cochin Shipyard, the official says. The measurements are the same as IAC and it must have all
equipment to simulate an aircraft carrier with ski-jump and arrested recovery. Hence, the current project review
being undertaken with the Russians is crucial in many ways.
The SBTF is critical to the program because ADA will be conducting carrier suitability tests for LCA-Navy in
Goa after the initial flight trials for the current two prototypes are completed in Bengaluru. ADA hopes to have
the ramp for the takeoff area ready by the end of 2011 and the landing area completed by 2012. A full-fledged
telemetry unit is also being constructed in Goa as part of SBTF.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

...Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) to simulate an aircraft carrier with ski-jump and arrested recovery is being
set up at the Naval Air Station at Goa. The ski-jump facility is expected to be ready by the last quarter of 2011
and the landing area a year later. Goa Shipyard Ltd is handling the complete structural work, system integration
and operations. R&D Engineers and CCE(R&D) west Pune are handling the civil works. Specialised equipment
supply is from Russia in order to have the same configuration as on the Vikramaditya....
http://www.indian-military.org/news-archives/indian-navy-news/815-lca-navy-programme-director-s-speech-on-np-1-roll-out-day.html

LCA Naval Version Successfully Carries Out Maiden Flight 27 April 2012
...The additional features that the naval version would have when compared to the
other version of LCA are the LEVCON (Leading Edge Vortex Control Surface) to reduce the forward speed of the aircraft during carrier landing, Telescopic Landing Gear
with high sink rate, Arrester Hook for deck recovery and fuel dump system for emergency deck recovery. The aircraft is specifically designed for take off from a 14 degree
ramp on the aircraft carrier deck and use the Arrester Hook System to facilitate landing within the deck length of 90 meters.... http://www.defpro.com/news/details/34927/

2010
NAS Hansa, Dabolim, Goa Naval Air Station 1523'N 7352'E

Indian Naval Air Commander Outlines Expansion Plan 10 May 2013

AIN Defense Perspective, Neelam Mathews http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-defense-perspective/2013-05-10/indian-naval-air-commander-outlines-expansion-plan
-

The Indian Naval air arm is set to double its fleet of 217 aircraft in the next decade. The fleeta mix of
14 modelshas emerged as a mini air force, said assistant chief of naval staff (Air) Rear Admiral D.M.
Sudan. On May 11 the Navy will commission the first of three MiG-29K squadrons at its base in Goa.
One is for training. The 16 aircraft originally ordered have all been delivered, as have four of a further
29. They will fly from the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (previously Admiral Gorshkov), which has
taken five years longer than planned to be refitted. Later, they will also fly from the Indian-built aircraft
carrier (IAC-1), which is under construction in Kochi in Kerala. The MiG-29Ks are replacing Sea Harriers
that previously received a limited upgrade. The VTOL aircraft will be phased out within two years.
The Navy is in the process of introducing 17 BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainers, which will
be based on the East Coast beginning in July. At the end of the year, the Navy will take delivery of the
first of eight Boeing P-8I Poseidons to replace Tu-142s in the long-range maritime patrol mission.
The Navys main helicopter fleet of Westland Sea King Mk 42Cs was decommissioned even as the
RFP for 16 new multirole helicopters was released. Finalists Sikorsky (SH-70) and NH Industries
(NH-90) are in the process of completing the discussions on offsets, Sudan told AIN. On whether the
controversy over the AW101 helicopter buy could delay the decision, Sudan said, The government has
to make a call. Concerns about the suitability of the HAL Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) remain.
The Navy has given [HAL] a lot of support, but the helicopter needs a blade fold and that it is unable to
do... so we cant take it onto our ships, said Sudan.

Future indigenous buys include the naval version of the HAL light combat aircraft (LCA). The prototype flew last year and carrier compatibility trials are scheduled before year-end at the Navys shore-based testing facility in Goa. This is a
critical test as [we will then know] if it can take off from and land on the carrier
We have grand plans for the LCA if it meets our requirements, said Sudan.

Navy to begin expansion at Dabolim [Goa] - Times of India, The, Feb 21, 2010
http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/times-of-india-the/mi_8012/is_20100221/navy-expansion-dabolim-goa/ai_n50193350/?tag=rel.res2

PANAJI: The Indian Navy has decided to go ahead with its expansion plans at the Dabolim
airport. Preparations are under way to build a Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) which will be
used by its Light Combat Aircrafts (LCAs) and MiG 29K fighter jets.
The SBTF, which is being set up at the naval station INS Hansa, is meant to train fighter
pilots before they attempt take-off and landing on aircraft carriers.
Giving mediapersons a brief synopsis a day before the MiG 29Ks were inducted into the
naval air arm, Commanding Officer (CO) of the INS Hansa, captain Surendra Ahuja, said that
the SBTF in India will be only the second of its kind in the world, with Russia being the only
other country to have this facility.
Ahuja also outlined the Navy's expansion plans for several new facilities at the airport,
where three additional hangars and two simulators will be built.
Work on constructing a 1,255 m strip is also underway for the SBTF facility he added. A
feature of the project will be the ski-jump facing the seafront. This ski jump will be a replica
of the same facility available on board the mother ship for the MiG 29Ks - the INS
Vikramaditya - which is being refitted and which will only sail by December 2012.
Since the MiG-29K's flight operation on the aircraft carrier will be in the Short Take Off
But Arrested Landing (STOBAR) configuration, two wire arresting systems are also being
set up at the INS Hansa naval base.
"The STOBAR system will help arrest both the LCAs and the Mig-29Ks safely," he said.
He said that India is the second country in the world to have a 'wire arresting' system,
besides Ukraine. American aircraft carriers carry out such operations by using a 'catapult'
system, he added.

Naval variant of LCA Tejas

to undergo tests in Goa soon

Vishwas Kothari, TNN 29 Mar 2014

PUNE: The naval variant of light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas will soon undergo carrier compatibility tests at the
newly commissioned shore-based test
facility at the Indian naval base INS
Hansa in Goa, the LCAs programme
director Kota Harinarayana told TOI on
Friday.
Before we go to the ship, we have
to do something on the ground that is
similar to the ship, Harinarayana said,
while pointing out that the shore-based
test facility is primarily a ramp similar to the ones on aircraft carriers
which facilitates ski-jump take-off and
arrested landing of a naval aircraft.
The aircraft will go to the test facility
in a months time, he added.
Apart from enabling carrier compatibility, the new facility will aid certification of the LCA naval variant, which
is critical to the LCAs future induction
in the Indian Navy, he said.
The LCA (Navy) is Indias first indigenous effort to build a carrier-borne
naval fighter aircraft, a vital ingredient in the Navys expansion plans. It
is designed to operate from future

indigenous aircraft carriers that the Indian Navy plans to acquire.

Harinarayana is regarded as the
chief architect of the LCA programme,
which was launched in 1980 as part
of the plan to replace the Indian Air
Forces (IAF) ageing fleet of MIG-21
aircraft. He spoke to TOI on the sidelines of a talk on Aircraft designing in
India, jointly organised by the Centre
for Advanced Strategic Studies and the
Aeronautical Society of India. Former
vice-chief of air staff Air Marshal (Retd)
Bhushan Gokhale chaired the event.
In December 2013, the IAF gave
its operational clearance to the LCA
Air Force variant and also cleared the
same for full-scale production at the
Hindustan Aeronautical Limited facility
in Bangalore, Harinarayana said. We
expect the aircraft to be rolled out for
induction into the Air Force later this
year and hopefully the IAF will raise an
independent squadron for the LCA, he
said.
He said, The IAF has placed an initial order of 40 LCAs which are to be
delivered over the next four to five
years. We have their (IAFs) commitment for another 80 to 90 LCAs in future. The Air Force and Navy collectively require 200 LCAs.

Harinarayana added that the LCA

had also evinced keen interest from
foreign countries. However, our immediate focus is on meeting the Air Force
and Navys requirement for the next
three years. Supply to foreign countries remains a part-commercial, partdiplomatic matter, and may still take
some time to come through. The priority for now is to enhance the production capacity and to continue working
on the LCA Mk-II variant, which is expected to go operational in four to five
years following flight and other tests.
He conceded that both LCA variants
will work on the imported GE-404 engines as it will take some more years
for the indigenously developed Kaveri engine to be ready for use in these
aircraft. We still have to fully achieve
the reliability and performance of the
Kaveri engine. We have tested for 50
hours flying in a transport carrier, but
we still have to improve, he said.
Apart from enabling carrier compatibility, the new shore-based test facility will aid certification of the LCA naval
variant, which is critical to the LCAs
future induction in the Indian Navy.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/
Naval-variant-of-LCA-Tejas-to-undergo-testsin-Goa-soon/articleshow/32872152.cms

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-aksnc6/282233_452154671492952_203250730_n.jpg

http://images.defensetech.org/
wp-content/uploads/2012/07/
Indian-carrier-flight-ops.jpg

MiG-29 INS Vikramaditya July 2012

Kiev-class Vikramaditya (exRussian Admiral Gorshkov)

Su-33 (Su-27K/T-10K) particulars:

* empty weight : 43,210 lb / 19,600 kg
* max. internal fuel : 20,940 lb / 9,500 kg
* standard internal fuel : 11,795 lb / 5,350 kg
* max. ordnance load : 14,330 lb / 6,500 kg
* max. AtoA ordnance load : 7,055 lb / 3,200 kg (8 x R-27E + 4 x R-73)
* thrust with A/B : 2 x 28,220 lbst / 12,800 kgp
Su-33 (Su-27K / T-10K) T-O weights :
* with standard internal fuel : 55,100 lb / 25,000 kg
* with standard internal fuel, 2 x R-27E, 2 x R-73 : 57,320 lb / 26,000 kg
* with standard internal fuel, 8 x R-27E, 4 x R-73 : 61,730 lb / 28,000 kg
* with max. internal fuel, 2 x R-27E, 2 x R-73 : 65,920 lb / 29,900 kg
* with max. internal fuel, 8 x R-27E, 4 x R-73 : 70,990 lb / 32,200 kg
Su-33 (Su-27K / T-10K) with 14.3 ramp and max. A/B :
* 345ft ground roll @ 61,730lb T-O weight
* 345ft ground roll @ 65,290lb T-O weight with 7kn WOD
*
* 640ft ground roll @ 70,990lb T-O weight with 15kn WOD

MiG-29K (9.41) particulars:

empty weight : 27,340 lb / 12,400 kg

*
max.
internal
fuel
:
11,460
lb
/
5,200
kg
source : Su-33 Naval Saga
*
max.
ordnance
load
:
12,125
lb
/
5,500
kg
by Andrei Fomin, Moscow 2003 (in Russian)
* thrust with A/B : 2 x 19,480 lbst / 9,000 kgp
(for T-O : 2 x 20,720 lbst / 9,400 kgp)
MiG-29K (9.41) with 14.3 ramp and max. A/B :
* 345ft ground roll @ 39,000lb T-O weight
* 640ft ground roll @ 49,400lb T-O weight
source : Mikoyan MiG-29
by Yefim Gordon, Midland Publishing, 2006
-

http://www.global-military.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Su-27-series-aircraft-in-the-land-sliding-Yanliang-flight-deck-jump.jpg

...The J-15 prototype made its

maiden flight on Aug. 31, 2009
and performed the first takeoff
from a land-based ski-jump in
May last year [2010]. The
aircraft is scheduled to become
operational by 2015, operating
on Chinas new, indigenous
built carriers....

Jump to Chinese Navy

Pilots to train with
Brazilian Navy

http://defense-update.com/wp/20110426_j-15_unveiled.html?
utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A
+DefenseUpdate+%28Defense+Update%29

SIC

J-15 prototype was finished, China started aircraft carrier pilot training
http://www.global-military.com/j-15-prototype-was-finished-china-started-the-aircraft-carrier-pilot-training.html
According to 21, reported the latest issue of the Canadian Chinese Defense Review magazine, said China has launched aircraft personnel training
project, training centers may be located in Huludao. The article said that as Chinas first ship-borne fighter aircraft F-15 manufactured prototype, China
will build test base for the Navy, similar to Ukraines Navy carrier fighter NITKA as test center. Reported that Chinas naval pilot training center, carrierbased fighter aircraft flight test center is most likely located in Liaoning Huludao area. Huludao already have, Chinese Navy Flight School, which is the
famous 91 065 troops. Navy helicopters, bombers, transport aircraft pilot training in this. Han and that the future China is likely to fly in the Naval Academys structure, the building of carrier-based fighter aircraft flight test center, there may be an independent building a new naval flight test center. But
Huludao Xingcheng, Jiyuan Navy land-based aircraft carrier construction of the airport did not find signs of the runway test center. Han and the founder
of Ping Kefu said, building a new trial airport is very expensive, equal to land the aircraft carrier construction. At present, only Ukraine, United States,
the existence of such a test center. At the same time that the Chinese F-15 fighter flight carrier is facing difficulties because there is no Navy pilots in
the flight test center where, in Shaanxi, the Air Force Flight Test Center Yanliang J-15 only testing flight control systems, radar, weapons use and so on.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1000936112000155/pdfft?md5=
3407d67cbb90cd3bc1f9bdbd9087d249&pid=1-s2.0-S1000936112000155-main.pdf

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1000936112000155

Multi-body dynamic system simulation of carrier-based aircraft ski-jump takeoff

2011

Wang Yangang, Wang Weijun, Qu Xiangju http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1000936112000155/pdfft?md5=3407d67cbb90cd3bc1f9bdbd9087d249&pid=1-s2.0-S1000936112000155-main.pdf

Abstract: The flight safety is threatened by the special flight conditions and the low speed of carrier-based aircraft ski-jump
take-off. The aircraft carrier motion, aircraft dynamics, landing gears and wind field of sea state are comprehensively considered to dispose this multidiscipline intersection problem. According to the particular naval operating environment of the carrierbased aircraft ski-jump takeoff, the integrated dynam-ic simulation models of multi-body system are developed, which involves
the movement entities of the carrier, the aircraft and the landing gears, and involves takeoff instruction, control system and the
deck wind disturbance. Based on Matlab/Simulink environment,the multi-body system simulation is realized. The validity of the
model and the rationality of the result are verified by an example simulation of carrier-based aircraft ski-jump takeoff. The
simulation model and the software are suitable for the study of the multidiscipline intersection problems which are involved in
the perform-ance, flight quality & safety of carrier-based aircraft takeoff, the effects of landing gear loads, parameters of carrier
deck, etc....
...The effects of a moving carrier-based aircraft on an aircraft carrier motion are negligible as the mass of the aircraft is nearly three orders of magnitude less than the aircraft carrier. Therefore the carrier motion is independent of the carrier-based aircraft and regarded as an input of the multi-body dynamic system (MBDS)....
...3.5. Flight instruction and control module: The LSO is responsible for the safety of the carrier-based aircraft takeoff. Before the deck run, the aircraft is attached to the flight deck by the holdback fitting to enable the engine to run up to full power.
After the pilot signals the LSO that it is ready, the commander will make a right judgment by considering carrier motion, aircraft characteristics and flight mission, etc. If the takeoff decision is made, the LSO will give signals immediately to the launch
oper-ator to release the wheel gear, and the carrier-based aircraft will then start rolling and complete the takeoff process.
Otherwise a right time shall be waited for. The time decision-making system for carrier-based aircraft launching is shown as
Fig. 3....
...7. Conclusions: The simulation modeling of carrier-based aircraft ski-jump takeoff is complicated. This paper builds the
relatively complete system model of carrier-based aircraft ski-jump takeoff to resolve the problems of the coupling among
multi-motion bodies and flight environment, as well as the problems of the cooperative instructions control. This system model
takes into account three main effects: the coupling of carrier, aircraft body and the landing gears; the influences on the carrier
motion by sea state and on the flight by the induced wind field; the influences on the aircraft flight by the cooperative instructions control among deck commanders and pilot. Two simulation examples show that the system model can describe the dynamic characteristics of all the movement bodies reasonably. It has practical significance for the multi-disciplinary intersect
problem in the design of carrier deck, design of landing gears and aircraft body. This system model can be used to analyze the
influencing factors of flight safety comprehensively, such as flight environment, human decision-making control, etc., which is
supposed to play an important role in flight training.

New Chinese Ship-Based Fighter Progresses Apr 27, 2011 By David A. Fulghum
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/asd/2011/04/27/02.xml&headline=New Chinese Ship-Based Fighter Progresses

"Beijing is revealing pictures of its Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark design that is intended to populate the decks of its first aircraft carrier. The J-15 is
based on the J-11B, Shenyangs unlicensed and indigenously adapted version of the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker, and resembles its Russian equivalent, the
Su-33 shipboard version, with a foreplane, folding wings, arrester hook and reinforced landing gear. Like the Su-33, the J-15 is designed to take off
from a ski jump rather than a catapult. There are some differences from the Su-33, including more complex trailing-edge flaps and advanced Chinese
avionics. The unlicensed adaptation has been a source of friction with Moscow, says Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace with
Londons International Institute for Strategic Studies. The J-15s canards replicate those on the Su-33, indicating its flight control system is at least
similar, Barrie says. Moreover, a mock-up of the J-15 was seen carrying a dummy anti-ship missile, suggesting the J-15 may be intended to have a
strike role from the outset, while the Su-33 was an air-to-air design. The heavy shipborne fighter will be yet another piece in the foundation of a shipbased force that can project power at sea, far from Chinas shore defenses. They are expected to be first based on the former Russian Varyag aircraft
carrier. The first pictures were taken at Shenyang Aircraft Industry Corp.s No. 112 factory.
The design features exterior missile rails and a wide-angle holographic head-up display similar to those on the companys J-11 fighter. There are
competing claims about the aircrafts capability. Russians Ria Novosti news service called it inferior to the Su-33, but Chinese officials say the
Su-33s avionics are obsolete, so they have installed locally made sensors, displays and weaponry. While based structurally on the Su-33, the aircraft
features avionics including an advanced anti-ship radar from the J-11B program. Deployment is expected no earlier than 2016.
Analysts and aircraft watchers in China say the aircrafts first flight was made on Aug. 31, 2009, powered by a Russian-supplied AL-31. Ukraine is
the source of Chinas Su-33/Flanker D, U.S. analysts agree. Russias carrier training is done in Ukraine at Saki, and for years there was one of the
first prototype Su-33s sitting there, one of the analysts says. It disappeared a few years ago and likely ended up in China. The most recent photos
of the J-15 show that they are either already entering low-rate initial production or close to it. I expect these [LRIP aircraft] to move to the training
facilities soon and begin the long road to carrier qualification.

The first takeoff from a simulated ski jump was conducted on May 6, 2010.
The program began after a Su-33 prototype was acquired from Ukraine in 2001. China offered to buy Su-33s from Russia as recently as 2009. A
Ukrainian court convicted a Russian man in February of conspiring to give the Chinese details of a Crimean air base that had been used to train
Su-33 pilots to take off from a carriers ski jump ramp, according to the New York Times.
In Huludao, a navy installation on Chinas northeast coast, workers are said to have built a rough clone of the Crimea test center, complete with a
ski ramp for short takeoffs. There are lots of photos of a [dry, ground-based] carrier training facility that has a static flight deck for crew training,
the U.S. analyst says. The facility is shaped like a carrier, with the dormitories and classrooms below the flight deck. It already has both a Flanker
mock-up and a helicopter [onboard] to qualify deck and maintenance crews for carrier operations. Another facility at Xian has the ski jump for carrier
takeoffs and the arresting gear network for landings. We expect to see these J-15s do a lot of work there.
Taiwan intelligence officials say the aircraft carrier thought to be slated for a training role could make its first voyage by the end of the year.
The warship has been docked in Chinas eastern Dalian harbor, where it has undergone extensive refurbishing since 2002. The carrier is also
interesting in that it appears to be fitted with a close-in [Club-type cruise missile] weapons system, Barrie says.
U.S. intelligence analysts agree with the Taiwanese officials. Just last month we started seeing the powerplants firing up, showing they are
getting really close to going to sea trials sometime this year, [perhaps] as soon as this summer, the U.S. analyst says. Theyve also discussed a
second carrier [indigenously built] using the knowledge gained from their work on the one they bought from the Russians.

This Google Earth Image shows an air-field outside Xian,

in Chinas Shaanxi province, for pilots to practice take-offs
and landings as if they were flying carrier-based aircraft.
The tip of the runway, shown at top right, is warped up at
an

angle of 14 degrees

190 feet
reddish area
ski jump
centreline
length

just

like an aircraft carrier to assist take-offs. http://

www.asahi.com/english/TKY201008180284.html

Photos of Chinese aircraft jumps point

to continued development of carriers

http://www.
east-asia-intel.
com/eai/2009/
Images/skij1.jpg

http://
www.east
-asia-intel.
com/eai/2009/
08_26/list.asp

Satellite photographs have revealed for the first

time that China has constructed a ski-jump
aircraft carrier launch system at an in-land base,
an indication that Beijing is moving ahead with
plans for strategic naval power projection forces.
The ski-jump ramp was located at Xian-Yanliang
a high- altitude location about 500 meters
above sea level. A ski-jump style launch system
is used on some Russian carriers. U.S. carriers
use steam piston driven jet launchers.

Beijing admits it is building an aircraft carrier

-BY KENJI MINEMURA 17 December 2010

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012160435.html

BEIJING China has officially admitted for the first time that it has embarked on an aircraft carrier building program, part of a grand
strategy to build itself up as a maritime power.
A report published by the State Oceanic Administration says the countrys leaders decided last year to back plans to build Chinas
first aircraft carrier. The Chinese government & military had kept the program under wraps until now.
The annual national ocean development report says that asserting Chinas power at sea is indispensible to accomplishing the great
resurgence of the Chinese people.
Chinese military sources said initial plans had called for launching a conventional powered carrier with a displacement of between
50,000 & 60,000 tons in 2015. But, with construction progressing quickly, the launch of the first Chinese-made aircraft carrier now
appears to be set for 2014.
JUMP to
Construction has already begun at six military-affiliated companies & research institutes in Shanghai and other locations.
more info
The plan calls for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be launched by around 2020.
Meanwhile, the Varyag, a Soviet-era Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier bought from the Ukraine, is undergoing repairs in the northeastern port of Dalian and is expected to be pressed into service as a training vessel from 2012.

The Chinese military is developing a fighter jet to be used on its new carrier & 50 pilots have begun land-based training.
Facilities to train the pilots in landing & taking off at sea are being constructed at Xingcheng, Liaoning province, & Xian,
Shaanxi province, & a full-scale model of an aircraft carrier has been completed in Wuhan, Hubei province, to test radar systems.
The report, written by a research institute affiliated to the State Oceanic Administration, sketches a strategy for expanding the reach of
Chinese sea power and strengthening its ability to protect its maritime interests.
As part of that strategy, the report says, the Chinese military came out in 2009 with a vision and plan to construct aircraft carriers.
It also maps out a longer-term drive to build China into a mid-level maritime power by 2020, able to counter challenges & threats at sea.
The report indicates that possessing aircraft carriers is seen not only as necessary to compete with the United States, but also as a
way to heighten patriotic sentiment in China.
Military sources said the Chinese leadership decided in April 2009 at an expanded meeting of the Communist Partys Politburo to give
the go-ahead to the aircraft carrier building program.
But there appears to have been a tug-of-war within the Chinese regime about publicly announcing the program. Initial plans to announce the program were put off because of concerns that it would fan concerns in neighboring nations about the Chinese military
threat.
However, the military has been insistent that the construction plan should be announced. The report by the State Oceanic Administration, an agency of Chinas land ministry with close ties to the Chinese Navy, may have been a convenient vehicle for that lobby.
All the aircraft carriers will likely be based at Sanya, a South China Sea port on the southern tip of Hainan Island.

In Huludao, a navy installation on Chinas north-east

coast, workers are said to
have built a rough clone of
the Crimea test center,
complete with a ski ramp
for short take-offs.
There are lots of
photos of a [dry, groundbased] carrier training
facility that has a static
flight deck for crew training, the U.S. analyst says.
The facility is shaped
like a carrier, with the
dormitories and classrooms below the flight
deck. It already has both a
Flanker mock-up and a
helicopter [onboard] to
qualify deck and maintenance crews for carrier
operations. Another
facility at Xian has the ski
jump for carrier takeoffs
and the arresting gear
network for landings. We
expect to see these J-15s
do a lot of work there.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/
story_generic.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/
asd/2011/04/27/02.xml&headline=New Chinese
Ship-BasedFighter Progresses

Lianshan,
...[gave] Chinese
details of a Crimean
air base that had
been used to train
Su-33 pilots to take
off from a carriers
ski-jump ramp, says
the New York
Times. In Huludao,
a navy installation
on Chinas
northeast coast,
workers are said to
have built a rough
clone of the Crimea
test center,
complete with a ski
ramp for short
takeoffs....

http://www.aviationweek.com/
aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?
plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage
=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%
3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%
3ae0019bc5-e488-488d-a55d-56cf54ed6ad4&plckScr

Huludao

JUMP
BACK
TO NITKA

Russian sold secrets for Chinas first carrier Ukraine sends him to prison
By Reuben F. Johnson The Washington Times Monday, February 14, 2011
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/14/russian-sold-secrets-for-chinas-first-carrier/
-

KIEV | Ukrainian authorities have imposed a six-year prison term on a Russian man convicted of spying for China who
was assigned to steal military secrets for Beijings program to build and operate aircraft carriers.
The Russian national, Aleksandr Yermakov, was blocked from attempting to transfer to China classified data that
would have significantly accelerated the Chinese armys effort to field its own operational aircraft carrier, according to
reports in the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya and other news outlets.
Chinas military announced last year that it had begun construction of its first aircraft carrier, confirming Pentagon
and U.S. intelligence reports that Beijing was seeking the power-projection platform that requires highly skilled pilots
who can take off and land from the relatively short space of a carrier deck at sea....
...Chinas intelligence service directed Yermakov to steal classified information about Ukraines Land-based Naval
Aviation Testing and Training Complex, or NITKA, its Russian acronym, according to reports.
The facility is in the Crimea near the city of Saki and was built when Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union. It
remains the only training complex of its kind in the world.
The NITKA base is vital for states that operate one of the Russian-designed carriers equipped with ski-ramp takeoff
decks, instead of the flat decks used on U.S. and French aircraft carriers.
The only two ski-jump carriers are the Russian navys Admiral Kuznetsov and its sister ship, the Varyag, acquired
by China from Ukraine in 1998 and initially announced in China for use as a floating casino. Russia continues training
its pilots in Ukraine while building a similar facility in the Krasnodarsky Krai region of Russia that is expected to be
completed in 2012....
...Chinese military officials have been quoted in Chinas state-run press as saying they plan to create a carrier-naval
aviation capability; but the Chinese need their own NITKA for training their own carrier pilots, according to Ukrainian
news reports, and they have already begun building their own complex.
U.S. intelligence officials said the first indications of Chinas plan for building aircraft carriers were land-based short
takeoff and landing drills going back a decade.

The Chinese are building a massive carrier pilot training base at Xingcheng, in the northeastern province of
Liaoning. Other facilities for training of carrier personnel and engineering support specialists have been built
in Xian, Shanxi province. The Xingcheng facility has features that duplicate the design of NITKA in Ukraine."

Chinese Naval Aviators Proliferate http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htnavai/articles/20100817.aspx

August 17, 2010: The Chinese Navy Air Force is now training its own fighter pilots (or "aviators" as they are known in the navy), and training them
to operate from aircraft carriers. In the past, Chinese navy fighter pilots went to Chinese Air Force fighter training schools, and then transferred to
navy flight training schools to learn how to perform their specialized (over open water) missions. Now, operating from carriers, and performing jobs
carrier fighter pilots perform, has been added to the navy fighter pilot curriculum. It was only a year ago that China announced its first class of
carrier aviators had begun training at the Dalian Naval Academy. The naval officers undergo a four year course of instruction to turn them into fighter
pilots capable of operating off a carrier. The Russians warned China that it may take them a decade or more to develop the knowledge and skills
needed to efficiently run an aircraft carrier. The Chinese are game, and are slogging forward.
For over five years now, China has been developing a carrier version of the Russian Su-27, calling it the J-15. There is already a Russian version
of this, called the Su-33. Russia refused to sell Su-33s to China, when it was noted that China was making illegal copies of the Su-27 (as the J-11),
and refused to place a big order for Su-33s, but only wanted two, for "evaluation." China eventually got a Su-33 from Ukraine, which inherited some
when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The first prototypes of the J-15 have been under construction for two years, and the aircraft is believed to
have taken its first flight in the last few months. The Russians are not happy with this development. Russian aviation experts have openly derided
the J-15, casting doubt on the ability of Chinese engineers to replicate key features of the Su-33. That remains to be seen, as the Chinese have
screwed up copying Russian military tech in the past. But the Chinese have a lot of experience stealing foreign tech, so the J-15 may well turn out to
be at least as good as the Su-33 (which Russia itself has stopped using as too large and expensive). Earlier this year, Google Earth revealed a
Chinese air base where a mockup of the aircraft carrier Shi Lang (formerly the Russian Varyag) flight deck had been constructed. Here, Chinese
carrier pilots will begin their training in the difficult task of landing on a carrier.
At the same time, the Shi Lang was moved into dry dock, apparently to install engines and other heavy equipment. It was only a year ago that this
ex-Russian aircraft carrier, Varyag, was renamed the Shi Lang (after the Chinese general who took possession of Taiwan in 1681, the first time China
ever paid any attention to the island) and given the pennant number 83.
The Varyag is one of the Kuznetsov class carriers Russia began building in the 1980s. No one is sure exactly what plans the Chinese have for the
Shi Lang, despite the years of work. Currently, it's believed that the carrier will eventually be used to train the first generation of Chinese carrier
aviators and sailors. Or maybe not. No one who really knows anything about the plans for the Shi Lang is speaking up. All is observation (from a
distance, but good pix are numerous) and speculation.
The Varyag has been in a Chinese shipyard at Dailan since 2002. While the ship is under guard, it can be seen from a nearby highway. From that
vantage point, local military and naval buffs have noted the work being done on the ship. A few obvious signs of this work are visible; like a new
paint job (in the gray shade used by the Chinese navy) and ongoing work on the superstructure (particularly the tall island on the flight deck.) Many
workers can be seen on the ship, and material is seen going into (new stuff) and out of (old stuff) the ship. Shipyard workers report ever tighter
security on the carrier, and stern instructions to not report details of what is happening on the carriers.
Originally the Kuznetsovs were to be 90,000 ton, nuclear powered ships, similar to American carriers (complete with steam catapults). Instead,
because of the high cost, and the complexity of modern (American style) carriers, the Russians were forced to scale back their plans, and ended up
with 65,000 ton (full load) ships that lacked steam catapults, and used a ski jump type flight deck instead. Nuclear power was dropped, but the
Kuznetsov class was still a formidable design. The thousand foot long carrier normally carries a dozen navalized Su-27s (called Su-33s), 14 Ka-27PL
anti-submarine helicopters, two electronic warfare helicopters and two search and rescue helicopters. But the ship can carry up to 36 Su-33s and
sixteen helicopters. The ship carries 2,500 tons of aviation fuel, allowing it to generate 500-1,000 aircraft and helicopter sorties. Crew size is 2,500 (or
3,000 with a full aircraft load.) Only two ships of this class exist; the original Kuznetsov, which is in Russian service, and the Varyag.

China: First display of J-15 from carrier

14 Nov 2013

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/527504-china-first-display-j-15-carrier.html#post8152130

Engines: ...this way of operating aircraft (often called STOBAR Short Take Off Barrier Arrested Landing)
was looked at in detail during CVF requirements development. It was also looked at by the USN many years
ago (in the 70s, I believe).
The basic issue with it is that you get relatively poor launch performance with CTOL aircraft. The key to
ramp launches is that you fly off the deck going upwards, which means you have more time to accelerate to
a speed where you start flying at a positive rate of climb.
Any aircraft has to attain a ramp exit speed that allows it launch at an acceptable initial sink rate, plus it
has to be controllable. That sink rate will be driven solely by wing lift and whatever thrust if can get by being
pitched up - although that will in turn cause significant drag. That will delay the ability of the aircraft to
accelerate to normal climb out speed. For a conventional aircraft with aerodynamic controls, and no thrust
vectoring, a ramp launch will not be achievable at anything like MGTOW off a runway. In fact, probably quite
a long way below. The sort of thrust/weight ratios used for flying displays are quite a long way away from
what you get when fully loaded for a strike mission, or even air defence work.
A STOVL aircraft (e.g Harrier, F-35B) has a couple of massive advantages off the ramp. The first is that
they have a control system that works at flying speeds down to zero, so they don't have to rely on control
surfaces. The second is that they can launch in a powered lift mode, where they can vector their thrust
through their CG. That means that they can launch at well below aerodynamic stalling speed, & then progressively shift thrust aft as wing lift builds up. Sea Harrier typically had ramp end speeds of around 85 kts.

The 'vanishing chocks' are used to allow the aircraft get into full reheat at higher weights before
they start rolling, to try to get the best ramp end speed they can. At higher weights, the effect is
minimal. Harrier did look at using a 'hold back' for deck launches, but it was realised that the gain
was not worth the complexity.
Bottom line is that CTOL ramp launches are not going to deliver the sort of payloads (fuel & weapons)
that operational air arms require. This is basic physics and is not solved by marketing. Ask the 'Sea
Typhoon' salesmen after a few quiet beers. The Chinese have recently gone public with some fairly severe criticisms of their aircrafts' performance off their new carrier, which seems to confirm the point....

China Has Plans For Five Carriers Jan 5, 2011 By Richard D. Fisher, Jr.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/dti/2011/01/01/DT_01_01_2011_p71-272520.xml&headline=China Has Plans For Five Carriers

Chinas Peoples Liberation Army is assembling the production & basing capacity to make its aircraft carrier program one of Asias largest military endeavors.
A plausible near-term projection for Chinas aircraft carrier ambitions was revealed in two 2009 articles in Japans Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which
featured rare access to Chinese military and shipbuilding sources. The sources noted that China would first build two non-nuclear medium-sized carriers
similar to the 50,000-ton ex-Soviet/Ukrainian Project 1143.5 carrier Varyag being rebuilt in Dalian Harbor. These carriers would start initial construction in
2009. Beginning in 2020 or soon after, two 60,000-plus-ton nuclear-powered carriers would follow, based on plans for the Soviet-designed but never built
Project 1143.7 Ulyanovsk class.
This would mean a likely fleet of five carriers by the 2020s, including Varyag, which entered a phase of accelerated reconstruction in 2009. Work
surrounding this carrier is also serving to create the development and production infrastructure for future carriers. Since mid-2005, Varyags reconstruction
has been documented by images from Chinese military fans on dozens of web pages.
In April 2009, Varyag was moved from its Dalian berth to a nearby drydock. Surrounding the drydock are large ship-component construction hangars, from
which the next carriers may emerge. By April 2010, the ship was berthed outside the drydock. Since the move the hull has undergone degaussing, likely in
preparation for the now-visible outfitting of a new naval electronics suite. This suite will include four arrays for Chinese-developed naval phased-array radar
and new rotating-array radar. Emplacements for the electronic warfare suite are visible.
A Sinicized model of a Varyag-like carrier, built in 2003 by students at Harbin Technology Institute, which does carrier development work, indicated it
would carry a heavy fixed armament of YJ-63 long-range antiship cruise missiles, vertically launched medium-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and Type
730 30-mm. close-in weapon systems (CIWS). Last November, however, Internet imagery indicated it might carry a lighter weapons suite. It will be the lead
platform for the short-range FL-3000N SAM, similar to Raytheons SeaRAM, though it carries 24 missiles. The imagery shows that Varyag will carry four
FL-3000N launchers and at least two Type-730 30-mm. CIWS.
Varyags air wing is becoming visible. Chinese Internet sources reported that the first flight of the Shenyang Aircraft Corp.s copy of the Sukhoi Su-33 was
in August 2009, and by early 2010 Internet imagery and a video confirmed Shenyang had copied the Su-33. Since 2005 Russian sourceshave insisted to this
writer that China could not copy the Su-33, as it was a radical modification of the Su-27SK design. By 2009, these sources anticipated China would purchase
an upgraded Su-33 as it developed its own version with a Chinese-designed WS-10A turbofan. In 2010, an Asian source said the PLA might not be pleased
with its Su-33 copy, and would consider buying the Sukhoi-built version. Since 2005, negotiations have been held up over Russias insistence that China buy
a profitable number, around 40.
It is now expected that Shenyang will perfect its Su-33 copy, which will feature the latest Chinese-designed active phased-array radar, and new 5thgeneration air-to-air missiles and long-range antiship missiles, such as an air-launched version of the YJ-63, with a range of 600-plus km. (373 mi.). Varyag
may start its service with a multirole fighter more capable in some respects than the Boeing F/A-18E/F.
In 2010, Internet images appeared of a new airborne early-warning and control radar array of the size needed for a carrier aircraft. This followed a 2005
partial image of a turboprop-powered AEW&C. In October 2009, Internet images emerged of possibly retractable AEW&C radar on a Chinese Z-8 helicopter,
which may form part of the initial air wing.
The PLA is also building escort ships for its carrier fleet. In the autumn of 2009 it appeared that two Chinese shipyards were building two new destroyer
classes, but their configurations and equipment are not apparent. The PLA is expected to build up to 18 modern Type-065A air-defense frigates. Two new
Type-093 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) have been built, and a more capable Type-095 SSN is expected.

When it enters service around 2015, the Varyag and its sisters, plus escorts, may be
located at a recently constructed naval base near Sanya on Hainan Island.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asiapacific-13693495

Aircraft carrier symbol of

China's naval ambitions
By Damian Grammaticas
BBC News, Dalian 8 June 2011

Varyag Name Change to Liaoning

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53316000/gif/_53316848_china_aircraft_carrier_624.gif

CATOBAR Aircraft Carriers will allow Chinese J-15 Flying

Shark Carrier Borne Fighter Aircraft take off from the
aircraft carrier with increased payload and fuel...

http://chinese
militaryreview.
blogspot.com.au/
2013/10/chinese-catobaraircraft-carrier.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hongpk8iON4/UmDpF_97ieI/AAAAAAAAfEI/QpdmxfygnEw/s1600/CATOBAR+%2528Catapult+Assisted+Take-Off+But+Arrested+Recovery%2529+kaunch+and
+recovery+of+aircraft+j-21+31J-15+Flying+Shark+Carrier+Borne+Fighter+Aircraft++Chinese+navy+pla+navy+construction+produced+built+designed+operationak+%25281%2529.jpg

New aircraft carriers to be built in Dalian & Shanghai

Staff Reporter 12 Dec 2013

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20131211000053

China will construct two conventionally powered aircraft carriers in Dalian

& Shanghai between 2014 and 2015, a source from China's Central Military
Commission has told Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese.
Under the Commission's Project 048, China aims to establish three carrier battle
groups by 2020 so that all three major fleets of the PLA Navy will be able to carry out
missions with the full support of an aircraft carrier. The two new Type 001A indigenous
carriers will be updated versions of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was
originally a Soviet-era Admiral Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier purchased from Ukraine
in 1998. They will also likely be designed with a ski-jump ramp, according to Duowei.
Sources said that the General Equipment Department of the PLA has already signed a
contract with the Beijing-based China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation to build the
two carriers. The price of the two vessels is estimated to be worth US$9 billion.

China has yet to decide whether its J-31 stealth fighter will replace the J-15
to become the country's next generation carrier-based fighter, according to
sources. The J-31 fighter entered service before the J-15, and is able to land or
take off from the flight deck of the Liaoning. Sources said that a decision will
only be made after the construction of the nation's second and third aircraft
carriers is completed. This will give the PLA more time to think about the type
of carrier-based fighter it will need in the future, the sources added.

Chinese Navy Pilots to

train with Brazilian
Navy

http://
informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/05/
more-on-varyag-news-from-brazil.html

Jump
Back
http://
img37.imageshack.us/
img37/2086/varyag
diagrammay22.jpg

Liaoning

SHI LANG/

Chinese Navy
Pilots to train
with Brazilian
Navy

/VARYAG

Chinese Carrier Pilots Train with Brazilian Help

May 2009 http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-on-varyag-news-from-brazil.html
-

Nelson Jobim, the Minister of defense for Brazil. I think the important part is that Jobim is going to China this
fall to basically finalize a deal that will allow Chinese naval pilots to train from Sao Paulo. You can see a little bit
about the Sao Paulo aircraft carrier in its Wikipedia Page. I think it's kind of interesting that they chose Sao Paulo,
because it's basically the only aircraft carrier with catapult and not serving for a country that current has military
embargo on China. US will obviously not let PLAN train on its carriers and French navy probably will not either
due to the embargo. I guess it shows that China is looking to build a CATOBAR carrier pretty soon. Otherwise,
there really isn't any need to train on Sao Paulo right now. On the other hand, it's kind of curious that China is
also planning to use NITKA training center, because that's probably preparing pilots for STOBAR carrier. Obviously, PLAN would be able to do more realistic training on Sao Paulo, but it would only have limited training
schedule on Sao Paulo compared to NITKA. So, it looks like PLAN is just covering all the basis with its plans. On
the whole, my guess is that Varyag will probably not equip any catapult, but the home built carriers will.
The other interesting part is that PLAN actually told Brazil that its building multiple carriers for power projection. We also heard a while back where a PLAN officer joked with USN about splitting power in Pacific Ocean
(and I think there are definitely elements in PLAN that thinks this way). Also a couple of years ago, I remember
reading Admiral Keating saying that PLAN officials were very forward about their intention to build aircraft
carrier in private conversations (this was at a time when China was still sort of denying their aircraft carrier
ambitions). I think this kind of conversation really contrasts with Chinese government's official statements. It
seems like PLAN officers are more relaxed and transparent with their intention in private conversations through
military exchanges than their civilian bosses are willing to be. In the past couple of years, I've seen many
politicians and military personnel complaining about lack of reciprocal invitations from PLA after they had been
fairly transparent toward visiting PLA delegation. I really think that PLA is still learning how to be more open
with their intentions and such. And it is clear that contacts with other countries are helping them to build trust
and understanding the importance of transparency. We are seeing PLA becoming more transparent recently
(with its white paper and the 60th anniversary review). Only positive military engagements can direct PLA to
become more transparent and reduce likelihood of a conflict.

June 12, 2009 Officers

08:14 AM Age: 189 to
days Train on Brazilian Aircraft Carrier
PLAN
By:
Russell Hsiao
Publication:

China Brief Volume: 9 Issue: 12 June 12, 2009

By: Russell Hsiao

In a May 9 interview with Brazilian defense, strategy and intelligence news website Defasanet, Brazilian Defense Minister
Nelson Jobim stated that Brazil and China had reached an agreement to train personnel from the Peoples Liberation Army
Navy (PLAN) in Brazil. In the interview (available in Portuguese), Jobim announced that the two sides reached a training
agreement to stage PLAN officers aboard the NAe Sao Paulo, Brazils Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier (Defesanet, May
13). There has been no reported official confirmation from the Chinese government concerning this agreement, however,
on May 19 the official Xinhua News Agency released a news report in its Spanish portal (no equivalent has been found in
the news agencys Chinese or English portal), which cites remarks that Jobim made to the media about the nature of the
plan in question. The Xinhua report cited Jobim as saying that the agreement was reached in April during Navy Admiral
Carlos Soares de Moura Netos official visit to Qingdao to attend the PLANs 60th Anniversary Naval Review (Xinhua News
Agency [Spanish], May 20). The defense minister noted that the Chinese wanted aircraft carriers for power projection, and
that he hopes naval cooperation between Brazil and China can serve as the gateway for defense cooperation in other areas
(Defesanet, May 13, Xinhua News Agency [Spanish], May 20). Jobim is planning a visit to China in September or October,
which analysts say is likely to finalize the training agreement.

http://www.
jamestown.
org/
single/?
no_cache=
1&tx_ttnew
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5D=35116&
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Although the details of this alleged agreement are still unknown, given the chronic lack of funding for the NAe Sao Paulo
within Brazils national budget, some observers speculate that a part of the deal may involve the Chinese paying for some
of the restoration of the aircraft carrier in return for some real on-deck operational experience for its carrier officers. An
article that appeared in a Chinese naval universitys website, Why did China Choose Brazil to Train it Carrier Pilots?
referenced an unspecified source as saying that the Chinese will provide technical support to Brazil for constructing its
nuclear submarines (Haijun.xaut.edu.cn, June 1). Western and Chinese analysts believe that at a minimum this agreement
will allow the Chinese access to Brazilian naval aviation expertise in addition to the carrier itself. In any event, training of
PLAN officers on NAe Sao Paulo would accelerate the development of Chinese capacity in naval aviation, which has been a
major weakness in Chinas efforts to operationalize an aircraft carrier.
There are currently nine navies with aircraft carriers in active service, and the United States, France, Russia and Brazil are
the only four naval forces that have operational aircraft carriers capable of launching and recovering conventional aircraft.
Reports that appeared in the Chinese press in the past have suggested that the PLAN is planning to employ the CATOBAR
(Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) launch and recovery system for its carriers. This may explain why
Chinese leaders have selected the NAe Sao Paulo as the operational carrier for training its future star carrier officers.
Moreover, France is restricted from participating in any technical training that may lead to a possible transfer of sensitive
technology to China due to the current EU embargo on China. On the other hand, Russianand the British navy, which will
launch its Queen Elizabeth class carriers from 2014 to 2018operates STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing)
system, thus Brazil appears to be the only viable candidate for the PLAN if they intend to adopt the CATOBAR system. In
addition, China's turn to Brazil may be the result of the standstill in Sino-Russian defense cooperation, Russia recently
suspended negotiations to sell Chinaits number one clientthe Su-33 fighter jet due to allegations that the Chinese are
illegally copying the Su-27SK and other Russian military hardware and technology (Defense News, May 4; Haijun.xaut.edu.cn, June 1).

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SKI JUMP
NEXT PAGE

Novofedorivka

NITKA, Ukraine, Crimean Peninsula

Nazyemniy Ispitateiniy

Treynirovochniy
Kompleks Aviatsii

(NITKA)
Ski Jump

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=
45.093035,33.59499&spn=0.043627,0.082226&z=13

http://en.rian.ru/images/16506/17/165061789.jpg

from article:
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110706/165061686.html

Click here jump

to Xingcheng

Russian sold secrets for Chinas first carrier - Ukraine sends him to prison
By Reuben F. Johnson - The Washington Times - Monday, February 14, 2011
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/14/russian-sold-secrets-for-chinas-first-carrier/
...Chinas intelligence service directed Yermakov to steal classified information about Ukraines Land-based Naval Aviation
Testing & Training Complex, or NITKA, its Russian acronym, according to reports. The facility is in the Crimea near the city of
Saki & was built when Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union. It remains the only training complex of its kind in the world....
&

...The Chinese are building a massive carrier pilot training base at Xingcheng, in the northeastern province of
Liaoning. Other facilities for training of carrier personnel and engineering support specialists have been built in
Xian, Shanxi province. The Xingcheng facility has features that duplicate the design of NITKA in Ukraine.

NITKA

ARRESTOR GEAR

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/14/russian-sold-secrets-for-chinas-first-carrier/print/
...Ukraine's Land-based Naval Aviation Testing and Training Complex, or NITKA, its Russian acronym...

NITKA

http://www.9abc.net/wp-content/uploads/tathumbnails-cache/TAdownload/2011/8/2922-1.jpg

Russia, Ukraine Revise Nitka Facility Lease 2012 August 20

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20120820/175327497.html (RIA Novosti)
-

Russia and Ukraine signed on Monday a protocol on amendments to an agreement on the

rent of facilities on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula for training of Russian carrier pilots. In line
with a 1997 bilateral agreement, Russia occasionally uses the Nitka Naval Pilot Training Center in Ukraine as the only training facility for its carrier pilots. During a meeting of a subcommittee [of the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission], the sides signed a protocol on the
use of the Ukrainian Nitka training facility by the Russian military, Russian Defense Minister
Anatoly Serdyukov said.
The new protocol envisions monetary payment for the use of Nitka facilities, an unrestricted range of naval aircraft used for training and testing, and the possibility of sharing the center with third parties. Under the original agreement, Russia remunerated Ukraine for the use of
the Nitka facilities with spare parts for Su-family naval fighter jets, which were the only type
allowed to operate at the center. Russia & Ukraine were the only countries to use Nitka.
The Nitka Center was built in the Soviet era for pilots to practice their skills in taking off
from and landing on an aircraft carrier's deck. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the
early 1990s, the facility remained under Ukrainian jurisdiction.
The center provides naval aviation training facilities such as a launch pad, an aerofinisher, a trampoline, a catapult launching device, a glide-path localizer, a marker beacon, and an
optical landing system. Serdyukov earlier said the Russian Defense Ministry pays about
$700,000 annually for the rent of the Nitka Center and is willing to upgrade this facility.
Russia, which has only one aircraft carrier - the Admiral Kuznetsov - is aiming to finish
drafting plans for a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for its Navy by 2018.

NEW Russian Naval

Aviation Centre 2013
Russia plans to rent naval pilot training
facilities in Ukraine | Nitka Naval Pilot
Training Center in Ukraine 07 Jul 2011

Old/Former
Russian Naval
Aviation
Centre

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov

formally asked on Wednes-day his Ukrainian
counterpart Mykhailo Yezhel to rent facilities on
Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula for naval pilot
training.
In line with a 1997 bilateral agreement, Russia
occasionally uses the Nitka Naval Pilot Training
Center in Ukraine as the only training facility for
its naval pilots.
"I have signed a request to the Ukrainian
defense minister to allow us the [permanent] use
of the Nitka facility for naval pilot training in the
form of a rental or some other agreement,"
Serdyukov said a meeting of the Council of CIS
Defense Ministers at the Russian Black Sea
resort of Sochi.
http://nosint.blogspot.com/2011/07/russia-plans-to-rent-naval-pilot.html

Russia to Open Carrier Pilot Training Site by Fall

15 Mar 2013 http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20130315/180041642.html
-

MOSCOW, March 15 (RIA Novosti) A new Russian carrier-deck pilot training site will be ready for operation by fall, the
Federal Agency for Special Construction Work confirmed on Friday, replacing a Soviet-era base in Ukraine which Kiev
has said it may lease to other countries. The construction work there is effectively complete. I believe aircraft will start
flying there in August or September, Grigory Naginsky, head of the Federal Agency for Special Construction Work
(Spetsstroi) said. Former Russian Navy chief Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky had previously said the training facility in the city
of Yeisk, on Russia's Black Sea coast, should be complete by 2020.
Earlier in March, Ukrainian First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Oleinik said Ukraine, which does not operate fixed-wing shipborne naval aircraft, was considering leasing out its Nitka training site in Crimea to other countries. Under a 1997 bilateral agreement,
Russia occasionally uses Ukraine's Nitka Naval Pilot Training Center, the only land-based training facility for its carrier-based fixedwing pilots. At present, the site is only used by Russia on a short-term basis to train Northern Fleet carrier pilots, who fly Su-33 naval
fighter jets and Su-25UTG conversion trainers for Russia's sole carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.
The Nitka Center was built in the Soviet era for pilots to practice taking-off and landing from aircraft carrier decks. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the facility remained under Ukraines control. The center provides facilities such as a launch pad, a
catapult launch device and arrester wires, a glide-path localizer, a marker beacon, and an optical landing system. The Russian Defense Ministry has previously asked the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to lease the site to Russia. Ukraines then-Defense Minister Mykhailo
Yezhel supported Russias request. However, a firm deal for the Russia lease option was not clinched, Oleinik said earlier this month,
so the Ukrainian Defense Ministry was looking at other options for using it.
"India and China are the obvious potential candidates for this," Douglas Barrie, air warfare analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said earlier this month. India is awaiting delivery of a refurbished Russian aircraft carrier
which will operate Russian MiG-29K fighter jets. China only has one carrier, from which naval aircraft were seen operating for the first
time last year, and has little experience of fixed-wing naval operations. Most other aircraft carrier operators either use short take-off/
vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft whose crews would not need a facility like Nitka, or have their own such facilities, or use only ships
for training.
Under the original agreement, Russia traded use of the Nitka facilities for spare parts for Sukhoi-family naval fighter jets, which were the
only type allowed to operate at the center. Russia and Ukraine were Nitka's only users. In August, Russias then-Defense Minister Anatoly
Serdyukov said Russia and Ukraine had signed a protocol on amendments to that agreement, setting out payment for using the site, unrestricted use of a range of naval aircraft for training & testing, & the possibility of sharing the center with third parties. The Russian Defense Ministry said last year it was paying about $700,000 annually to rent Nitka and was willing to upgrade the facility. Russia, which has only
one aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov is drawing up plans for a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for its Navy by 2018.

http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA378145

SEE
EXCERPT
-

NEXT
PAGE

http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA126456

Short Takeoff Performance Using a Gravity Assist Ski Jump

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a126456.pdf (1Mb) by Roger J. Furey 1983 March
ABSTRACT: A modified or gravity assist ski jump is developed, through an application of the calculus of variations, to provide for the shortest takeoff roll for a thrust vector control type vertical
or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft that will maintain a better-than-minimum required
rate of climb. As a means of comparison between the resulting modified and a conventional ski
jump, the equations of motion are programed to model the takeoff performancer using a ski jump.
The results of this model are found to compare well with Naval Air Test Center ski jump test results of the AV-8A aircraft. A comparison of the standard and gravity assist ski jump shows

a reduction of 30 percent in required ground roll and 20 percent in distance to a 50-ft

altitude, while maintaining a better-than-minimum required rate of climb, with the modified ramp. A simple modified ramp, using a pair of standard multiple girder bridging
(MGB) ramps, is shown to provide similar improvements in takeoff performance."...
&

"...While the performance benefits to be gained through the use of the ski jump have been demonstrated, it seems reasonable that, as in the case of an actual skier, an assist from gravity in the
initial downhill run prior to the ramp entry would provide for greater initial acceleration and thereby further performance gains. The current report is an effort to determine what the ski jump shape
should be in order to provide for a maximum payload with the shortest takeoff roll. The payoff
would include smaller ships platforms from which such aircraft could operate...."
CONCLUSIONS

"...The purpose of this report has been to present results which are necessarily preliminary in the
sense that a limited number of variables have been evaluated. Although such an arrangement of
ski jump ramps may be physically challenging, the challenge is no greater than the single ski jump
ramp first presented...." EXCERPTS from Previous Page PDF (on the right hand side of the page)

Jumping Jack Flash

July 2014 unknown author
AIR International F-35 Special Ed.

The DT I test plan was released as a

150-page document, one of the most
complex ever written for any aircraft
and requiring countless meetings over
an 18-month period to finalise. Maj
Rusnok said: Thats a real tribute to
the folks with the knowledge base and
the wherewithal to write that kind of
stuff.
Pilots, Training and Embarkation

Four pilots were selected for DT I:

Peter Wilson of BAE Systems and
three US Marine Corps test pilots,
LtCol Schenk, LtCol Matthew Kelly
and Maj Richard Rusnok. Each required ten vertical landings in their
pocket as a test plan prerequisite
prior to starting workups for the ship.
Peter Wilson, the STOVL-lead pilot
with the F-35 ITF at Pax, the test conductors and test directors played a
pivotal role in the training to get the
pilots ready to go. The process involved each pilot undertaking multiple
simulator events to mirror the daily

morning and afternoon flight periods available on the ship which lasted for up to five hours and took place
between May and October.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) simulators at Pax were developed for the test mission and can
be linked to the test control rooms
on the base. Landing Signal Officers
(LSOs) and carrier suitability engineers took part in the simulator training and provided the calls usually made by controllers in the bridge
of the ship, primary flight control and
the tower. We started with just the
basic mechanics and worked our way
into specific test points, emergency procedures and eventually to periods involving every conceivable type
of test. You name it, we basically simulated it, said Maj Rusnok. The next
training requirement was Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) at Pax
for which a deck painted to look like
a ship with instrumentation was set
up in the middle of the airfield and
equipped with a landing aid used on
LHDs.
FCLPs were flown with the support of sailors assigned to Pax with
prior LHD experience. Two weeks

before embarkation, the entire Wasp

flightdeck crew came to Pax for academic training. We had the fire fighters learning how to rescue a pilot
out of an F-35 because there are
so many unique aspects about the
jet and the full deck crew with the
air boss and the mini boss running
our flight period on the airfield, said
Rusnok.
On the afternoon of October 3,
lead government STOVL pilot LtCol
Schenk took off from Pax River in BF02, flew the short distance to the USS
Wasp under way off the coast of Wallops Island, Virginia, flew a couple of
passes alongside the ship and then
executed a vertical landing the first
aboard an LHD-class ship to spot
seven.
He also made the first launch the
next morning, and completed a further three take-offs and landings in
the first flight period. Maj Rusnok flew
in the second period. Each pilot completed a nominal CQ qualification period inside the envelope before venturing into more interesting pieces of the
envelope.
We didnt learn anything too
crazy. We were pleasantly surprised
1

at what we saw there was no smoking gun, we didnt have any near
misses and the deck crew was happy
with what they were doing, said
Rusnok.
Spray Coming onto the Ship

All of the initial missions flown from

the Wasp during DT I were in the daytime and involved the jets recovering to the ship to a case one pattern:
coming into the break over the top of
the ship, turning downwind, and then
approaching the ship from approximately one mile aft of the stern.
We generally come out of a final
approach turn somewhere between
375 and 400 feet above the water for
a three-degree glide slope to decelerate abeam the ship, usually about
a wingspans worth off the ship, said
Rusnok. As we get down and ready
to cross the deck we do so at 90 or
45-degrees depending on how our
closure is on our control and what the
LSO is clearing us to do. Hes really
running the pattern.
At that point were somewhere in
the vicinity of 110 to 120 feet above
the water, and thats when you start
to see some of the wash coming up

but from the pilots perspective you

dont even know its there. The only
time we [the pilots] saw any spray
was during tailwind test points, at the
edges of envelope. There were no adverse handling characteristics caused
by the spray; you just see it because
its getting blown back towards you as
expected.
There was concern that spray
was a potentially big issue. Because
we have our closure under control we can keep the aeroplane moving right across the deck, thats really
no issue, but if time is spent dwelling at that position theres time for a
mini tornado to develop and we see
that ashore with dust as well. At sea,
generally we didnt even know it was
there and it wasnt affecting the guys
on the flight deck or the tower, so it
was a non-event in that respect. The
test events were undertaken methodically, and not at war ops high tempo,
to ensure procedures were conducted
correctly and that nothing broke.
Aircraft Handling Around the Ship
Maj Rusnok described flying the
F-35B around the ship: The aeroplane in all its basic flying qualities,
especially in STOVL mode, is kind of

magical, it really is. You sit at 150 feet

in a hover and its like sitting in this
chair except that youre elevated. The
aeroplane is incredibly stable. Hypothetically, you could put a drink on the
dashboard and its not going to spill.
If you watch it from the outside,
youll see the control effectors actually moving very rapidly and making all
kinds of corrections Im not. Theyre
not making big swings, but making
minute movements, keeping the aeroplane in the rock-steady hover that
we experience in flight; and we saw
that at sea in just the same way albeit with some forward speed to continue to fly formation with the ship as it
moves through the water.
Taking an aircraft to the ship
presents concerns: the salt environment, the potential for disruptive interaction between the ship and the
aircraft caused by the burble (the unusual air flow around the ship), the
compatibility of the avionics with the
ship, and the basic vehicle interface
and displays are there unknowns
that have not been thought about?
We never saw any of that at sea,
said Rusnok. Was everything perfect? Absolutely not, thats why we do
2

developmental testing. But do I feel

comfortable with a properly trained
F-35 pilot, whos not a test pilot, taking an aeroplane out to sea to do
basic daylight landings? Absolutely,
based on what we saw, especially in
the nominal envelope theyll provide
the fleet with for initial operation..
STO-ing

Maj Rusnok noted: We werent only

stepping through flying with varying crosswinds but also various centre
of gravity load-outs for the aircraft,
done with fuel. To achieve the very
specific weight bands on the aircraft
required to match the model, sometimes we had to refuel on the deck or
wait to burn down fuel to meet the
requirement of the specific test band.
So not very fast launches, but very
controlled. Wed take off and burn the
fuel down to a specific landing weight
to maintain divert options ashore and
stay in the weight band.
There are three ways to conduct
a short take off (STO) in the F-35B:
stick STO, button STO and auto
STO. Thats a completely automated
way to STO the aircraft off the flight
deck. You punch in a distance and the

aircraft will auto rotate to its optimal

fly-out condition. Its all based on distance: we know where the aircraft is
spotted [before it starts its take-off
run] and where it should start its actual rotation, explained Rusnok. Unlike a Harrier, which launches off the
end of the ship flat, the F-35 rotates
at about 225 feet from the bow, sits
on two wheels until it gets to the end
of the ship and actually takes off, a
much different process to a Harrier. From a pilot perspective, you lose
some sight of the front of the ship; in
a Harrier you can see all the deck. But
thats all part of optimising a 35,000lb
aeroplane to get off the ship compared to the Harrier, which is only
16,000 to 25,000lb.
With stick STO the pilot controls
the take-off by pulling back on the
stick, holding it there and then rotating to the optimal pitch angle to fly
off. In button STO, the pilot uses a
trim switch which rotates the aircraft
when pushed in, activating it when
the aircraft passes the yellow STO rotation line positioned 225 feet from
the bow of the ship.
That was a temporary marking applied on the flight deck for this

trial and is now being permanently installed on the ship with lighting, explained Rusnok. Its based on optimising the performance of the aircraft
and its flying qualities, so we can get
the aeroplane off with the maximum
amount of nozzle clearance and performance. The STO line is our visual cue to either pull the stick aft or hit
the button; or if youre on automated STO you should start seeing the
aeroplanes flight controls moving by
the line, otherwise the pilot can intervene and pull back on the stick. Weve
never had to intervene.
The pilot also has command of
the throttle. Two power setting options are available for take-off: Mil
STO and Max STO, as Maj Rusnok
explained: When you taxi to the tram
line you stay in mode one, the conventional flight mode. You convert the
aircraft into mode four, the STOVL
flight mode, and it takes about 15
seconds or so for the doors to open
up and the lift fan to engage.
Then you push the throttle about
halfway up the throttle slide into a
detent position at about 34% engine thrust request. It sits there and
you check the engine gauges: if the
3

readings are okay you slam the throttle to either Mil or Max position and
then release the brakes simultaneously. Pushing through to max is like an
afterburner detent. But its not an afterburner you cant go to afterburner in mode four.
Its a very fast acceleration. The
closest we would spot from the bow is
400 feet, so about 175 feet before we
would actually start rotating the aeroplane [at the STO rotation line]; so
very, very quick.
One of the big test points for DT I
was to ensure adequate nozzle clearance in all the different test conditions. The engine nozzle swings down
and back up during the take-off in accordance with inputs from the aircraft
control laws.
Its all automated, said Rusnok.
The pilot is not in the loop whatsoever either theyre pushing the button
and letting the aeroplane do its own
thing or pulling back on the stick to
help it. Monitoring systems cue when
something is wrong, so you have to
rely on them to keep you safe because the flight controls are being
moved unbelievably quickly.
Maj Rusnok said the take-off was

very much like that ashore, with very

little sink off the end of the deck.
The aeroplane is ridiculously powerful
in STOVL mode. Just raw, unadulterated power.
Recovery to the Deck

Generally, each time an aircraft took

off it would burn down its fuel load by
flying around the ship and making approaches until the appropriate landing
weight was reached for the test points
required. Landing spots seven and
nine were used: seven is the primary
location for STOVL jets on LHD ships,
while nine is further aft on the tram
line. The landing spot selected for
each flight was mainly driven by NAVSEAs environmental engineers who
specified a certain number of landings
on each one to determine their flow
characteristics and how that affected minimum time between landings
ultimately working up to demonstrate
two-ship F-35B operations.
Both spots were instrumented to
measure different parameters: seven
for deck deflection and nine to measure heat on an experimental nonskid deck surface called Thermion.
According to NAVSEA this new coating

a bond of ceramic and aluminium

designed to be more resistant to extreme heat, and wear and tear, from
flight operations showed no signs of
heat stress during DT I.
Sometimes BF-04, the mission systems aircraft, would fly instrument approaches to come alongside the ship and side step over to
the flight deck. But we were primarily testing compatibility of TACAN and
carrier-controlled approaches, not the
full transition from an instrument approach across the stern to a landing,
said Maj Rusnok.
Feedback from DT I

Over the course of the 19-day DT I

test period the two jets logged 28
hours flight time and completed 72
short take-offs and 72 vertical landings in conditions of up to 33 knots of
wind-over-deck and 10 knots of starboard crosswind.
The Director, Operational Test &
Evaluations Fiscal Year 2011 Annual
Report (DOT&E FY2011 AR) said: As
expected, high starboard crosswinds
produced the most challenging environment. One approach to hover prior
to a vertical landing was waved off
4

and ISR, each distinctly different in

terms of software and hardware. The
two aircraft used for DT II incorporated the different standards BF-01 is
an FFR, and BF-05 is an ISR, the only
such aeroplane in the SDD fleet.
That gave us a unique opportunity to take the ISR propulsion system
to the boat and compare it back-toback with the capabilities of the FFR
system: we only found very minor differences, said Peter Wilson, STOVLlead pilot for the F-35. An ISR propulsion system has more capability than
an FFR and is able to cope with wider
variations in aircraft centre of gravity (CG), a key factor when bringing weapons back to the boat. With
forward CG, such as when weapons are carried internally, the lift fan
must produce more thrust than the
three-bearing swivel module (3BSM)
in order to balance the aircraft at
Development Test Phase Two
Test Events
a steady hover attitude. You have
more capability to handle off-nomiOn August 10, some 21 months after VX-23 devoted considerable time in
nal CGs but that doesnt necessarithe conclusion of DT I, USS Wasp
2013 to clearing the envelope to be
hosted the follow-on F-35B sea trials
used onboard the USS Wasp and vig- ly mean you always have more per known as Developmental Test Phase orously testing the In-Service Release formance because of knock-on effects.
Two, or DT II.
(ISR) of the propulsion system. There If for example a gust pushes the nose
up, the control system has to vary the
Just like DT I, VX-23 deployed
are two standards of the propulsion
balance of forces between the lift fan
four pilots, two jets and a 200-strong system: First Flight Release (FFR)
by the pilot due to turbulence in the
ships air wake.
A minimal nozzle clearance of
two inches was observed at rotation
during a short take-off with high starboard crosswinds when the pilot made
an aggressive correction to maintain
centreline.
The good story was the tyres.
We thought they were going to be
eaten up by the non-skid because
thats a pretty rough surface out
there. We only changed two. He was
enthusiastic about the aircrafts performance during DT I: Weve proved
the F-35B is compatible with LHD
ships and well eventually prove that
with the UKs CVF-class ships too. We
didnt hurt anybody, we didnt break
anything and the aeroplane performed outstandingly in terms of flying qualities and maintenance.

team for an 18-day test period. Pilots

selected for DT II were LtCol Jimi Clift
and Maj Mike Kingen of the US Marine
Corps, Squadron Leader Jim Schofield from the Royal Air Force and BAE
Systems Peter Wilson, the only pilot
to fly in both sea trials.
DT II was undertaken to expand
the F-35Bs allowable wind envelope
for launch and recovery, conduct the
first-ever night operations and initial
mission systems evaluations at sea,
evaluate the dynamics associated with
aircraft operations on a moving flight
deck and further test shipboard sustainment of the F-35.
We tried as best we could to
keep all the flying fleet-relevant, as
opposed to DT I where there were a
lot more tests to maintain configuration for longer periods of time, said
Maj Mike Kingen.

and the 3BSM to bring it down again.

All this happens automatically in very
quick time such that the pilot doesnt
even know it. But the adjustment process may lose the aircraft a couple of
feet because maximum thrust is not
always available while adjusting the
attitude in the hover. This happened
twice during DT II.
As part of the test programme,
VX-23 undertook crosswind and tailwind envelope expansion. This included what Peter Wilson described
as some very interesting test points
with the aircraft positioned with a tailwind which involved tracking the
centreline with various bank angles
moving backwards at 25 knots or so,
really testing close to the limits of
the propulsion systems capability. So
weve hit the corners of the envelope
going backwards and sideways.
VX-23 also conducted vertical
landings with a 15-knot crosswind and
with expected hot gas ingestion from
the ships funnels. Weve completed
extreme descent rates touching down
at 12ft/sec and not exceeded the load
limits of the landing gear, said Wilson.
Crosswind testing is an interesting scenario.

There are two ways to achieve

the required objective. The pilot can
generate crosswind in the hover by
turning 90-degrees away from a
headwind to generate crosswind from
the natural wind and then move sideways over the ground to achieve the
required test condition. The wind can
be forced to come at any angle to the
aircraft. The alternate way is to test
when the desired wind speed is available naturally, pedal turning the aircraft until the direction required by
the test point is achieved.
DT II was about crosswind envelope expansion; getting out to 40
knots of headwind; tailwind envelope
expansion; and the internal carriage
of inert weapons during take-offs
and landings for the first time, said
Wilson.
Carriage of weapons in the internal bays moves the aircrafts CG forward, which makes it behave a little
differently. Testing it was a DT II goal.
Wilson explained: We also had to periodically jettison weapons to meet
the necessary landing weight. DT II
was the first time the F-35B had jettisoned weapons. We also wanted to
fly at night, conduct landings with

ship motion to increase the loads envelope, evaluate the effects of motion
on the control system, and how the
pilot would track the motion, and further stress the Thermion flightdeck
coating.
US Marine Corps test pilot LtCol
Jimi Clift flew the first night vertical
landing on August 14. VX-23 also performed regression testing of the test
points that failed during DT I. Takeoffs during DT I showed that the nozzle swung, in some angles, just two
inches from the flight deck, requiring improvements to the flight control
system. You cant test that scenario
ashore, so we repeated some of the
conditions seen during DT I to prove
that the corrections made aligned
with the simulation, said Wilson.
Night Ops, HMDS, Mission Systems
and Crosswinds

Maj Kingen and Squadron Leader

Schofield gained their carrier qualification on the first day of DT II, after
which the flight test team was ready
to conduct night ops.
I had a ridiculous grin on my face
when I returned to the ready room
after my first night mission. Id never
6

flown a night mission to a boat before

feeling anything other than stressed,
said Wilson. Thats what the Harrier was like at night. You really felt
like you got away with it. Youre highly trained so youre probably going
to be fine, but you always knew not
much had to go wrong and youd be
screwed. In the F-35 the experience
was so different because it holds the
height for you, it looks after you and
you can actually leave it alone, which
is often the best thing you can do.
And it holds a beautiful hover, far better than you could do manually.
Its really a task that requires
you to just monitor the systems. Having done three vertical landings in
about two hours, taking fuel, launching again and returning was a doddle
by comparison to the Harrier.
The testing sought to prove the
pilot could improve the night landing
task relative to the Harrier by using
the naked eye and the Gen II Helmet
Mounted Display. Thats what we did
supremely, said Wilson.
He confirmed that the functionality problems of the Gen II-standard HMDS are not encountered with
STOVL operations. You see effects

at sea that you dont necessarily see

ashore. For example, low sun on the
horizon can bounce back off the water
and potentially wash out some of the
HMD symbology. Its not fantastic, but
its okay. The primary issue with the
helmet occurs when the aeroplane
starts to buffet. We dont get much
buffet in STOVL mode and its a comfortable ride most of the time.
Test events were also undertaken
while the jets were airborne, as Wilson explained: We conducted mission system tests to ensure interoperability with the ship: communications,
navigation, TACAN and IFF. We also
flew instrument approaches in visual conditions by day and by night to
simulate our ability to get back to the
ship in bad weather.
Another aspect of STOVL ops
tested during DT II determined the
effect of wind coming around the
ships island. When an aircraft is in
the hover, the island is on the right.
If the wind comes from the right it
makes its way around the island and
catches the aircraft from various angles. That makes the hot gas coming out of the ships stack come at
you, which is bad news. Aeroplanes

dont like ingesting hot gas: it reduces

performance, said Wilson. We had
mixed results, some good, some bad.
With the wind coming from round
the back of the island, the aeroplane
starts to feel like its jostling around.
And the effects of the hot gas coming from around the front eroded
our performance margin, but not to
a point we were concerned because
the aircraft has the capability to withstand the effects. We opened out to
10 knots of crosswind from the right
and 15 knots from the left, which
is a super envelope. It was a great
success.
During the 18-day sea trial the
two jets completed 95 take-offs and
vertical landings, both forward and
aft-facing, and 17 night take-offs and
landings in 10 days of testing.
It was an extremely successful at-sea period. We hashed out the
envelope and we got the fleet something theyre going to be able to work
with. In fact weve got everything except for elevated sea state, said Maj
Kingen.

Source: AIR International

F-35 Special Edition July 2014

CVF ski-jump ramp profile optimisation for F-35B

A. Fry, R. Cook and N. Revill, FEBRUARY 2009 VOLUME 113 NO 1140: http://www.raes.org.uk/pdfs/3324_COLOUR.pdf
-

...1.4 F-35B STOVL lift and propulsion system

The F-35B has a number of unique elements that facilitate its STOVL
capability, and these are critical in the optimisation of a ski jump
ramp profile for the aircraft.... and described below:
a Lift Fan driven by a shaft from the main engine which provides vertical lift through a variable area vane box nozzle using louvered vanes
to vector thrust between vertically downwards and partially aft.
a three-bearing swivel module (3BSM), which vectors the main engine exhaust thrust from the core engine through vertically downwards
to fully aft the latter being the default for conventional mode flying.
roll nozzles, ducted from the engine and exiting in each wing
providing roll control and vertical lift. These are closed off during
the initial portion of the short take-off (STO) in order to maximise
forward thrust from the main engine, opening towards the end of
the ramp in order to provide control and lift during the fly out....

CVF ski-jump ramp profile

optimisation for F-35B
http://www.raes.org.uk/
pdfs/3324_COLOUR.pdf
A. Fry, R. Cook and N. Revill
anthony.fry@baesystems.com

Although the ramp is physically part of the ship and responsibility for its
manufacture and installation lies with the ACA, its profile is entirely based
on the aircraft characteristics and for this reason the development of a
profile optimised for the F-35B was conducted by the CVF Integration
Support Team (CVFIST) on behalf of Team JSF in 2006 and 2007.

1.0 THE JSF AND CVF PROGRAMS

1.1 Overview of the JSF program
Team JSF (TJSF) comprises Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and
Northrop Grumman and will produce the JSF aircraft in three variants:
conventional take-off and landing (CTOL); carrier based variant (CV); and
a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. This paper deals
with
the
STOVL
aircraft,
designated
F-35B, which is currently selected by the UK as its Joint Combat Aircraft
(JCA), to be operated by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force replacing
the existing Harrier fleet.

1.4 F-35B STOVL lift and propulsion system

1.2 overview of the CVF programme

BAE Systems
Warton
UK THE AERONAUTICAL JOURNAL

FEBRUARY 2009 VOLUME 113 NO 1140

The Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) programme is managed by the Aircraft

Carrier Alliance (ACA), an industry and government consortium, and will
produce two new carrier vessels entering service from 2014 to replace the
existing Invincible class of ships and is illustrated with the F-35B in Fig. 1.
These carriers will act as the UKs mobile air-base, operating and
supporting a wide variety of aircraft in support of UK expeditionary operations obviating the need to rely on other countries co-operation. The
embarked air group will primarily consist of JCA but will also include
Airborne Surveillance and Control, Maritime, Support, Attack and
Battlefield helicopters depending on the mission.
In the Carrier Strike role, up to 36 JCA will be embarked, capable of
operating in all weathers, day and night; providing a long range strike
capability in addition to air defence and offensive support to the fleet and
ground troops.
1.3 CVF integration support program
This program and team was established as part of TJSF and tasked to
provide existing and newly generated engineering information to support
the ACA in the integration of F-35B with CVF.

ABSTRACT

NOMENCLATURE

This paper presents a summary of the principles and processes used to

design a ski-jump ramp profile for the UKs Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF)
optimised for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
The paper includes an overview of the CVF and JSF programs, a history
and summary of the ski-jump ramp and the principles of its use in the
shipborne Short Take-Off (STO) manoeuvre.
The paper discusses the importance of defining optimisation boundaries
including specified objectives, aircraft configurations and environmental
conditions. It then demonstrates the process of balancing the design drivers
of air vehicle performance and landing gear loads to achieve an optimum
profile. Comparisons are made between the proposed candidate CVF ramp
profile and the current in service ski-jump design as designed for the
Harrier family of aircraft.
The paper briefly covers some of the important issues and factors that
have been experienced when a theoretical profile is translated into a
physical ramp fitted to a ship, principally the effects on aircraft operations
due to build and in-service variation from the nominal profile.

3BSM
ACA
CG
CTOL
CV
CVS

3 Bearing swivel module

aircraft carrier alliance
centre of gravity
conventional take-off and landing
carrier variant
anti submarine carrier
(descriptor for the Invincible class of ships)
CVF
UK future aircraft carrier project
CVFIST CVF integration support team
DEFSTAN UK MoD defence standard publication
Dstl
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
EC
environmental condition (e.g. Hot/ISA day)
JCA
UK joint combat aircraft project
JSF
Joint Strike Fighter
SDD
system development and design phase
STO
short take-off
STOVL
short take-off and vertical landing
TJSF
Team JSF

Paper No. 3324. Manuscript received 31 July 2008, accepted 16 October 2008.
Copyright BAE Systems 2008. All rights reserved. Published by the Royal Aeronautical Society with permission.
This paper was originally presented at the 2008 International Powered Lift Conference at The Royal Aeronautical Society, London.

79

The F-35B has a number of unique elements that facilitate its STOVL
capability, and these are critical in the optimisation of a ski jump ramp
profile for the aircraft. A basic description of the layout and function of the
lift and propulsion system is shown in Fig. 2 and described below:
a Lift Fan driven by a shaft from the main engine which provides
vertical lift through a variable area vane box nozzle using louvered
vanes to vector thrust between vertically downwards and partially aft.
a three-bearing swivel module (3BSM), which vectors the main
engine exhaust thrust from the core engine through vertically
downwards to fully aft the latter being the default for conventional
mode flying.
roll nozzles, ducted from the engine and exiting in each wing
providing roll control and vertical lift. These are closed off during the
initial portion of the short take-off (STO) in order to maximise
forward thrust from the main engine, opening towards the end of the
ramp in order to provide control and lift during the fly out.

2.0 THE SKI JUMP RAMP

2.1 Background and history of the ramp
The ski jump ramp was conceived by a Royal Navy officer in the 1970s
and subsequently developed by the UK services, industry and Government
as a way of increasing the STO launch payload for the Harrier. It has since
become an integral part of embarked operations for UK and most foreign
Harrier operators.
The first operational ramp was fitted to HMS Hermes (see Fig. 3) in
1979 and was a 12 degree ramp; as defined by the angle to the horizontal of
the tangent at the last point on the profile.
The Invincible class of Anti-Submarine Carriers (CVS) were modified
during building to accommodate the Sea Harrier aircraft and were
completed with a 7 degree ramp in the early 1980s. This lower angle was
chosen to avoid obstructing the firing arcs of the Surface to Air Missile
system fitted to this class although giving less launch performance benefit.
Due in part to the success of the Harrier in the 1982 Falklands war these
ramps were replaced by a larger 12 degree design later in the 1980s. The
ships and their ramps have given valuable service to the UK through to this
day with successive generations of the Harrier family, as Fig. 4 illustrates.

Figure 1. Artists impression of CVF and F-35B.

Figure 2. F-35B and its STOVL Propulsion and Lift System.

Figure 3. HMS Hermes with first 12 ski jump ramp.

Figure 8. Ski-jump launch profile.

Figure 4. HMS Illustrious with retrofitted 12 ramp.

This margin primarily accounts for variation between the mathematical

profile derived during the analysis and the as-built steel structure that
flexes with the operation of the ship and can develop a permanent deformation. Legacy experience is explicit that this build and in-service physical
variance can result in gear load increases of a severity requiring operational
performance restrictions.
Graphically illustrated in Fig. 9, the load margin is obtained by specifying a minimum remaining strut stroke in the worst loading case based on
legacy experience, applying this to the load/stroke curve and using the
resulting load/stroke point as the metric against which launch cases are
assessed.

Figure 5. Ramp design drivers.

5.0 CHARACTERISATION
2.2 Principles of the ski jump
The ski jump ramp works by imparting an upward vertical velocity and
ballistic profile to the aircraft, providing additional time to accelerate to
flying speed whilst ensuring it is on a safe trajectory. This additional time is
manifested either in a reduced take-off length for a given weight, or
increased weight (i.e. launch performance) for a fixed take-off distance as
in a ship based STO.
The additional performance does not come for free, with a significant
increase in landing gear loads above those of a standard take off (which are
very low compared to a landing). The increase represents the energy transferred to the aircraft as it translates up the ramp; and if the angle and
curvature of the ramp are increased to obtain greater performance benefit,
so are the loads. This is tolerable up to a point because the gear strength is
defined by landing events and thus has the ability to accept the increased
take-off loads, but loads act as an upper boundary on permissible ramp
size, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
The ideal landing gear vertical load time history for a ski jump ramp
STO is sketched in Fig. 6, with a rapid increase to a steady maximum
where the area underneath the curve represents the energy imparted by the
ramp. However, the actual loads are different, and reflect the complex
dynamic response of the gear components as they enter and travel up the
curvature of the profile.
References 1, 2 and 3 describe in further detail the principles behind the
ski jump and its advantages as part of a STO manoeuvre compared to a flat
deck launch and the design of the profile is described later.
It should be noted that non-STOVL aircraft can benefit from a ski jump
manoeuvre, as illustrated by the Russian use of ramps with conventional
type aircraft from their carriers. STOVL aircraft are unique however
because of the flexible and complex manner in which the thrust and control
effectors generate combinations of thrust and forward speed in conjunction
with the speed dependent wing lift.

5.1 Performance

Figure 9. Landing gear loads/stroke margin.

Figure 6. Ideal and Actual Ramp Landing Gear Vertical Load Profiles.

4.2 Safe launch metric

At the core of a ski jump performance analysis is the assessment of
whether a launch case is achievable or not. The minimum safe launch is
defined where the ramp exit speed does not result in any rate of descent
during the trajectory until the aircraft has transitioned to fully wing-borne
flight. This results in the launch profile shown in Fig. 8, with an inflection
point at which the criteria for a successful launch are assessed.
There are two safe launch criteria derived from legacy STOVL
experience that are used on the JSF program, of which the more stressing is
adopted: (a) subtracting a margin from the WOD and requiring zero sink
rate (known as Operational WOD); and (b) using the full value of WOD
but requiring a defined positive rate of climb. Both also require a threshold
forward acceleration.

3.0 RAMP DESIGN PROCESS

Figure 7 illustrates the overall concept adopted for the design of the CVF
ramp and this was strongly influenced by the documentary evidence and
guidance from previous ramp design tasks. References 4 to 7 and the
acknowledgements reflect drawing on past experience and knowledge, and
the teams contribution was to then optimise it to the F-35B aircraft using
TJSF analysis tools.

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

5.2 Loads
For loads, the gear response on entering the ramp is essentially a function
of energy, i.e. mass and speed, and it was necessary to investigate a range
of weight and speed cases in order to identify the worst case in order to
then use that as a working case for the optimisation phase. This balance is
not intuitive since the highest weights are only achievable with higher
WOD speeds and the gear loading may be offset by the additional wing
lift. The opposite case, at lighter weight but with excess deck run and thus
high entry speed, was included for balance.
The sensitivity to changes in the control effector scheduling was investigated in order to understand how changes to these to optimise for performance can impact loads as were centre of gravity (CG) variations,
different WOD speeds, use of external stores (for their aerodynamic drag
increment effect on speed, forces and moments) and different methods of
modelling the strut internal pressures.

4.3 Landing gear loads metric

4.1 Defining optimisation parameters

An essential first step in the process was to specify criteria that would
bound the task and provide measures for driving the design and evaluating
its success. Without having these to reduce the design space to manageable
boundaries, optimising for the best ramp could be equated to how long is
a piece of string ?.

Reference 8 details the work performed by Dstl to examine the key

factors and CVF/JCA requirements which influenced this task, in
particular, development of the key performance and loads cases in terms of
aircraft configurations and environmental conditions which formed the
customers objectives. Other ground rules such as take off distances,
maximum ramp length and height constraints, wind over deck speeds
(WOD) and ship motion factors were also generated prior to the main
analysis which was based on legacy experience with Harrier analysis, TJSF
SDD best practice, and sensitivity studies of performance and loads to
identify sensible values and ranges.
Previous assessments considered pilot view of the sea and deck as well
as handling qualities which were found to be benign for ski-jump STOs
and since they do not drive the design of the ramp, are not discussed
further.

The sensitivity studies initially used the existing CVS ramp profile as a
baseline, and showed that the high weight configurations at higher ambient
temperatures were the most stressing in terms of what payload capability
was achievable. Figure 10 displays a performance characterisation at
different environmental conditions (EC 1 to 4) with the CVS ramp, and
showing the target configuration (weight) is achievable bar the most
stressing condition.
A nominal case from which comparisons could be made against past
and baseline predictions of performance was developed, as were a range of
weight cases in order to provide the on-ramp schedules of control effectors
(nozzle angles, thrust split and elevator angle) for use in the landing gear
loads analysis. The effects of varying WOD and aircraft CG were also
investigated.
For the F-35B, optimum scheduling of thrust and control effectors is a
vital component of maximising the performance benefit of a ski jump ramp
and this was assumed possible based on SDD practice. Optimum scheduling after leaving the ski-jump was achieved using a theory developed by
Dstl and outlined in Ref. 9.

Figure 7. Ramp Design Process.

In a ski jump STO event, the gear axle load is almost entirely in the vertical
direction represented by Fz. Additionally, because the rate of application of
load is relatively slow in comparison to a landing event, the load and stroke
can be considered to approximately track the airspring force/displacement
curve as shown in Fig. 9.
The maximum load and stroke are defined by the limit load and
bottoming stroke of the landing gear, but it is necessary to set an optimisation metric below this in order to generate an engineering margin.

Figure 10. Launch envelope for CVS ramp.

To account for ship motion due to the sea state, a delta was added to the
value used for gravity (G). This is a legacy approach and replaces the
huge matrix of pitch, roll and yaw attitudes, velocities and accelerations of
the ship and aircraft with a single factor.
Figure 11 shows the main gear axle load for the worst weight and and
speed case at 1G and 1+G, using both short and long ramps of the same
exit angle as a way of examining the effect of ramp curvature on gear
loads.
This phase of the work demonstrated that for the worst case launch the
CVS ramp would breach the load metrics applied, but also indicated that
using additional length, thus reducing the curvature, could alleviate this.

gear from uncompressing too quickly. Note that the CVS 12 ramp is
actually now 1126 as a result of converting the last section of the ramp to
a let down and entailing a slight performance reduction.
6.4 Profile development

6.0 OPTIMISATION
This phase centred on the selection of a ramp exit angle and the shaping of
the ramp profile to achieve this.

Figure 15. Gear load variation with ramp exit angle.

Figure 11. Axle loads for long and short ramps, 1 and 1+G.

6.1 Performance
Analysis showed that performance is affected primarily by the exit angle,
with diminishing aircraft performance returns from increasing exit angle.
Figure 12 shows the trend of launch benefit flattening off as the exit angle
increases above the CVS datum.
This flattening off is more severe than seen in legacy Harrier analysis,
but exists due to the fundamental differences in the
F-35Bs STOVL propulsion system. For the F-35B, with increasing ramp
exit angle, the nozzle vector angles and thrust split (between lift fan and
core) required to trim the aircraft mean the propulsion system is not
operating at the point at which maximum total system thrust is generated,
thus reducing the air path acceleration. At higher weights the acceleration
reduces below the minimum threshold, as shown in Fig. 13.
This lower air path acceleration results in the initial post-exit increased
height rate benefit of higher exit angles being washed out to approximately
the same as lower exit angles by the end point of the analysis, as demonstrated in Fig. 14.
This balance is indicative of the complexity of optimising the performance, other factors including the need during the STO manoeuvre to
angle the core nozzle downwards slightly in order to offset the lift fan
vertical thrust (since its aft angle is restricted) and ensure a minimum nose
gear load for adequate steering.

Figure 16. Elements of a ski-jump ramp profile.

6.5 Quartic profile

Figure 12. Performance variation with ramp exit angle.

Figure 17. Gear Loads against ramp profile index.

6.2 Loads and exit angle decision

Using the loads metric as an upper boundary achieves the most efficient
ramp, as defined by imparting the maximum upward momentum without
exceeding the loads metric. A range of ski jump ramps were created using
the longer version of the CVS angled ramp as a template to design higher
angled ramps. Figure 15 shows the nose and main peak gear loads
generated.
From this it can be seen that the nose gear is well below the metric for all
angles, and that a maximum exists for the main gear.
The maximum exit angle dictated by the gear loads is 125 degrees,
slightly greater than the CVS angle, and was selected as the ramp exit angle
for the following reasons:
The loads are at their maximum tolerable threshold as defined by the
metrics.
The level of performance derived from this angle is comparable with
the requirements.
CVS ramp performance capability is achieved, but with acceptable
loads.

Figure 13. Air path acceleration against ramp exit angle.

6.3 Ramp profile design

Having identified a suitable exit angle, effort was then focussed on developing a detailed profile. A ski jump ramp can be characterised as having
three distinct parts, as illustrated in Fig. 16.

This looked at a large number of ramp profiles using a wide range of

transition length and arc radius values, of which the key conclusions were:
Short transition lengths produce high load overshoot peaks and oscillations on the first part of the ramp. These outweigh the benefit of
reduced loads from the higher circular arc radius later in the ramp.
Long transition lengths produce much lower initial load peaks, but to
remain within the overall design length the circular arc radius has to
be increased, producing a counteracting load peak.
The combined effect of varying transition length and circular arc radius
is to vary the concentration of curvature in different parts of the ramp. With
both of these linked by the requirement to fit an overall length constraint, it
was necessary to combine transition length and circular arc radius into a
single variable, and in Fig. 17 this is plotted against the peak gear loads for
the ramps that demonstrated broadly acceptable loads.
The minimum point in each curve represents its optimum, and it is clear
that it differs for the nose and main gears. With the main gear identified as
driving the ramp optimisation (see Fig. 15) then it is from this optimum
point that the detailed profile is derived.

Figure 14. Height rate against air speed for varied ramp exit angle.

The method used to generate the nominal profile was that of a cubic
transition into a circular arc, consisting of a fixed transition length and a
fixed radius of curvature, an approach common in engineering disciplines,
e.g. railway track transitions from straight sections into corners and aerodynamic streamlining. Geometric relationships are used to match the
tangency at the end of the cubic transition curve with the start of the
circular arc. Overall height and length are outputs and creating a ramp to
satisfy constraints in these requires iteration. The key advantage is that the
curvature can be controlled in two easily understood and modifiable
variables that relate directly to the profile and loads.
There are alternative ways of generating the nominal profile, described
in the references, but the cubic plus transition was deemed the most
effective. Trials with other methods proved them to be significantly more
complex to use with no observable benefits.
The lead-in step intersects the nominal profile allowing the section prior
to this, which consists of negligible height (and thus of minimal benefit
whilst also being difficult to manufacture) to be eliminated so the length
freed up can be used for a higher radius of curvature. The resulting load
spike at the step is within load limits and actually aids the overall process
by rapidly increasing the load towards the steady maximum as in Fig. 6,
which also reduces the peak of the overshoot on ramp entry, particularly
for the nose gear.
The let down was added to previous ramps when it was discovered that
the rapid unloading of the gear at ramp exit caused loading problems and
there was a requirement to provide a section of ramp that would restrain the

The use of a polynomial equation to represent the ramp profile is reflected

in that the transition is a cubic and the circular arc a quadratic. The use of a
single cubic or quartic equation to define a profile was mentioned previously as a method but, although unsuccessful in direct application, the
effort did highlight the advantage that a curve to a quartic equation has a
smoother variation of curvature and offers the advantages of a less oscillatory load profile and a lower peak. A least squares fit method was used to
convert the optimum cubic transition plus circular arc profile to a quartic
curve, and the variation of curvature is plotted in Fig. 18.
This demonstrates the subtle change in curvature, and Fig. 19 shows the
significant change in gear loads resulting.
In addition to the slight reduction in peak gear loads, the load trace
exhibits beneficial features with less oscillatory behaviour and a marked
turndown towards the end of the ramp. The latter is of considerable value
as it eliminates the new load peak being generated in the original profile.
Note also that the nose gear sees a slight increase in both peak load and its
oscillatory tendencies, although there is still a large margin available.
6.6 Lead in and let down
Figure 19 also shows the rapid load increase at the ramp entry and the lead
in, in this case a rounded step. Assessment of different sized steps, as well
as using much longer lead-ins was conducted with little or no difference
noted. A decision was taken to use a similarly sized step as the CVS ramp
on the grounds that this approximated the diameter of runway arrestor
wires used for trampling analysis in the main SDD program and which
show similar acceptable loadings.
The let down was designed as an ellipse, blending from the tangent at
the end of the nominal profile to the horizontal, where it would interface
with the proposed aerodynamic fairing that sits ahead of the ramp.

7.0 CANDIDATE RAMP DEFINITION

The CVF candidate ramp was defined as a 125 degree angled ramp with
the profile achieved by combining a nominal profile based on a quartic fit
to an optimum cubic transition plus circular arc, a rounded step lead in and
an elliptic let down. Definitive performance and landing gear loads data
were generated to demonstrate the resulting capability and compliance with
the metrics.

Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, USA

8.0 OTHER RAMP DESIGN ISSUES

In addition to the single event performance and loads analysis used to
optimise the ramp profile, other aspects were considered for CVF ramp
optimisation:
Cyclical loading: fatigue impact was assessed and found to be
significantly lower for the candidate ramp than a CVS ramp.
Weapons physical clearance: to ensure that the carriage of bulky
external stores (e.g. stand-off missiles or fuel tanks) does not
result in parts of these breaching minimum clearance distances
due to the curvature of the ramp. Worst case store loadings with
combinations of fully flat tyres and compressed struts confirmed
no clearance breaches.

Figure 18. Variation of curvature against length for

original cubic transition plus circular arc, and quartic fit.

8.1 Manufacturing
The ramp profile must be transformed into a physical structure, and to
do this build tolerances on the candidate profile are required. Figure 20
illustrates the elements of the ramp profile and the issues related to
manufacturing.
As discussed earlier, a margin was applied to the loads metrics in
order to account for variations between the mathematical profile
derived during the analysis and the as-built structure. To ensure this
margin was sufficient and to provide the ship builders with useful
guidance regarding build tolerances, analysis was conducted on each of
the elements and issues:
Segment size: this is the discretisation of the ramp when specifying ordinates and represents the size of each flat plate that forms
the curve. Increasing segment length raises the angle between
each plate leading to load spikes.
Co-ordinate accuracy; this represents the accuracy to which the
theoretical curve is converted into a set of design-to points at an
accuracy level appropriate for manufacturing, with loads affected
due to the change in angle between each point.
Bumps and dips: These are variations from the design-to profile
when designed, fabricated, installed and subject to usage, which
result in raised and/or sagged parts of the ramp. A modified
DEFSTAN approach (Ref. 10), using bump/dip depth and length
parameters based on legacy experience was utilised to produce a
suitable build tolerance.

Figure 19. Main and nose gear loads for original and quartic fit.

Figure 20. Ramp profile, manufacturing elements and issues.

9.0 CONCLUSION
The paper has covered all the principles and processes used in
designing a candidate ski-jump ramp profile for the CVF, optimised for
the F-35B.
With loads metric eventually dictating the choice of exit angle and
the ramp profile shape, this demonstrates the importance of developing
and defining the optimisation metrics.Compared to the CVS ramp, the
candidate ramp offers comparable performance but with acceptable
loads.
The key issues involved in converting a mathematical profile to a
physical structure have been explained.
The team and customer are now taking this profile forward as part of
the continuing integration of the F-35B aircraft onto CVF.

REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.

4.

5.
6.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

7.

Rob Chapman
John Johnson
John Medzorian
Tim Newman
Martin Rosa
Steve Solomon

9.

BAE Systems
BAE Systems
Lockheed Martin
BAE Systems
Dstl
Lockheed Martin

8.

10.

FOZARD, J.W. Ski-Jump A great leap for tactical airpower, British Aerospace
Paper, 1979.
SPAVINS, C.S. Harrier ski jump, RAE Bedford Paper, ~1981.
THORBY, D.C., JOHNSON, J., AULD, A.B.K., NEWMAN, H.T. and BROOKER, M.J.
The special requirements of a VSTOL aircraft, British Aerospace, AGARD
Paper October 1990.
JOHNSON, J. and THORBY, D.C. Sea Harrier: The design of a 6 degree ramp for
a 425ft flight deck, BAE Systems Internal Report: HSA-KSD-N-HAR-715,
April 1976.
AULD, A. A ski-jump ramp design for INS Vikrant, BAE Systems Internal
Report: BAE-KSD-N_HAR-1042, October 1981.
THORBY, D.C. Landing gear for ASTOVL: A Discussion Paper, BAE Systems
Internal Report: BAE-KAE-N-AST-4081 June 1993.
THORBY, D.C. STOVL Landing gear criteria and related topics, British
Aerospace Internal Memorandum, 1999.
ROSA, M. and ROLFE, R. Ski-Jump launch performance studies in Dstl, Dstl
IPLC08 Paper 06, July 2008.
NICHOLAS, O.P. An insight into optimal launch performance from a ski-jump,
Dstl Report, October 2003.
MoD DEFSTAN 00-970 Pt3, 1, (305), Design of undercarriages operation
from surfaces other than smooth runways. UK MoD Publication, 1994.

JSF ski jump

tests due
in 2011
08 Jul 2010
'Ski jump' trials of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike
Fighter are expected to take place in 18 months' time at US Naval Air
Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Maryland. The tests will see if the F-35B
can fly from the take-off ramps to be fitted to the UK Royal Navy's two new
Queen Elizabeth-class future aircraft carriers (CVF), but BAE Systems F-35
test pilot Graham Tomlinson told Jane's that he expects such take-offs to
be far more straightforward than those from flat deck aircraft carriers.
http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Defence-Weekly-2010/JSF-ski-jump-tests-due-in-2011.html

Midfield Ski Jump

http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2013-4267

Integration of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

with the UK QUEEN ELIZABETH Class
Aircraft Carrier | David C. Atkinson, BAE
Systems; Rob Brown, BAE Systems;
Richard Potts, BAE Systems; David
Bennett, BAE Systems; John E. Ward,
Aircraft Carrier Alliance; Eddie Trott,
Aircraft Carrier Alliance | Chapter DOI:
10.2514/6.2013-4267; Publication Date:
August 12-14, 2013

Using Simulation to Optimize Ski Jump Ramp Profiles for STOVL Aircraft Dec 01, 1999
Greg Imhof and Bill Schork | Naval Air Warfare Center/Aircraft Division | Air Vehicle Department | Patuxent River, MD
Abstract for AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technologies Conference 14-17 August 2000 Denver, Colorado http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA378145

Introduction
Ramps have been used for many years aboard the Navy ships of many countries to reduce takeoff run distance and wind-over-deck (WOD) requirements, as well as to increase the aircraft takeoff gross weight capability over that of a flat deck carrier. Under the Joint Strike Fighter program, an
effort has been funded to evaluate various ramp profiles & ramp performance optimization methodologies. Results of these evaluations will be used
with an advanced STOVL aircraft to provide the maximum benefit to takeoff performance, while not becoming a design driver for landing gear or
adversely affecting ship designs.
The Boeing AV-8B Harrier is a true STOVL aircraft, in that it routinely performs short takeoffs and vertical landings. This allows operations from ships
not equipped with catapults or arresting gear and that are considerably smaller than the US large deck carriers. This unique capability is obtained through a
group of variable angle nozzles for vectored lift and a reaction control system for stability and control, which uses engine bleed air to provide thrust
through several small nozzles located on the aircraft.
Many foreign navies operate Harriers from ships equipped with smooth profile ramps. The US Navy has conducted many ship and shore-based tests of
smooth and segmented (flat plate) ramp profiles over the years to demonstrate the performance advantages of a ramp-assisted takeoff. Much of this work
serves as the basis for our research initiative.

Preliminary Work
The first step was to collect data from prior flight tests to validate the AV-8B landing gear model. The test data were incomplete because the test aircraft did
not have sufficient instrumentation to measure gear/store loads and accelerations. Therefore, criteria were developed which enabled us to compare predicted gear load trends and instead of actual gear and structural loads.

Preliminary Criteria for Ramp Optimization

I. The landing gear shall not compress to full closure at any point during the takeoff. Harrier flight tests have been conducted to within 1/2 inch of full
closure with no adverse results.
2. Investigate a segmented ramp versus a smooth profile ramp, and how it could be used with the existing structural and operational requirements of
the aircraft. If so, what is the maximum angle change between segments that can be tolerated by the aircraft and aircrew?
3. Resonance effects from segmented ramps on landing gear and wing mounted stores are unknown, and efforts should be taken to break up or reduce
these loads.

Preliminary Results
Preliminary simulation runs have been completed. Test results indicate that the segmented ramp concept shows great promise and could allow ship
designers options in building retractable or reconfigurable ramp designs for future STOVL capable ships. Segmented ramp takeoff performance is not
diminished as compared with a smooth ramp. Initial results indicate that segmented ramp profiles can be modified to keep the gear loads well within their
structural limits. Since the velocity of the aircraft remains fairly constant while it is on the ramp, an equally distributed (same length) segment pattern
generates a recurring load on the landing gear at each joint. If the frequency of these inputs is close to the natural frequency of the gear, or transmitted
through the aircraft structure to a wing store, a resonance condition could be excited. This will be investigated at in more detail in the coming months.

Preliminary Conclusions
The smooth and segmented ramp profiles have demonstrated significant performance gains over a field or flat deck ship takeoff. Work will continue over
the next several months to expand & refine the optimization criteria and investigate various ramp profiles and quantify their benefit to aircraft performance.

850 feet + to end of

the ski jump for
STO on CVF
850

800

750

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/9929674624_53b0df94ae_o.png

,,Ski Jump Ramp

Figure 4. Key Ski Jump Ramp Features

The ski jump ramp was conceived by a Royal Navy officer in the 1970s and subsequently developed by the UK
services, industry and Government as a way of increasing the STO launch payload for the Harrier1,2,3. It has since
become an integral part of embarked operations for UK and most maritime STOVL operators. The QEC was
designed with a ski-jump ramp from the outset and the shape of the ramp was designed to be optimal for the F-35B
STOVL JSF.
The ski jump ramp works by imparting an upward vertical velocity and ballistic profile to the aircraft, providing
additional time to accelerate to flying speed whilst ensuring it is on a safe trajectory after launch, reducing risk from
mis-timed launches with regard to ship motion, reducing pilot workload and giving the pilot more time to diagnose
any issues compared to a flat deck STO. The upwards trajectory at ramp exit also allows either a reduction in takeoff length for a given weight, or increased weight (i.e. launch performance) for a fixed take-off distance. The
additional performance does, however, increase landing gear loads above those of a flat deck STO. The loads
increase represents the energy transferred to the aircraft as it translates up the ramp; and if the angle and curvature of
the ramp are increased to obtain greater performance benefit, so are the landing gear loads. This is tolerable up to a
point because the gear strength is defined by landing events, the landing loads from which far exceed flat deck STO
loads, therefore the landing gear has the ability to accept increased loads at take-off, but these must be carefully
controlled because they act as an upper boundary on permissible ramp size and the ramps shape needs to be
optimized to control the loads across the range of launch weights, speeds and conditions. The minimum safe launch
speed is defined where the ramp exit speed does not result in any rate of descent during the trajectory until the
aircraft has transitioned to fully wing-borne flight. This results in the launch profile shown in Fig. 2, with an
inflection point at which criteria for a successful launch are defined and assessed.

Figure 2. Ski Jump Ramp Launch

Two safe launch criteria derived from legacy STOVL experience have been used for JSF ski-jump launch, of
which the more stressing is adopted: (a) achievement of zero sink rate having taken a margin from the WOD (known
as Operational WOD); and (b) achieve a defined positive rate of climb using the full value of WOD. Both criteria
also require a threshold forward acceleration. Optimisation of the QEC ski-jump ramp design (Fig.3) is described in
Ref 4. The optimal QEC ramp was assessed to be a 200 foot long 125 degree angled ramp with the profile achieved
by combining a nominal profile based on a quartic fit to an optimum cubic transition plus circular arc, a rounded
step lead in and an elliptic let down (Fig. 4). Performance and landing gear loads data has been generated to
demonstrate the resulting capability and compliance with the loads metric, which is defined by consideration of the
maximum load and stroke at the limit load and bottoming of the landing gear after allowing for an engineering
margin.

Bumps and plate sags result in increases of loads beyond those achieved on an idealized ramp profile, see Fig. 5.
The initial loads analysis, performed using commercially available dynamic software, assumed values for the
maximum bumps and plate sags, placing them at the worst credible positions on the ramp, i.e. where peak loads
occur in the idealized profile. The QEC ski-jump ramp has been built as accurately as possible using conventional
shipbuild techniques, however there are practicalities associated with ship-build that results in deviations from the
pure mathematical profile and it is important to check how they compare to the design assumptions; for example, the
detail of how the entry to the ski-jump ramp interfaces with the slightly cambered flight deck. The CAD model of
the ski jump ramp has been used to define the shape of features such as ramp entry, light fittings in the QEC skijump ramp and to allow actual weld positions to be used to place bumps, plate sags and/or steps in the dynamic
model (Fig. 6). The dynamic model will be further updated with data from laser mapping of the ramp after the ship
has been floated up and the analyses will be re-run to confirm that the loads metrics continue to be met for the
defined launch conditions and therefore enable the launch parameters for QEC ski-jump launch to be fully defined to
high confidence, ready to be verified by flight tests during Lightning/QEC First of Class Flight Trials (FOCFT).

http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/
abs/10.2514/6.2013-4267

Figure 5. Potential Load Oscillations at a Step

Figure 6. Dynamic Analysis of Launch Loads

Integration of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
with the UK QUEEN ELIZABETH Class
Aircraft Carrier

A ski-jump ramp, being a curved surface, consumes deck area that could otherwise be used to park aircraft or
operate helicopters. A further major consideration for integration of a ramp has therefore been its width, because it
needs to be as wide as possible for launch safety purposes while avoiding excess width to preclude aircraft parking
on the starboard side of the ship. The QEC ski-jump ramp has been designed to ensure that the aircraft will safely
launch, with margins, when the aircraft stays within the STO launch safety lines, the criteria for which have been
carried forward from previous UK fixed wing aircraft carriers.

RAMP UP Deck-mounted ski-jump assembly marks key step toward

U.K. carrier-based JSF operations, Aviation Week & Space Technology / 19 Aug 2013 pp.33-34
As a new phase of ship-borne testing of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter gets underway on the amphibious assault vessel USS Wasp, British shipbuilders are assembling the ski-jump launch ramp on HMS
Queen Elizabeth - the first of two new JSF-dedicated aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.
The 200-ft.-long ramp is the longest ever fitted to a carrier and, like the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers (QEC) themselves, is the first of its type to be purpose-designed from the outset for F-35 operations. Angled at 12.5 deg., the ramp will be 20-ft. high and is designed to reduce the required deck roll
on takeoff by up to 50%, or allow an increased payload of up to 20%. The ramp achieves this by boosting vertical velocity, giving the aircraft a ballistic launch profile that provides it with additional time to
accelerate to flying speed.
However; the ski ramp imparts added loads on the landing gear during launch and, because these
can be increased by even small variations in the surface of the ramp or by the interface with the deck,
developers are paying special attention to the build tolerances. David Atkinson, who leads JSF/QEC
integration activities for BAE Systems, says the requirement for build accuracy is even greater than
for previous ski jump designs because the F-35 has a wide tricycle gear. This makes it more exposed
to variability than the narrower footprint of the tandem main gear of the Harrier, for which the concept
was originally conceived in the 1970s. In addition, the center section of the carrier deck is cambered to
prevent pooling of water, further complicating the interface with the ramp.
"You have to allow for the effect of deck-plate bumps and sags, and when the ship is floated up we
will go over it with laser mapping to measure the actual tolerances achieved in build," says Atkinson,
who was speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation 2013 conference
in Los Angeles. The ramp has been designed by BAE and Lockheed Martin, rather than the shipbuilders, and is configured with two curves. The initial entry or "cubic" curve leads to a let-down or "ellipse" section that provides the launch point for the aircraft. The ramp's makeup provides a positive
climb rate and no more than a zero sink rate if wind-over-deck conditions are less than expected....

...Onboard the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, the aircraft would take off at its maximum weight of nearly 27 tonnes
using a UK-developed ski-jump,... 2204.62lbs = 1 tonne 59,535lbs = 27 tonnes [Wing Commander Hackett explained]

http://content.yudu.com/A219ee/ETSWin12/resources/20.htm ETS winter 2012_13 LIGHTNING STRIKES

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zLM6-NPZRyE/U0AFvxfVZjI/AAAAAAAAC0I/b8hcjBArqts/s1600/9929674624_636076b854_k.jpg

...The 300-tonne section of ramp, which is 64 metres long and 13 metres wide, is
the final exterior piece of the aircraft carrier to be fitted. At its highest point, the
take-off ramp is 6 metres above the flight deck, which will allow aircraft to be
propelled into the air. The pictures come on the same day as MOD announces that
a fourth Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft has been ordered from Lockheed
Martin. The UK has already taken delivery of 3 Lightning II jets and Royal Navy and
RAF pilots are training on the aircraft in the USA. This fourth jet, which is specially
designed to be a test aircraft, will help boost the on-going training available....

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/royal-navy-aircraft-carrier-ramping-up

http://www.flickr.com/photos/
qeclasscarriers/10797672293/
sizes/o/in/photostream/

The final section of the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth has
been fitted onto the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier 11 Nov 2013

Start of a momentous year for Carrier project 3 Feb 2014 David Downs
...On the upper deck, the catwalks around the edge of the flight deck are being prepared
and will shortly be painted with a heat resistant paint scheme. This will survive the thermal effects of the exhaust of an F35 jet while hovering on the approach to a vertical landing. This work also entails application of the thermal metal spray coating to the edges of
the flight deck. This coating system will later be applied across the whole flight deck....
...Meanwhile recognising that access to the ship and craneage is much easier while
the ship is in the dry dock, served by the Goliath crane, than when afloat in the non-tidal
basin, the chance is being taken to install anything that might be difficult to do later. This
includes the platform at the stern for the SPN 41 Precision Approach Radar, the seatings
for the Glide Path Cameras and some CCTV cameras. It looks like 2014 is going to be
another busy but very interesting year.
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/home/blog/guest-blog/start-of-a-momentous-year-for-carrier-project/1017934.article#ixzz2sGrXdsvd

http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.uk/~/media/Files/A/Aircraft-CarrierAlliance/2014-weekly-comms/weekly-communication-24-feb-2014.pdf

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[CVF/F-35B] The Influence of Ship Configuration on the Design of the JSF

Ryberg, Eric S. Feb 2002: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA399988
-

...UK OPERATIONAL NEEDS

The UK requires a Future Joint Combat Aircraft (FJCA) that will be a stealthy, multi-role aircraft to follow on from the
Sea Harrier FA1, Harrier GR7, and Harrier T10 operated by the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft
must be capable of sustained air defensive counter air, suppression of enemy air defenses, combat search and rescue,
reconnaissance, and anti-surface warfare missions. While the STOVL JSF is to be evaluated for basic compatibility with
INVINCIBLE-class (CVS) carriers, it is unlikely that the aircraft will ever be deployed aboard CVS for any extended
periods. Instead, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has initiated development of a future aircraft carrier (CVF) scheduled
to enter service at or about the same time as its JSF. The CVF program is currently in its concept development phase,
and the ship will be designed for compatibility with the shipboard JSF variant, CV or STOVL, that will be procured for
use by the UK's joint air forces. The UK's selection of JSF variant is scheduled to occur during the first half of 2002....
...Unlike the CV variant, the JSF STOVL variant did not have a spot factor requirement levied upon it. Instead, the ORD
specified a spotting re-quirement in operational terms. The USMC operators required that it be possible to park a total of six
STOVL variants aft of the island on an LHA or LHD, such that none fouls the landing area and that any one of them can be
moved without first moving any other. This requirement constrains the STOVL variant's wingspan to be no more than 35 ft....
-

...TAKEOFF RAMP COMPATIBILITY

Since the UK is a customer for JSF, the STOVL variant will be designed to be compatible with the 12 deg short takeoff (STO)
ramp, or ski jump, found on the bows of INVINCIBLE class ships. An aircraft performing a ramp-assisted STO experiences an
increased normal load factor, the result of centripetal acceleration applied as the aircraft traverses the curved ramp. While
the benefit to aircraft takeoff performance is predominantly a function of the inclination angle at ramp exit, the load on the
aircraft is a function of the ramp's radius of curvature, coupled with the geometry and dynamics of the aircraft landing gear.
In the design of JSF, structural analyses indicated that the loads predicted for a STO off INVINCIBLE's 12 deg ramp were
less severe than other design conditions such as high sink rate landings and rolling over deck obstacles. Hence, the ramp
takeoff does not act as a structural design driver. However, changes in ramp profile that lessen its radius of curvature such
as an increase in exit angle for a fixed-length ramp, or a decrease in the length of a ramp with the same exit angle, may cause
the STO ramp takeoff to become the most severe ground load contributor. Future ships incorporating ramps should account
not just for takeoff performance benefits added by the ramp, but also for the impact of added ground loads on any aircraft to
use the ramp. Use of high fidelity aircraft simulations would allow the ramp profile to be "tuned" for a particular launch scenario, such that the ramp design maximizes aircraft performance gain while minimizing the impact of added ground loads....

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MXPS http://ww2.dcmilitary.com/stories/070909/tester_28153.shtml

The mock ski-jump is 150-feet long, with a 15-foot high lip for aircraft
launch. These shore-based ski-jump takeoffs will be conducted at
varying airspeeds prior to the first UK ship detachment with the F-35B.

Pax ski jump readied for future F-35B Lightning II launches 22 May 2014 Sarah Ehman
Atlantic Test Ranges Business Communications http://www.dcmilitary.com/article/20140522/NEWS14/140529960/pax-ski-jump-readied-for-future-f-35b-lightning-ii-launches
-

Thanks to a partnership between the Atlantic Test Ranges (ATR) and the F-35 Lightning II Pax River
Integrated Test Force (ITF), the Joint Strike Fighter took one step closer this Spring to making its debut on
international ships. The Pax River ITF partnered with ATRs Geomatics and Metrology team to perform a high
fidelity survey of the shore-based ski jump at Naval Air Station Patuxent Rivers center airfield. The survey is
a prerequisite to future F-35B flight testing by the Pax River ITF, the United Kingdom and Italy. The shorebased ski jump at centerfield was built in the United Kingdom, divided into sections, then transported and
reassembled at Pax River.
Launching off our Pax ski-jump paves the way to F-35Bs launching off our international partner ships
that feature ski-jumps, said Bob Nantz, the Pax River F-35 ITF external environment and performance lead.

The significance of the Pax ski-jump shape is connected to aircraft loads & performance
modeling. Ideally, the loads will never limit the launch weight or speed, thus allowing the
maximum performance benefit.
Together, Fred Hancock, Sung Han and Warren Kerr, each with ATR Geomatics and Metrology, employed
electronic differential leveling and total station measurement techniques to check for drift in construction
and determine precise deviations in both vertical and horizontal components of the ramp. We captured
hundreds of elevation readings, determining the relative vertical difference between points, Hancock said.
We also obtained precise angular distance measurements to determine if the ramp edges were parallel to
the center line. This helped us to know whether the ramp was at all skewed. Hancock noted that the team
achieved readings accurate to within one millimeter approximately the thickness of a credit card. The
razor-sharp accuracy of the Geomatics teams survey is a key part of the process
leading to future ski-jump operations at sea, Nantz said.
-

http://www.dcmilitary.com/storyimage/DC/20140522/NEWS14/140529960/AR/0/AR-140529960.jpg
-

U.S. Navy photo/Jennifer Amber The Atlantic Test Ranges Geomatics and Metrology team, from left,
Fred Hancock, Sung Han and Warren Kerr survey the ski jump ramp that was assembled at Naval Air
Station Patuxent River in 2009 to document potential deviations from the original design plan.

F-35B STOVL: http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/478767-no-cats-flaps-back-f35b-51.html 2nd Jun 2012

Engines

The UK F-35B is required, and is perfectly able to, use a 'STO' technique to get airborne. The pilot will
select 'powered lift' mode before it starts its take off run, & the aircraft will be partially jet borne & partially
wing borne when it leaves the ramp. At the appropriate point as it flies away, the pilot selects back into
'conventional flight' mode.
The landing gear is fine. What you see on the video is the tyre flexing. The Harrier nose leg was massive
because it was a 'bicycle' gear layout with the nose wheel taking around 50% of the weight of the aircraft.
The F-35 has a conventional gear, with the front leg taking around 10% of the load. Oh, and I can testify that
Harrier landing gears (outriggers & nose legs both) flexed plenty during deck ops. Stopped them breaking.
&

The last few feet as a jet powered lift aircraft nears a surface are both complex and critical. There is the ever
present risk of Hot Gas Ingestion (HGI) as well as quite complex flow around and under the aircraft that can
lead to 'suck down' and/or loss and deterioration of control.
The Harrier had some quite challenging characteristics in this area, although the fact that it was able to
enter service without much artificial stability augmentation was a great achievement by the people who
designed it. You probably know that a key to this was controlling the 'fountain' of air generated under the
aircraft, hence the use of strakes, airbrake and on the AV-8B, a separate air dam.
The best way to avoid problems in this area for the Harrier was to land 'firmly', and so get through the
critical 'near to ground' area as fast as practicable. Hence the sometimes firm landings. Although it's worth
noting that the vertical velocity of these was still way less than is normally used in 'cat and trap' operations.
Fast forward to F-35B. The team have used design tools and test rigs that didn't exist in the 60s when
the Harrier team did their work. That has given the F-35 team a much better understanding of how the jet
operates close to the ground, and this has paid off. You'll see from the videos that they are using the inboard weapon bay doors as 'strakes' during vertical landings.
Another major difference from Harrier are the flight controls. F-35B has a 'rate command' system, which
reduces pilot workload, but it did, in the early days, lead to some 'rebound' on landing look up some of the
X-35 videos that are out there. This appears to have been solved now.

NAS Patuxent River Ski Jump + Run Up being in total 908 ft from right to left
Date: 20 Oct 2013

SKI JUMP

START

'ENGINES': "...Trust me on this, loads are not the problem for ski jump, it's the load profile and whether the
leg closes, as John Farley has already pointed out. One of the many insanely great features of the ski jump
launch is that is a fairly gentle manoeuvre, both aerodynamically and structurally. It's the closest thing I have
ever encountered to 'something for nothing'.... http://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-478767-p-5.html

The mock ski-jump is 150-feet long, with a 15-foot high lip

for aircraft launch. These shore-based ski-jump takeoffs will
be conducted at varying airspeeds prior to the first UK ship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dX4PyA2428
detachment with the F-35B.

NAS Patuxent River Ski Jump

July 2012

Ski Jump Testing 2014

...Although the AM-2 matting is serving its purpose as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) pads and a
1,900 x 96-foot runway for the EAF/STOVL testing, it also doubles
as the run-up for a test ski-jump used in conjunction with JSF testing for the British Royal Navy. The AM-2 matting and the 12-degree skijump ramp were installed at the centerfield area last month [May 2009]....

EAF enables JSF landing anywhere, everywhere | Jun 29, 2009

http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.NAVAIRNewsStory&id=4144

Pax River Prepares for F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter

http://somd.com/news/headlines/2009/10716.shtml NAVAIR Oct 29, 2009
-

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION (Oct. 29, 2009) - A new jet aircraft will soon be
calling Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River home. The F-35 Lightning II, Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) will arrive from Fort Worth, Texas to continue its System Development and
Demonstration (SDD) testing efforts at NAS Patuxent River. Since early 2002, NAS
Patuxent River has been getting ready for the arrival of the F-35 with the addition of new
facilities and equipment required to support the testing of this new aircraft....

...The F-35B and F-35C will be tested and developed at NAS Patuxent River,
which will host a total of eight aircraft at the peak of the testing program.
The Centerfield Complex will be used to test these capabilities including vertical landings on pads mimicking those found on land and on the LHD class of ships; short-distance
takeoffs using the ski jump which is similar to those found on U.K. carriers; and flight performance testing on the EAF. Expeditionary Airfields are mobile systems that allow U.S.
Marines to quickly build functioning airfields in mission critical areas that do not support a
standard-use airfield. These areas allow the JSF to perform missions in any terrain. Additional testing activities to occur at NAS Patuxent River include carrier approach and landing flights, software and aircraft systems development, and aircraft certification testing.

The JSF SDD program operations at NAS Patuxent River are expected to continue
through 2013 although the F-35's presence at the Naval Air Station will likely extend
well into the future. Aircraft equipment and systems requirements continually evolve,
resulting in the continued need for follow-on test and evaluation.

JSF programme to proceed with UK-specific land-based carrier trials

Gareth Jennings 09

Jul 2012 http://www.janes.com/events/exhibitions/farnborough-2012/news/july-10/JSF-programme-proceed.aspx

The Program Office for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is to shortly com-mence UK-specific trials for carrier operations of the short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL)
variant F-35B, it was announced at the Farnborough Airshow 2012. Speaking on 10 July, BAE Systems lead STOVL test pilot Peter 'Wizzer' Wilson said that 'ski-jump' launch trials will begin at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, in the near future, while work on the shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) is also ongoing. "A 'ski jump' is in place at Pax River that is based on
the one [formerly fitted to HMS](sic) Illustrious," [not true as info in PDF clearly states] he said, adding: "If we can get a few launches in over the next 12 months or so to help de-risk the programme,
that would be something that [the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)] would be interested in."
Wilson said the advantage of the 'ski jump' launch method is in the extra time it gives the pilot
on take-off. "The real benefit is one of timing. Once airborne you are flying upwards rather than
horizontal, and this gives you extra time to think if something should go wrong," he explained. In
addition, Wilson noted that the 'ski jump' saves approximately 100 to 150 ft of deck run over the
standard 'flat top' carrier deck. "Everything we have seen in modelling is that [the 'ski jump'] is the
best way to get this aircraft airborne," he said.
Wilson noted that the lift-fan door behind the cockpit does not affect the aircraft's handling
when open for the landing and take-off phases of flight. "There are no issues in terms of drag," he
said. "We can open [the door] up to speeds of 250 kt and you don't feel a thing in the cockpit."
With regard the SVRL landing technique, which is designed to increase the aircraft's fuel
and/or weapons bring bag capacity, Wilson said that the Program Office is continuing the support the UK-specific work in this field, although he added that the UK government has not yet
decided if it will adopt this technique on the two Queen Elizabeth-class ships (CVF) when they
enter service....

NAS Patuxent River

http://www.pw.utc.com/media_center/assets/me_f135_cv.pdf

OLD
PHOTO
- New
Ski
Jump
for
F-35B
testing
not
shown.
LHA
deck for
Harrier /
F-35B
seen

NORTH

Forum: F-35
Lightning II
AV-8B/
Expeditionary
(F-35B)
Basing on
AM-2 Matting
Exercise
http://www.f-16.net/
index.php?
name=PNphpBB2&file
=viewtopic&t=16017&
postdays=0&postorde
r=asc&highlight=paxri
ver&start=30
http://www.f-16.net/
attachments/
swppaxrivervlpadsski
jumphoverpit_200.gif

PAX
RIVER
Centrefield Ski
Jump
SPOT

Graphic by

NE-3, 07 APR 2011 to 05 MAY 2011

http://naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/1104/00314AD.PDF

NORTH

NAS

Patuxent
River
Updated
Apr-May
2011
Centrefield Ski Jump / VL Area
NE-3, 07 APR 2011 to 05 MAY 2011

Aeronautics in the Asia-Pacific Region 13 Feb 2014

Ski Jump NAS Patuxent River (looking South)

S
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQgekw47CPg

F35
B/
C

http://www.jsf.mil/program/prog_field_nawcad.htm
Field Activities > Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland
The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Patuxent River
Maryland, is the Navy's research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E),
engineering and fleet support center for air platforms. Patuxent River is also
home to the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Ranges at Patuxent River
include extensive inshore and offshore operating areas to support the full array
of testing required for a new air platform. The airfield test facilities include a
land based TC-7 catapult and MK-7 arresting gear and other unique test
facilities geared toward the evaluation of weapon systems designed to operate
in a shipboard environment. Also Mid-Field Ski Jump & EMALS from Dec 2010
NAWCAD provides approximately 220 Work Years (FY05) of critical engineering
expertise to virtually every Integrated Product Team within the JSF program.
Major efforts include the standup of facilities to support a total contractor and
government F-35 test team of approximately 700 personnel. All Carrier and
STOVL F-35 variant test airplanes will be developed at Patuxent River, totaling
nine aircraft at peak. Unique F-35 tests to be conducted at Patuxent River
include land based catapult and arrestments, STOVL vertical and short takeoff
and landing tests, expeditionary airfield operations, the full range of aerosciences envelope expansion, mission systems development and weapon
certification testing.

T
E
S
T
I The Lockheed Martin X-35C and the Boeing X-32B were both tested at
River during the JSF Concept Demonstration program. The X-35C is
N Patuxent
currently on display at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, and the X-32B will
G be prepared for display by March 2005.
HOME | PROGRAM | LEADERSHIP | F-35 | GALLERY
HISTORY | DOWNLOADS | ACRONYMS | SITE MAP | CONTACT

Ski Jump
is here in
2010-2011

Hover Pit

Vertical Landing
Pad (now with
AM-2 Matting
over concrete)

desider - Issue 43 - December 2011 PDF

[4.3 MB] page 10 Quote: Ramp off
http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BC92C2AF-B013-4BB5-BE18-460DD307238D/0/desider_43_December2011.pdf

LHA

"Removal of the take-off ramp on the

Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers is
expected to be captured in a contract
amendment early next year with further
changes arising from decisions on the
carriers to be captured in 2013, Minister for
Defence Equipment, Support & Technology
Peter Luff has said. This comes from the
Centre Field NAS
decision to fly the Carrier Variant of the
Paxutent River
Joint Strike Fighter."

30 March 2007

NAS Patuxent River

Centrefield Ski
Jump & VL Pad
SKI JUMP LEFT

16 February 2011:
BF-1 Completes
Longest Hover
BAE test pilot Peter
Wilson made the longest hover during the
ninety-fourth flight of
F-35B BF-1. On the
final vertical landing,
Wilson spent more
than 5 minutes in
hover, with almost 6
minutes elapsing from
entering the hover to
touching down. The
flight consisted of 3
other vertical landings, 5 short take-offs,
& 1 slow landing.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/zHVDSRWTXm8/TYvBYpa0LpI/
AAAAAAAAQT4/mc_NavBSMcM/s1600/
2011_13_BF_1_Hover_1269967624_8138.jpg

North

http://www.codeonemagazine.
com/article.html?item_id=69

On November 30, BF-1 accomplished

the longest duration F-35 hover at
10 minutes. F-35 Lightning II Program
Status and Fast Facts December 11, 2012
http://f-35.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/F-35-Fast-Facts-December-11-2012.pdf

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Centerfield Short Take Off/Vertical Landing (STOVL)

Centerfield Short Take Off/Vertical Landing (STOVL)

The Centerfield STOVL (Short Takeoff/Vertical Landing) was completed in 2009, to support the developmental
testing of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35B STOVL aircraft. Located in the centerfield area at NAS Patuxent
River, the STOVL Centerfield Facility consists of an AM-2 Expeditionary Airfield (EAF), an AM-2 Vertical Takeoff
and Landing (VTOL) pad within a painted LHD deck outline, a Ski Jump, and a grated Hover Pit.
The EAF and VTOL Pad AM-2 surfaces are representative of current US Marine Corps austere/forward deployed
basing capabilities. These surfaces will be used to test F-35B compatibility during Short Takeoff (STO), Vertical
Landing (VL), and Slow Landing (SL).
The Ski Jump, built to match the profile of the UK HMS Invincible Class Ships, will provide a land-based test site
for unique ship compatibility. The Hover Pit was constructed during the X-32/X-35 concept demonstration phase
of the JSF Program and has supported operations with British Sea Harrier aircraft.
The Hover Pit also provides a means to perform STOVL mode engine runs without ground effects by ducting exhaust thrust away from the aircraft through a
series of vanes below the top grating of the pit.

Centerfield STOVL

http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawcad/
index.cfm?fuseaction=home.content_detail
&key=99E8E3FA-3C12-4BCC-A905-6838819A5C10
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HOVER AREA

LHA Deck
SKI JUMP

Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin

ferried F-35C CF-3 to NAS Patuxent River,
Maryland, on 3 June 2011. Canin ferried the third
F-35C during a 2.9-hour flight from Fort Worth, Texas.
The flight was the fifth for the aircraft. CF-3 joins six other
F-35B/C models now being flown at the US Navys flight test center.
http://snafu-solomon.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-f-35c-flies-out-to-paxriver.html
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_3ueurlMIZI/TelNct5YHLI/AAAAAAAASpA/Yvql47wOz5w/s1600/2011_06_03_News_F35_CF3Pax_1269967624_3314.jpg

Title: The STOVL Joint Strike

Fighter in Support of the
21st Century Marine Corps

The Marine Corps does not have enough

equipment to supply significant amounts of
fuel and ammo to maneuver units. Relying
almost exclusively on aviation to supply forward bases will place an enormous burden
on already limited vertical lift capability.
Recommendations: The Navy-Marine Corps
team must develop and refine STOVL
employment concepts that includes ramps
(ski jumps) and smaller EAFs and it must
fund the hardware and structural improvements that allow STOVL aircraft to operate in their intended environment. If we
envision maintaining a primarily sea-based
approach to conducting operations and we
require responsive day/night air support
in all-weather conditions, then we need
to fundamentally change how we operate
fixed-wing jets off amphibious ships. The
most significant contribution that the Navy
could make to STOVL air and helicopterborne power projection is adding a ramp
to all LHA/LHD class amphibious ships. A
dedicated JSF carrier, such as an LHA/
LHD with a ramp and updated radars,
would serve as the optimum mobile forward base.

Although the most effective means
of employing the JSF would be to base
it ashore as soon as possible, it should
remain sea based for as long as possible
where it can be more easily provided with
fuel, ordnance, and maintenance without
becoming a logistical burden. Seabasing
may remain the best means of enhancing
sustainability and reducing vulnerability.

will replace it, is the only jet that deploys

they have USMC painted on them. You
with USMC MEUs as dedicated fixed-wing
dont have to worry about overfly rights or
aircraft that are owned by the MEU com- basing rights. We need to be able to rely
mander. According to Brigadier General
on ourselves and the Harrier is a compliBlackman the Harrier makes the MAGTF
mentary asset to the MAGTF.
Author: Major Ben D. Hancock,
complete. Harriers are another tool for
VI. Conclusion
United States Marine Corps (1997)
the MEU Commander, they dont provide
The potential basing flexibility and fire24 hour capability under all conditions, but power that the STOVL Joint Strike Fighter
Thesis: The potential basing flexibility and
they do bring additional capability and
offers the Marine Corps in support of
firepower that the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
flexibility to the MEU. Blackman contends
OMFTS will not be realized with the current
offers the Marine Corps in support of Opthat you cannot always count on the Cardoctrine and equipment that determines
erational Manuever From the Sea (OMFTS)
rier Battle Group being there with fixedhow we operate and support STOVL jets
will not be realized with the doctrine, mindwing support when you need them and it
on amphibious ships and ashore in an
set, and equipment that currently determay be overkill (may be perceived as too
expeditionary environment. Although the
mines how we operate and support STOVL
threatening or offensive in delicate politiJSF will to be able to perform all of the
jets on amphibious ships and ashore in an
cal situations) for some scenarios. Colonel
missions currently flown by both the AV-8B
expeditionary environment.
Richard F. Natonski, USMC, a recent comand F/A-18 and do them better, the Marine
Background: In the 21st Century the JSF
mander of the 24th MEU commented on
Corps cannot just buy the aircraft without
will replace both the F/A-18 and the AV-8B
the availability of the CVBG in support of
also having the ability to support it propas the USMC fulfills its goal of an all-STOVL
the MEU:
erly or to maximize its potential.
aviation component. STOVL aircraft in
We didnt see the Enterprise

It is clear that many of the curcrease basing flexibility which is fundamenCVBG for the entire deployment. We didnt rent problems faced by STOVL aviation are
tal to the expeditionary nature of the Mahave any integration of the CVBG and the
external to the aircraft. The Navy-Marine
rine Corps and provides the foundation for
Corps team must develop and refine STOVL
ARG/MEU. The CVBG spent 90 days in the
improved responsiveness. OMFTS seeks
employment concepts that will optimize
Persian Gulf and during that time the only
to avoid establishing a traditional logistics
fixed-wing air we had were our AV-8Bs and the basing flexibility of the JSF. Marginbase ashore and the majority of firepower,
ally supported aboard amphibious ships
the aircraft landbased in Aviano, Italy.
to include aviation, will remain afloat and
and difficult to support ashore in a true

General Blackman supports the
only go ashore if necessary. This means
STOVL JSF, but only if it brings F/A-18 type forward based scenario, some of the AVthat the JSF will operate primarily from
8Bs problems will be inherited by the JSF
performance and capability. I think that
naval ships versus land bases. The JSF will
unless the Navy and Marine Corps provides
if you had the same survivability, reliabilbe a far more capable aircraft than the AVity, and maintainability as the F-18 with all the necessary doctrine, equipment and
8B, but if the shipboard environment that
commitment to eliminate or reduce these
the same or better capabilities, and the
it operates in is one which remains marginproblems. The Marine Corps believes in
jet was STOVL, then you have the best of
alized and biased against effective fixedSTOVL fixed-wing tactical aircraft, we now
both worlds.
wing operations, we will not fully realize
need a STOVL aircraft that performs as

Colonel Conry also supports the
the JSFs firepower and flexibility.
well as the F/A-18 or better. If the engiall-STOVL aviation concept. He believes

Forward basing tactical aircraft
STOVL Jet Value: With the acknowlthat it is part of our MAGTF ethos and that neers, designers and the Marine Corps are
reduces the distance to the battlefield
right, the STOVL Joint Strike Fighter will be
edged limitations and historical employwe should stay committed to it. Colonel
and improves response times and aircraft
ment of the Harrier in mind, we will now
Conry is a big supporter of STOVL jets and that aircraft.
surge rates. Operating jet aircraft from
http://www.globalsecurity.org/miliexamine the value of STOVL jets to the
says that the real strengths of Harriers
dispersed sites is a big logistical challenge. Marine Corps. The Harrier, and the JSF that are the flexibility that they bring and that
tary/library/report/1997/Hancock.htm

STOVL Air Power - The Ramps, Roads, and Speedbumps to Exploiting Maneuver Air Warfare
Major Charles R. Myers Conference Group Ten, April 1, 1996 http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a527872.pdf
Amphibious Ships Page 7
The most significant contribution that the Navy could make to STOVL air & helicopter-borne power projection is adding a
ramp (ski jump) to all Tarawa- & Wasp-class amphibious assault ships. The technology is proven and for return on investment relatively inexpensive. A ramp not only improves dramatically a STOVL aircraft's takeoff performance, it facilitates concurrent fixed- & rotary-wing operations afloat. Of all countries that operate STOVL aircraft (the United States has more STOVL
aircraft & ships to employ them than anyone) the United States is the only country without a ramp-equipped STOVL assault
ship. Now is the time for ramps...."
& on page 9:

"...The skeptics insist that ramps will displace landing spots. Tests prove otherwise.
On a 12 degree ski jump approximately 150 feet long, the slope gradually increases from zero up to 12 degrees at the bow.
The first half of the ski jump has a slope no greater than that of an LHA during wet-well operations with the well-deck flooded
both Harriers and helicopters can land on it.10..." [Major Art Nalls, USMC, "Why Don't We Have Any Ski Jumps," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, November 1990, 81.]
The ramp not only bolsters a STOVL aircrafts combat payload to its maximum and enhances fixed- and rotary-wing interoperability, it provides a margin of safety to the pilot in emergency situations. The upward vector off the bow offers the
pilot extra precious seconds to handle takeoff emergencies and an expanded ejection envelope if required. The price of one
saved STOVL aircraft, and potentially the pilots life, would probably fund several ramps on amphibious ships. The Navy and
Marine Corps need ski jumps on the big-deck amphibious ships.
Unquestionably, an LHA and LHD could never replace an aircraft carrier in total air power projection or air space dominance; however, if task organized properly, either could greatly augment it....
& on page 12:

"...Sea-based platforms are not the only places where ramps are effective. The Marines must focus on their employment once
phased ashore. An all STOVL aviation component provides the Marines an opportunity to double its current EAF capability by
simply installing ramps at each end. Today's typical 4,000-foot EAF would decrease to less than 2,000 feet using ramps, yet
still provide a maximum gross weight takeoff capability to STOVL aircraft. Additional EAF matting provides vertical landing
spots and parking space if needed. More over, ramps provide almost limitless EAF locations wherever there is a straight
quarter-mile stretch of road or highway. Korea and Sweden, for example, have designed much of their highway systems for
use as conventional runways. A STOVL aircraft requires a mere fraction of that if augmented with light-weight, high-strength
modular ramps. Smaller EAFs provide several advantages. A reduced footprint makes it less susceptibile to targeting and the
chance of being hit. Reduced construction time, especially when a road or highway is used as the runway, maintains operational tempo...."

News Release: E200906291

EAF enables JSF landing anywhere, everywhere

29-Jun-09

http://www.navair.navy.mil/press_releases/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view&Press_release_id=4144&site_id=15

PATUXENT NAVAL AIR STATION, Md. -- Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 gave engineers help in April to lay the first
expeditionary landing site for the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter for short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL)
capabilities testing.

Expeditionary Airfields are mobile systems that allow Marines to quickly build functioning airfields in areas without airfield
support. EAFs are built using AM -2 matting: aluminum panels which are assembled in a brickwork pattern to form runways,
taxiways, parking sites and other areas required for aircraft operations and maintenance.
These EAFs allow the JSF to perform missions in any terrain that does not support a standard -use airfield in mission critical areas.

More Next Page

This joint testing is a significant step for the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment program, said ALRE Program
Manager Capt. Randy Mahr. The JSF and EAF have an integral relationship in expanding our capabilities and success on
the battlefield. The EAFs AM -2 matting is battle tested, dependable and versatile. Its exactly what we need for our
expeditionary landing and take-off platforms.
Although the AM -2 matting is serving its purpose as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) pads and a 1,900 x 96-foot
runway for the EAF/STOVL testing, it also doubles as the run-up for a test ski -jump used in conjunction with JSF testing
for the British Royal Navy. The AM -2 matting and the 12-degree ski-jump ramp were installed at the centerfield area last
month.
NAVAIR is excited about our involvement in the JSF program, said Mike Jiavaras, ALREs EAF team leader. Knowing that
the first time this aircraft demonstrates its impressive VTOL capabilities will be on an expeditionary airfield raises the level
of pride the team has in our program and in support of the warfighter.
The ski-jump ramp is used by British Her Majestys Ship (HMS) Invincible -class carriers for launch of STOVL aircraft, such
as the Harrier GR7A, and is located on the forward-end of the flight deck. JSF program experts explain that the ski-jump is
a more fuel efficient way for aircraft take-off. However, the drawback is that it does not allow larger aircraft such as the E 2D Advanced Hawkeye, F/A -18E/F Super Hornet and the EA -18G Growler - future carrier deck -mates with the JSF, the
needed distance for launch and recovery.
The mock ski-jump is 150 -feet long, with a 15-foot high lip for aircraft launch. These shore-based ski-jump takeoffs will
be conducted at varying airspeeds prior to the first UK ship detachment with the F-35B.
We are extremely excited about getting the first of eight F-35s to Patuxent River beginning this summer. The first aircraft
to arrive, a STOVL aircraft designated BF-1, will use test facilities we have built to test and verify the unique warfighting
capabilities the STOVL variant brings. We look forward to supporting the long -standing traditions of expeditionary warfare
capabilities for the next 50 years of Marine Corps aviation, said Capt. Wade Knudson, acting deputy program executive
officer and program manager for F-35 Lightning II development.
-- 30 --

Scorecard | A Case study of the Joint Strike

-Fighter Program by Geoffrey P. Bowman, LCDR, USN 2008 April
Figure 3 text/graphic page number 8 & 9: http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_download-id-14791.html
-

Maneuverability is addressed in both general and specific terms. The requirement for
all three variants is to provide a platform that will have a positive exchange ratio during
air combat maneuvering (ACM) engagements against "high performance threats that
employ helmet mounted cueing and high off-boresight weapons." The JSF must further
possess high angle of attack (AOA) capabilities "similar in nature to (or better than) the
F-18C." The fuel levels and payloads at which maneuverabilty is calculated differs for
each variant but generally focuses on a post-weapons release payload and fuel state at
50% of the required combat radius. Figure 3 below lists the specific maneuverability requirements and shows the differences among the variants. The most notable differences
are related to the USAF requirements for the CTOL JSF. The USAF includes a threshold
requirement for a 9.0 G capability at 60% fuel and no air-to-ground ordnance remaining.
In addition to the high-end requirement, the USAF also provides for a more realistic
scenario of high altitude, large payload performance. The CTOL must have the capability
of performing a 30 degree bank turn while still maintaining a 1,000 foot per minute climb
at 30,000 feet with a combat loadout of two external fuel tanks, two external JDAM, two
internal JDAM, two internal AIM-120 missiles, and a fully loaded gun.... Footnote text for the table graphic:
1. Configuration: 2 x empty external 370 gallon tanks internal fuel for 540nm combat radius, 4 x JDAM Mk-84,
2 x AIM-120, gun with 150 rounds. Airspeed <0.9M.
2. With 60% of internal fuel load required for 540nm combat radius and JDAMs jettisoned/released

...The Navy has added approach speed as

a service specific key performance parameter. The threshold for approach speed is
145 knots with 15 knots of wind over the
deck. This must be possible at Required
Carrier Landing Weight (RCLW). The RCLW
is the sum of the aircraft operating weight,
the minimum required bringback, and
enough fuel for two instrument approaches
& a 100nm BINGO profile to arrive at a
divert airfield with 1000 pounds of fuel. The
minimum required bringback is two 2000
pound air-to-ground weapons & two
AIM-120s. The Navy further requires that
the CV JSF be capable of carrier recovery
with internal & external stores; the external
stations must have 1000 pound capability
on the outboard stations & maximum
station carriage weight on the inboard.

KPPs = Key Performance

&

The USMC has added STOVL

performance as a service specific
key performance parameter.
With two 1000# JDAMs and two internal
AIM-120s, full expendables, execute a 550
foot (450 UK STOVL) STO from LHA, LHD,
and aircraft carriers (sea level, tropical day,
10 kts operational WOD) & with a combat
radius of 450 nm (STOVL profile). Also
must perform STOVL vertical landing with
two 1000# JDAMs and two internal
AIM-120s, ~full expendables, & fuel to fly
the STOVL Recovery profile.

The Marine Corps has used the

more limiting deck launch, rather
than a simple expeditionary airfield,
to frame its requirement.

Parameters

0.4Mb PDF

USN &
USMC
Land &
STO
KPPs
See Next Page
for KPP Tweaks

http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_download-id-14791.html

The STOVL Variant of Joint Strike Fighter: Are its Tactical Compromises Warranted?
Captain G.M. Beisbier, 01 Mar 2002 http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA496827&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

...STOVL JSF DESIGN REQUIREMENTS [pages 5-6]

The design requirements for the STOVL JSF mandated a Vertical Lift Bring Back (VLBB) capability of 5000lbs of fuel and ordnance on a tropical day. The STOVL JSFs empty gross weight is
29,735 lbs, and it is equipped with a lift fan design capable of producing 39,800 lbs of vertical lift
at sea level on a tropical day. An ability to produce 39,800lbs of thrust minus 29,735 lbs gross
weight and 3000 lbs of thrust to safely maneuver the aircraft equals 7,065 lbs of VLBB. As a result the STOVL JSF thirty percent more VLBB then the requirements document mandated
(Killea). This means in a worst case, sea-based scenario the STOVL JSF is more than capable of
conducting a vertical landing with 4000 lbs, vise 2000 lbs, ordnance, plus two 325-lb radar missiles, and 2200 lbs of fuel for an approach, vertical landing, and reserve (Killea)....
-

Pentagon Slackens Difficult-To-Achieve JSF Performance Requirements J. Sherman Mar 1, 2012

http://insidedefense.com/201203012392003/Inside-Defense-General/Public-Articles/pentagon-waters-down-difficult-to-achieve-jsf-performance-requirements/menu-id-926.html
-

...The short-take-off-and-landing KPP before the JROC review last month was 550 feet. In
April 2011, the Pentagon estimated that the STOVL variant could execute a short take-off
in 544 feet while carrying two Joint Direct Attack Munitions and two AIM-120 missiles internally, as well as enough fuel to fly 450 nautical miles. By last month, that take-off distance estimate grew to 568 feet, according to DOD sources. The JROC, accordingly, agreed
to extend the required take-off distance to 600 feet, according to DOD officials....
Tweaks Allow Navy To Meet JSF Aircraft-Carrier Landing Speed Target | DefenseAlert, 09 Mar 2012
&

http://insidedefense.com/index.php?option=com_user&view=login&return=aHR0cDovL2luc2lkZWRlZmVuc2UuY29tLzIwMTIwMzA5MjM5Mjc0NC9JbnNpZGUtRGVmZW5zZS1EYWlseS1OZXdzL0RlZmVuc2VBbGVydC90d2Vha3MtYWxsb3ctbmF2eS10by1tZWV0LWpzZi1haXJjcmFmdC1jYXJyaWVyLWxhbmRpbmctc3BlZWQtdGFyZ2V0L21lbnUtaWQtNjEuaHRtbA==
-

With the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft-carrier variant expected to miss a key performance parameter related
to its maximum allowable landing speed, the Pentagon recently adjusted F-35C fuel storage calculations to
ensure the aircraft met a critical operational requirement, according to Defense Department officials.

Appropriators Question F-35Bs Weight Emelie Rutherford, March 2, 2012

http://www.defensedaily.com/sectors/navy_usmc/Appropriators-Question-F-35Bs-Weight_16933.html
-

Excerpts from: http://www.arrse.co.uk/current-affairs-news-analysis/178170-uk-aircraft-carrier-plans-confusion-ministers-revisit-square-one-5.html

-

A Marine Corps official told concerned lawmakers yesterday the weight of the developmental Joint Strike Fighter F-35B jet fighter has dropped since tests showed it near
its maximum poundage in recent months.... ...House Appropriations Defense subcommittee (HAC-D) member Jim Moran (D-Va.) cited data from November showing the
F-35B was only 230 pounds shy of its maximum intended weight of 32,557 pounds,
saying: "We want to raise that as a warning flag."...
...Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford told Moran F-35B
workers have worked to keep the aircraft's weight in check since the November assessment was conducted. "You identified a point in time when there was an issue," the
No. 2 Marine Corps official said. "We are actually better off than we were back in
November."
Pressed by HAC-D Ranking Member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) on what improvements
have been made, Dunford said the F-35B engineering team has worked on an "engineering solution." "And weight is an independent variable in every single one of the
engineering solutions that's been identified," he said. "Solutions that have been identified for those engineering challenges have been such that they have not penalized
the aircraft with regard to weight," he added. "I think the trends are absolutely in the
right direction, and everyone that's involved with the program is sensitized to the issue
of weight and how important that is.....

http://handle.dtic.
mil/100.2/
ADA399988

ttp://www.navair.navy.mil/press_releases/index.cfm?
fuseaction=home.view&Press_release_id=4144&site_id=15

http://navymatters.beedall
.com/images/
jsfcompair.jpg

N
A
V
A
L

http://handle.dtic.mil
/100.2/ADA399988

http://www.jeffhead.com/worldwideaircraftcarriers/bpe-10.jpg

Principe de Asturias (R11) & Juan Carlos I (L61)

Helicopter Landing Dock (LHD) VP Juan Carlos I L-61 http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6047/6265726510_da0d568269_b.jpg

A small delegation of Australian Defence Force (ADF) officers led by MAJGEN Rick Burr and CDRE Ian Middleton
saw firsthand the future of the Australian amphibious capability last month with a visit aboard the Spanish Helicopter Landing Dock (LHD) VP Juan Carlos I. The Spanish vessel was commissioned in 2010 and is similar to
the two Canberra Class LHDs, the first of which is due in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 2014

Cubierta corrida con SKI

JUMP de 216m x 32m =
SKI JUMP flush deck with
216m, 708 ft x 32m, 105 ft
http://www.navantia.es/ckfinder/userfiles/files/linea
s_act/Fichas_antiguas%20espa%C3%B1ol/LHD.pdf

Sea Harrier Set To Fly On 16 March 2007

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanewsletter016nvu/seaharrierflyon.html

...Editor's Note. In answer to some questions raised by the above, Art [Nalls] sent the following.... I
was a military test pilot at Pax River, having graduated from the USAF Test Pilot (TP) School with
Class 85A. At that time the new AV-8B was being introduced & there was no shortage of work. In fact,
I had been offered a TP job Edwards AFB while a student there but Marine Colonel Harry Blot, my
former CO, told me in no un-certain terms that if I accepted a job testing for the Air Force I was to stay
there & never come back to the Marines; I had been sent to Edwards to become a qualified TP so had
better get back to work for the Marines!
I was the project officer for the ski-jump testing aboard ship. The first ship was the Italian Navy
Garibaldi, with a 6 deg ramp, designed specifically for Harriers. The ship must have been designed by
someone who had never actually been aboard a fighting ship centre deck elevators, centre hangar
bay with passages round the outside, fuel lines running round the ship perimeter, no deck-edge
scuppers and no lights but it does look good!
Anyway, we did the tests and provided the launch bulletin for them. The second ship was the
Spanish Navy Principe de Asturias with a 12 deg ramp. This had a much better configuration being
based on the unbuilt US designed Sea Control Ship sponsored by Admiral Zumwalt, USN.
The ski-jump so impressed me that I authored several technical papers and was a huge advocate
for the USMC to push the USN to install it in our amphibious ships (LHDs). We could then use the
single flight deck as essentially two runways; the helos launching from the stern, the Harriers from
the bow. There is nothing that can be loaded on a Harrier that it can't take off with from 400 ft with 15
knots wind over deck absolutely nothing and the flight deck is 800 ft long on the LHDs.
Doubled take off performance, increased inherent safety from the launch trajectory and no moving
parts. Seemed like a no-brainer to me but the USN didn't want to jeopardise their big deck carriers. I
even attempted to orchestrate a cross-deck operation with the Russian ski jump ship Tiblisi.
Towards the end of my flight testing career I conceived and got official approval to take a test team to Russia to explore the YAK-141 supersonic VSTOL fighter & to fly & report on the YAK-38 Forger. I was the first western TP to do this.

AIRCRAFT: Capability for up to 30 medium

& heavy helicopters for amphibious
operations or 10/12 F-35B or AV-8B+
and similar number of helicopters
in her aircraft-carrier
configuration.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEiC7xLvRLY/UPyzpEUVCsI/AAAAAAAAGMo/
gD8xrCHznng/s1600/Farewell%2Bto%2BPDA%2BJAN%2B2013.jpg

L-61

L-61: The ship has been

designed for 4 mission profiles:...
... Aircraft-carrier substituting the old A/C
"Principe de Asturias". LHD "Juan Carlos I" (L-61)
http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/buques_superficie/prefLang_en/02_lhd-juan-carlos-i--03_lhd-juan-carlos-i-l-61

Farewell to Principe de Asturias, PDA, JAN 2013

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA244869

The [CAVOUR] ship has a

standard displacement at full
load of 27,100t, an overall length
of 244m and a sustained speed
of 27kt. The carriers runway is
180m14m with a 12 ski jump....

http://www.navaltechnology.com/projects/num/

CAVOUR

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/ontheroger/cavour_2_zps58de9f08.jpg~original

...There are two 30t elevators for

aircraft and two 15t elevators for
armaments.
The vessel is equipped with a
flight deck suitable both for
operations with helicopters and
with short launch, vertical take-off
fighter planes. It has a hangar /
garage of approximately 2,500m....
...The ship can support eight
VTOL (vertical take-off and landing)
aircraft such as AV-8B Harrier or
F-35 joint strike fighter VTOL
variant, or 12 helicopters, such as
the EH101, NH 90 or SH-3D, or a
mix of platforms....

The Italian Approach to the F-35: A to speak.

The Navy is focused on the way we

Discussion with Rear Admiral Covella
08 Nov 2013 Robbin Laird use carriers.
We do not use the carrier as the US
RADM: ...The Cavour will see some
does; we do not deploy for 6 months at a
changes as well; there are no structural
time.
changes necessary but some adaptations
We need to go out and be ready to
such as dedicated secure networks and
go without a significant build up time. We
laying down a new type of surface treatlook at the F-35B as providing a more cament for the ship flight deck....
pable ramp up capability for the Cavour.
...The Cavour will be eventually be
The two competencies are different.
stocked with the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter,
The Navy is focused on the ability to
replacing the aging Harriers. It has room
operate rapidly during the carriers operfor ten F-35Bs in the hangar and six
ation in fleet activities as the main ship
on the deck....
weapon system; the Air Force is focused
on a specialized expeditionary operationRL: ...The head of the Italian Air Force
al
focus.
had underscored during his interview that
the 60/40 split between the As and Bs
RL: USMC F-35B pilots, some of whom
was being done because the Air Force saw are Harrier pilots, have emphasized that
the need for expeditionary flexibility. We an impact of the B versus the Harrier is a
want to go to the mission, not the airfield. reduction of time necessary to recertify
What is your view of how the Italian
pilots during an operational period.
Navy and Air Force will evolve in their use
The point made is that after performof the B, especially because they will be
ing a mission, the Harrier pilots would
based at the same facility?
then because of the complexity of flying
RADM: Commonality is a great way to go the aircraft need time to do some flying
to recertify their flying skills.
forward in the future.
It has been emphasized that the B
There will be two squadrons of Bs, one
will
dramatically reduce the need to do
for the Navy and one for the Air Force.
so, and enhance provide for more mission
The missions are different.
time
with regard to the planes aboard the
The Air Force is focused on expeditionary use of the aircraft and will focus on its small deck carrier.
The Admiral agreed to this point and
ability to operate off of short airfields in
elaborated.
operations to be closer to the action, so

RADM: I am a Harrier pilot.

Your point is well taken.
We expect to get more mission time
out of the F-35B than we have been able
to get out of the Harrier.
If you cut out the recertification time
necessary for the Harrier pilots, then the
B will allow you more mission time.
When I was on the WASP, the pilots
made it clear that the B was much easier to fly. And when the aircraft lands it is
very stable.
RL: Finally, I asked the Admiral what the
advantage of having a coalition aircraft
like the F-35 available to a future coalition
of the willing?
RADM: All the aircraft can do the same
range of missions.
Currently, you use your assets on a
task-oriented basis; with the F-35 you can
consider the coalition aircraft as a combined team.
And with the common flow of parts
and procedures to the fleet of coalition
aircraft allows for greater operational possibilities as well.
And the common symbology of the
cockpit is significant as well in terms of
sharing operational information for common operations.

http://www.sldinfo.com/the-italian-approach-to-the-f-35-a-discussion-with-rear-admiral-covella/

CAVOUR

http://www.sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/cavour05.jpg

Invincible Class

Queen Elizabeth Class

Spanish/Oz LHD

Fighter aircraft plan marred by a strategic mistake 18 Mar 2014 Nicholas Stuart
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/fighter-aircraft-plan-marred-by-a-strategic-mistake-20140317-34y98.html
-

...There's only one issue that still niggles.

The people who are making the decisions are still thinking in terms of the Battle of Britain. They're
dreaming of fighter pilots wearing silk scarves running across cut-grass tarmacs to their Spitfires,
instead of grappling with some of the new challenges likely to confront us in the 21st century.
We are buying the ''A'' version of the fighter, the traditional version. The ''C'' version is a

carrier jet, but although (for tens of millions more) the two landing helicopter dock
ships we are buying from Spain could be fitted with catapults and arresting gear
like aircraft carriers (Lockheed has done feasibility studies), there are no plans to
add this capability. We are not planning to buy any of the Short Take Off Vertical
Landing (STOVL) ''B'' versions of either. This is a disastrous strategic mistake. :-)
This means flexibility in how the aircraft can be used will be severely limited. Without a long
runway, the plane just can't get airborne. This is a critical weakness in an era of precision guided
munitions. Shooting the planes out of the sky may, as advertised, prove impossible for any adversary - although that is exactly why they will be searching for other vulnerabilities which can also
render the Joint Strike Fighters ineffective. Lacking the STOVL capability means the aircraft can't
be forward deployed to other areas where our forces might be operating, such as small islands or
underdeveloped countries. More time will be spent burning up fuel in transit. Response time will
be slower.
If we are buying 70-odd aircraft anyway, it would make good sense to have at least one of the
squadrons with this capability. Yet the RAAF hasn't even presented the minister with this option it was ruled out years ago. No one is been prepared to put it up again, despite the increasing strategic evidence that this might be exactly what our country needs.

Landing
Helicopter
Dock

REMOVE SKI JUMP from LHDs

by MarkLBailey (19-Oct-2012)
http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/309398/LHD-01-Departs-Spain-Australia-Bound-22-August-2012
-

Without revealing anything I should not, I was

present in 2002 at Puckapunyal when the
modelling was done to recommend either the
Spanish or the French design.
During the process, the question was asked
if Treasury & Finance would provide additional
funds to remove the fixed-wing capable light
carrier elements of the Navantia design (ski
jump, certain magazines and elevators, certain
other systems, some weight and space).

The answer was an emphatic no.

Jump
THE CHALLENGES OF AN
ORGANIC FIXED WING CAPABILITY
FOR AUSTRALIAS LHDS
Back
By Mark Boast

The best way to overcome a challenge is to understand it. With this in mind former Sea Harrier squadron commanding
officer Mark Boast takes a look at the challenges that could confront the ADF adopting organic CAS for the new
Canberra class LHDs.
The acquisition of two LHD ships within an expanded amphibious
capability has naturally stimulated thinking within the Defence community
about the best force mix to support the capability. There has even been
guarded speculation about the potential of operating fixed wing aircraft to
provide enhanced offensive capabilities in air and surface environments;
a natural path given that the basic ship configuration so clearly reflects its
evolution as a STOVL jet platform.
The Australian operational concept for both LHD ships is focussed on
amphibious operations but does not include an organic fixed wing aircraft
capability that operates from the LHD or within the deployed amphibious
force. This has left open the traditional questions about the need for
organic offensive fixed wing aircraft capabilities where land based air
assets may be limited due to range or response times, and other organic
assets such as Tiger are relatively limited in their offensive roles, range
and firepower.

In order to simplify the approach and get straight to the organic fixed wing
aircraft discussion, I am going to assume that the Minister has requested
the ADF to provide some initial key discussion points on the development
of a fixed wing offensive air support capability to operate from the LHD
ships. I leave it to others to ponder on the Ministers request and reasons
for it!
The purpose of this article, therefore, is to explore some of the fundamental
operational and support implications of an organic fixed wing aircraft
capability. There is no intent here to question a similar land based air
capability or the role and contribution of an embarked ARH Tiger. If it
eases the readers concern, consider the Ministers request as being
one based on risk reduction for the more demanding offensive land and
maritime scenarios, or as a peace of mind force protection requirement
for the future.

An F-35 STOVL JSF, to be used by the RN, USMC and a number of other nations. The Australian operational concept the LHDs is focussed on amphibious operations but does not include an
organic fixed wing aircraft, like the STOVL JSF, for CAS missions. (Lockheed Martin)

All the systems were dual use. To my knowledge, none were removed or not installed.
Therefore she is perfectly capable of operating
something like SHAR or STOVL F-35, although
undoubtedly additional kit would be needed
(hence the weight and space mentioned above).
The Navy guys were so delighted with the
Treasury response they were too terrified even
to move a muscle. It was as funny as hell to
watch.
Cheers:mark http://navyleague.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/The-Navy-Vol_72_No_4-Oct-2010.pdf
THE NAVY VOL. 72 NO. 4

27

An Australian Army Tiger reconnaissance helicopter. The Tigers limited range and weapon load, plus its
un-marinised nature, means it cannot provide the necessary CAS required by Australian troops during an
amphibious operation. (Defence)

need to be taken into account to determine the

force mix options.
A secondary role is the provision of a
supplementary maritime offensive capability
against air and surface threats. Whilst a
secondary role, this consideration falls into
the requirement of most deployed assets to
provide as much value to the force as possible.
This role is more about complementing and
supplementing capabilities such as AWD and
long range land based systems rather than
replacing them. At sea there is rarely too much
force protection available and the RNs lessons
in the Falklands Conflict provide ample proof
should there be any doubt.

THE ORGANIC FIXED WING

AIRCRAFT CAPABILITY
The organic capability is defined as one that
is able to operate and support fixed wing
aircraft from either or both LHDs in support
of warfighting operations. The conventional
model of embarked Squadrons or flights
involves a sufficient number of aircraft that
can be operated sustainably to be ready
for warfighting when required, armed with
appropriate weapons, operated by suitably
trained personnel and able to be reliably
planned in support of operations. Twenty four
hour operations and poor weather/night time
flying must be considered as fundamental
requirements to complement the existing ADF
land and maritime forces capabilities and
doctrinal warfighting.

OPERATIONAL ROLES
Potential roles for organic fixed wing aircraft in
support of an amphibious force are as broad
as those of land based aircraft in support of
a conventional land force. But in practice the
roles will be restricted to the capabilities of
smaller aircraft types able to be operated from
the restricted space and characteristics of the
flight deck. Long range and high endurance
air and surface surveillance and high mass air
logistics will remain in the domain of land based
aircraft such as Wedgetail AEW&C and C-17
Globemaster III respectively. These capabilities
are mentioned here because they will continue
to be required even if the LHD develops its
organic fixed wing capability.
Similarly, Air Refuelling and the additional
land based offensive aircraft that it enables
will always play a vital role in providing the
numbers and breadth of battlefield coverage
that a small number of embarked aircraft will
never be able to meet. Beyond the scope of
this discussion but not far from the back of the
28

THE NAVY VOL. 72 NO. 4

mind is the apparent irony of our current fleet

of naval F-18 Hornet aircraft. But again the size
and characteristics of the flight deck dictates
feasibility.
For ease of discussion, and to remain true
to the Ministers request, I will assume that
the required primary role is for a fixed wing
land attack air capability in close support of
amphibious and associated deployed forces.
Given todays mobile forces and the inherently
remote nature of amphibious operations, this
support extends to a strike capability against
influential targets that are not in the immediate
battle areas. In making this assumption I am
keenly aware of the many solutions that exist
and are under development to support this
role besides the well know aircraft currently
employed. Long range naval gunfire and missile
systems, long range land based air systems
including UCAVs (uninhabited Combat Aerial
Vehicles), and the increasingly lethal weapons
within the amphibious force itself will eventually

Roles that I will not investigate are those that

would not normally be solved by a STOVL jet.
Nevertheless they are worth mentioning. Air and
battlefield surveillance is an essential capability
and one that our own Wedgetail and allied
assets can support. In order to meet persistent
coverage and support surge or unpredictable
demands however, an organic capability may
need to be considered. Its value will not be
measured by its limitations when compared
to that provided by a large fixed wing aircraft,
but by its rapid availability to fill gaps and cope
with unexpected availability of the larger assets.
Again, the lessons of the Falklands Conflict
are applicable and especially the challenge of
conducting amphibious operations at extreme
ranges of land based aircraft.
The question of an organic fixed wing capability
is a complex one. In the spirit of simplicity
and in keeping with the intent of the Ministers
question, I will approach this discussion using
only three criteria: the aircraft, the weapons, the
organisation and culture.

THE AIRCRAFT
The provision of land attack by an organic STOVL jet requires some
fundamental enablers. Deck and hangar space that support flying
and support operations, weapons stowage and assembly areas,
accommodation for associated personnel, ship technical and operations
systems to support flying, and a training system to provide an effective,
deployable and safe capability. The majority of these enablers come at
the cost of space, utility and cost within the strict boundaries of the ship
environment. Whether above or below deck, the aircraft will displace
other aircraft, amphibious force elements or stores. The weapons
will require appropriate storage, handling and assembly areas. The
personnel will need a certain amount of appropriate accommodation that
will probably displace others who may have been assumed in the full
warfighting configuration. The aircraft will require appropriately equipped
workshops while in the hangar and finally, flying operations will need the
communications and instrument approach aids whilst flying.
These requirements are unsurprising and distil into being competition
for space with the confines of the ships design. What may not be
apparent is that the nature of fixed wing flying that includes rolling take
offs, high thrust vertical landings and the presence of weapons will
dominate the ships flying operations. Nor will this domination diminish
during amphibious operations when the natural tendency will be to
support intensive helicopter operations. Even ships position, heading
and speed will default to the fixed wing flying operation, albeit within the
generous flexibility that STOVL capabilities provide and far less extreme
than that which would be required for a conventional (non STOVL) naval
fixed wing aircraft.
But back to the space competition. In the first instance it is worthwhile
considering the number of aircraft that may be required and their
residential requirements; the amount of time the aircraft are embarked
and when they may not be present.
Let me immediately constrain the discussion to two STOVL jet aircraft
types based on feasibility and the ADFs acquisition plans respectively.
The first is the Harrier AV-8B family and secondly the STOVL F-35
JSF. Both these single seat multi role aircraft have been taken into
account in the development Australias LHD design, given their Spanish

predesssor, and therefore are valid for this discussion. But it is important
to remember that neither aircraft has been or is planned to be in the
Australian inventory. Whilst still under development, the STOVL JSF
has perhaps the greater application in the longer term as it is a more
specialised (and expensive) version of the land based JSF already being
planned for the RAAF. Before going further I have already assumed that
the reader is aware of the tremendous impact that catapults and arresting
gear would have on the LHD design and that such an option is well outside
the spirit of the Ministers question, and probably that of engineering
feasibility as well.
Aircraft of this type are operated in pairs. This doctrine has been
developed from experience in the conduct of operational tactics, self
protection and mission assurance. Individual mission planning will
therefore always include two aircraft plus a further one at least as a
spare in the event one of the planned aircraft suffers an unserviceability
prior to launch. Depending on the criticality of the planned mission, the
spare may be manned or their may be a further spare, manned or
unmanned. Assuming that there will be critical missions in a land battle
associated with amphibious operations, then we can assume that four
aircraft equipped with weapons will be the minimum number required
on deck.
From this fundamental assumption, the increase in STOVL jet numbers
is driven by issues such as aircraft maintenance cycles, the battlefield
coverage required (numbers and time), and secondary role requirements.
A simplistic answer to the question of how many aircraft on the ship
required to provide a reliable capability is four ready to fly, one in the
hangar in maintenance, and if required a further pair to provide additional
land attack or maritime force protection. Depending on aircraft reliability
and maintainability, it would not be unrealistic to expect that between
six and eight aircraft would be required on board to provide a sound
capability base. These numbers would not be unfamiliar to current AV-8B
operators, most of whom are operating these squadron sizes from ships
in the twenty thousand tonne category i.e. smaller than the Canberra
class LHDs.
STOVL jet aircraft are deliberately designed to be able to be operated
from a range of airfields and landing pads. Therefore it is feasible to
consider that the aircraft may disembark to shore operating locations.

Six USMC AV-8B Harrier II on a USN LHD. It would not be unrealistic to expect that between six and eight aircraft would be required to provide a sound capability base on each LHD.
These numbers would be familiar to current AV-8B operators, most of whom are operating these squadron sizes from ships in the 20,000 tonne category
i.e. smaller than the Canberra class LHDs. (USN)

A full scale analogue of the STOVL JSF

undergoing deck handling trials on HMS
ILLUSTRIOUS. The STOVL JSF has many
synergies with the RAAFs land based version
of the JSF that could be exploited to provide
the LHDs with a CAS capability. (RN)

THE NAVY VOL. 72 NO. 4

29

A common misunderstanding within the ADF is that fixed wing and helicopters cant
operate from the same straight deck. Here a USMC Harrier takes off from a straight
deck from the USN LHD IWO JIMA with helicopters parked to one side. (USN)

These locations may be either runways, landing pads, or combination

of both. Whilst STOVL jets have excellent operating characteristics from
surprising short runways, landing pads entailing vertical take off and
landing have constraining limits. The operational usefulness of pads
is highly dependant on the vertical lift capability of the aircraft. The lift
capability is determined by overall aircraft weight, air temperature, and
pad material/design. When equipped with weapons and fuel, both the
AV-8B and JSF have severe limitations when taking off vertically. These
limitations disappear rapidly with even the shortest of runways and
therefore disembarked operations should normally be regarded as only
achievable from runways - albeit from runways much shorter than may be
required from conventional jets. But a far more problematic issue limits
disembarked operations in tactical theatres. The support requirements
for the aircraft include people, fuel, weapons, maintenance equipment,
domestic accommodationand so on. Unless provided fully or in large
proportion by the disembarked location, all this will need to come from
the aircrafts normal operating location, the LHD! For the sake of this
discussion that is limited to amphibious operations support, the aircraft
and their support will most likely be a permanent presence on the ship
with at best, occasional diversions to shore locations should they be
available.

also complicate the number and types of magazine required. Weapons

stowage requirements can be very difficult or even impossible to restore
to an existing design unless they were taken into account at final
design acceptance. Whilst some examples can be recalled of seriously
compromised weapons stowage due to unexpected operational demands
the on deck stowage of air weapons by the RN during the Falklands
War is a recent example it would be unwise to plan on this as the LHD
will need to operate close to land and therefore be closer to possible
threats. And not to mention that the deck area will be a very complex
operating environment during actual amphibious operations organic
fixed and rotary wing, visiting aircraft, landing craft operations, maximum
communications effort and fully alert defensive systems! Not the time to
have weapons exposed on deck unnecessarily.
Depending on the weapons use predictions and stowage capability,
replenishment of weapons at sea will probably be required in order to
avoid lengthy and highly inconvenient transits of the LHD to suitable shore
based facilities. Whilst a number of smaller weapons could be re-supplied
rapidly and reasonably easily using helicopter vertical replenishment,
larger mass weapons and those with bulky storage cases will require
conventional Replenishment at Sea. But where will the weapons come
from? Not only will there need to be at least one suitable replenishment
ship, but its supporting shore infrastructure will need to be matched to
providing the weapons re-supply for the LHD capability. Transit times
between potential operational theatres and suitably located and equipped
shore facilities will probably be critical in supporting an amphibious role,
especially if the organic fixed wing capability is the major enabler for
sustained land operations.

THE ORGANISATION AND CULTURE

Finally it is time consider what is arguably the most difficult and complex
topic within the Australian context, the fast jet organisation and its culture.
Unlike the first two topics, the cultural issue is at is suggests, primarily
one based on people and organisations rather than technical issues.
Lets start at the beginning. The RAAF is the only operator of fixed wing
offensive aircraft within the ADF. Within the current configuration of the
ADF air forces, it would seem a logical and mandatory assumption that
an organic fixed wing capability on an LHD would be an RAAF Squadron

THE WEAPONS
Fixed wing roles such as CAS, Strike and Air Defence cannot be achieved
by the aircraft alone; the weapons are the essential element. The subject
of weapons on both ships and aircraft is both complex and demanding.
Being ship based we will want a sufficient range of weapon types and
numbers to do those tasks which by default can only be accomplished
reliably by the organic aircraft. And in the amphibious role, the useage
rate of air to surface weapons can be very high in order to maintain the
edge in force protection and progression of the ground battle.
Whilst the trend in developing smaller and highly accurate weapons
may mitigate some magazine and handling space requirements, there
will always be highly desirable weapons with longer range, endurance
and payload that require large stowage areas. This requirement can
be exacerbated if the weapon or its major components are designed to
be stored individually in its own container. The storage and preparation
spaces will therefore need to be scaled accordingly and also be equipped
with the range of machinery and specialist manpower to support the
potentially high useage rate.
Multiple magazines are very demanding on ship design and it is inevitable
that painful compromises will be required with competing weapons
storage requirements such as those for the embarked land forces.
Stowage incompatibility between weapon types based on characteristics
such as explosive content, propellant type and cook off times will

30

THE NAVY VOL. 72 NO. 4

HMS ILLUSTRIOUS off the US coast with two squadrons of

USMC AV-8B Harriers embarked for the first time during
2007. This two week cross-decking exercise enabled the
USMC and RN to better understand each others fixed wing
operations techniques, and gave the USMC pilots their first
taste of a ski jump. Australian STOVL aircraft and pilots
could mount a similar exercise to gain the benefit of
experience of nations who already understand
fixed wing operations from
straight decks. (USN)

complete with required air systems support

personnel. Within the limited environment of
the LHD there would of course be challenges
to accommodating the air personnel as well as
providing them with the training and experience
to be able to operate in the ship environment.
But given the high quality of ADF personnel and
the attractive challenge of introducing such a
potent and visible capability, it is highly likely
that integrating an RAAF Squadron into the LHD
environment would not be the limiting risk that
some might imagine.
A single embarked squadron capability
would itself need the support of a land based
squadron to provide the training throughput
of aircrew and maintenance personnel as well
as providing the continuity and surge potential
to reliably support operational tasking. Given
that the embarked squadron may only be six eight aircraft it should not be assumed that the
squadron sizes would be equivalent to those
currently found within the RAAFs fast jet force.
But what of the impact of supporting an organic
maritime fixed wing capability to the RAAF
itself? Within the timescale of this discussion,
the RAAF is already operating three different
fast jet types and will continue to be severely
challenged to maintain the manpower to
support existing capability and the transitions
to new capabilities. The personnel challenges
are significant and expensive to resolve.
Pilots, engineers, systems maintainers and
air operations specialists will all be required
and dedicated to the maritime role. Luckily
there are existing organisation models within
the USMC and RN/RAF that could be adopted
but the inevitable truth is that whichever
organisational model is adopted, or developed,
the new organisations will be a clear addition
to the existing RAAF fast jet force and not just
a variation.
Perhaps the toughest challenge that an organic
fixed wing capability will present is to those
who fund, design and maintain the shape of our
defence force. Developing the capability with
a least impact on funding and organisation
basis will inevitably fall to the RAAF first as
a new aircraft type will be required. The
existing fast jet fleet would need to be reassessed, ongoing operational outputs revised
and the surge associated with introduction of
a new capability would require manning and
management. Given the relatively limited size of
the RAAF and especially the fast jet force, such
a change would be highly dramatic and it might
be unrealistic to expect that the RAAF shoulder
could shoulder the entire load itself, especially
if a balanced national defence capability is to
be maintained throughout the transition period
to the new capability.
Up to now I have assumed that the significant
change would be managed using a conventional
force restructuring i.e. adapting existing forces

Weve done it before Minister. Seen here are nine Australian Army Blackhawk helicopters on the USN LHD USS BOXER
undergoing familiarisation and Tactics, Techniques and Procedures training in anticipation of the Canberra class LHDs
arrival. Any adoption of fixed wing CAS for the Canberra class LHDs will rely on the RN and USN for exchange opportunities
to relearn much that has been forgotten about fixed wing operations since the demise of Australias aircraft carrier capability
in the old HMAS MELBOURNE. (RAN)

and managing a coordinated transition with

least impact on ongoing defence capability. But
there are other options. The ADF could adopt
all or part of a foreign Squadron and support
structure to provide an instant initial capability,
commence ADF training transition and enable
early effective operational assessment.
Alternatively and perhaps more feasibly, the ADF
capability could be grown through developing
it overseas within the existing organisations
of either the UK or US and then transferred to
the LHD when sufficiently mature. Included
in both these options would be those ship
based personnel essential to embarked flying
operations mentioned earlier.
Regardless of the approach taken, a most
critical step in transition will be the integration
of the fixed wing capability into the LHD. Where
organic fast jet capabilities exist there are
also dedicated organisations that provide the
training and assessments to ensure least risk
during transition. This vital step would most
safely and coherently be achieved through the
training systems already in use by whichever
foreign defence force is supporting the
development of the air capability. The LHD will
therefore need to plan on a significant period
in either US or UK waters whilst the fixed wing
capability is developed onboard and brought
up to an operational employable level. To be
able to achieve an operationally significant
capability including day/night/poor weather
with reasonable experience level will be a
significant activity probably requiring between
six months and a year.

CONCLUSION
So given the consideration of only three
assessment criteria; aircraft, weapons and
organisation and culture, what does a potential
response by the CDF to the Ministers question
look like?
Well Minister, to start with we need to purchase
at least one squadron of approximately 12
STOVL aircraft and training systems; train
the pilots on a different variant of an existing
aircraft but one that flies differently; develop
our engineers and flying operations people
overseas with one of our major allies, which
weve done before, and integrate the new
squadron onto the ship overseas using our
allies support for up to a year. Needless to say
this will have an impact on our existing plans
within the RAAF fast jet force and those for the
LHD, but we have excellent people and with
careful management it is certainly achievable.
When would you like to see 1st Pass?
Mark Boast is a former naval aviator of 23 years
experience in both the RAN and RN. The majority of
his flying was on the Sea Harrier where he was CO
of the training squadron and operational evaluation
unit. He was also an MOD staff officer for the
Sea Harrier replacement and was involved in the
concept development for JSF and CVF.
Opinions expressed in this article are entirely his
own and developed without reference to any ADF
project including the LHD and JSF projects.

http://navyleague.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2012/06/TheNavy-Vol_72_No_4-Oct-2010.pdf
THE NAVY VOL. 72 NO. 4

31

Big Ships, Big Challenge By Alan Stephens, Deputy Chairman | Oct 2011
http://www.williamsfoundation.org.au/sites/default/files/Big%20Ships%20Big%20Challenge%20Oct%202011.pdf
...There are suggestions that the [RAN] LHDs will only be used in permissive environments. This is an unsound
concept. Even if a deployment started under permissive conditions, the task force would still have to be prepared for
non-permissive operations, to guard against the possibility of a change of circumstances during transit, or even after
arrival. Any inability to deal with a suddenly-emerging, non-permissive environment could compel the Australian
Government into an embarrassing, even dangerous, back down. This means that any operational deployment would
need some degree of protection from hostile aircraft, submarines, surface ships, stand-off missiles, and ISR
systems. Suddenly, the development of a concept of operations sounds like headache material....
...In short, the LHDs are a very big deal. The Williams Foundation is concerned that the political/strategic implications of bringing them onto the ADFs order of battle are not well-understood....
...To return to the question of embarked strike/fighters. Australia is in the process of acquiring up to 100 Joint
Strike Fighters, all of which are to be the conventional F-35A variant. However, the F-35 will come in a STOVL variant,
-

will the introduction of the LHDs generate

pressure for the ADF to acquire a small number of F-35Bs?

the F-35B. The question is:

Ship-borne fighter operations are enormously complex and expensive. At the same time, when done properly,
they provide a unique capability by removing in one fell stroke the perennial strike/fighter problem of range and
endur-ance. Take your own fighters with you, and that particular dimension of control of the air has been addressed.
Great Britains recapture of the Falklands Islands from occupying Argentineans in 1982 could not have succeeded
without the fleet protection provided by embarked RN and RAF Harrier strike/fighters.

Whatever the government and the ADF might be saying now, it is certain that, as
the in-service date for the LHDs grows closer, calls to acquire STOVL F-35Bs for
the Fleet Air Arm will increase. Theres nothing wrong with that; on the contrary.
But we do need to understand the issues. Any one of the challenges outlined above warrants serious attention;
in combination, they constitute a compelling case for action at almost every level of Defence planning.

Mission profile - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Background

Technical data

Systems

Mission profile

Propulsion systems

Launching

Page 1 of 12

LHD Juan Carlos I

http://www.armada.mde.es/Armada
Portal/page/Portal/armadaEspannola/
buques_superficie/03_Buques_
anfibios--03_lhd-juan-carlos-i

Mission profile - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Page 2 of 12

Air Capability
The ship has the following elements for air operations:
Flight deck with a 12 sky-jump for VSTOL aircraft.
Helicopter landing spots for, at least, 4 CH-47 CHINOOK or 6 medium type helicopters like the SH3D or NH-90.
2 elevators with capability for embarked aircraft with portable control panels of the elevator
platforms. The elevators will be big enough for future larger aircraft. Specifically, the ship will be able
to operate with the scheduled VSTOL version of the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter).
Flight Deck 201.9 metre long and 32 metre wide.

Mission profile

Flight Deck
The following aircraft can operate from the LHD:
Mission Profile
Depending on the mission assigned, the ship will be configured accordingly.
The main configurations are:
Amphibious operations.
Combined deployment with the Army.
Fleet projection (alternative aircraft-carrier)
Humanitarian aid operations.
Capabilities

V-22 Osprey (a spot aft of the flight deck).

AV-8B Plus
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
6 NH-90
6 SH-3D
4 CH-47 Chinook
6 AB 212
1 SA spot

In order to carry out the mission entrusted, the ship has certain capabilities allowing for flexibility in her
configuration.
The ship has an aft RO-RO ramp and two lateral ramps. The aft ramp and those of the heavy cargo deck are
capable of embarking Leopard type tanks.
The main capabilities of the ship are:
Air capability.
Vehicle transport capability.

Flight Hangar

Amphibious capability.
Troop transport capability.

The air capabilities of the ship include parking and hangar areas for VSTOL aircraft (AV-8B Plus Harrier

Humanitarian Aid capability.

and/or JSF) and helicopters (NH-90, SH-3D, AB 212, etc).

Mission profile - Modernization - Armada Espaola

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Mission profile - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Page 4 of 12

Heavy cargo hangar

Amphibious capability
^ subir

General cargo arrangement.Air Operations

The general arrangement will be as follows:
12 aircraft in the hangar (including CH-47 Chinook with folded blades). The capacity can be
enhanced up to 30 aircraft (10 CH-47) using the light vehicles garage.
6 aircraft on the flight deck (including 4 CH-47 operating simultaneously).

General cargo arrangement.Maximum capacity of AV-8B Plus

Vehicle transport capability
^ subir
Transport
capability for both, heavy and light vehicles is as follows:

Amphibious capability
For amphibious operations the ships has a flooding deck with capacity for:
Light cargo hangar
Heavy vehicles: The heavy vehicles garage has 1,400 m2 for M-60 or Leopard type tanks. This area
can be increased in 975 m2 if the dock is used as a garage (up to 46 tanks).
Light vehicles: The light vehicles garage is next to the aircraft hangar. The area, therefore, can take
up to 2,046 m2.

4 LCM-1E/LCM-8 + 4/6 SUPERCAT type RIBs.

Dock features:

1 LCAC

Length: 69.3 m.

LVTs

Width: 16.8 m.

Light cargo hangar

Door: 16.8 x 11.5 m.

Mission profile - Modernization - Armada Espaola

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Mission profile - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Page 6 of 12

Humanitarian aid capabilityTransport capability

Containers.
Materiel (pallets).
CIMIC module.
Medical vehicles.
Space for evacuated civilians.
Capacity for 144 containers.
Heavy cargo hangar
Troop transport capability

Light cargo hangar

Access to the hospital

2 Operating theatres.
1 Dentists room.
1 Sick bay.
1 Consulting room.
1 First aid room.
1 ICU.
1 Infectious unit.
1 Injury selection area.
1 X-ray room.
1 Lab.
1 Chemists.

The ship has space for the following personnel:

Amphibious operations complement
Officers

Petty-Officers

Ratings Total

Crew

24

49

170

243

Staff

45

32

26

103

Landing Force

46

64

792

902

Heavy cargo hangar

18

23

Access to the hospital:

41

60

71

172

The ship has an elevator for sick personnel connecting the dock, the flight deck and cargo decks with the

Beach Naval Group

Embarked Air Crews

Additional troops may embark setting up billet containers in the hangar.

hospital in a fast and efficient way.

Propulsion systems - Modernization - Armada Espaola

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Propulsion systems - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Page 8 of 12

Propulsion plan

LHD Juan Carlos I

Background

Technical data

Systems

Mission profile

Propulsion systems

Launching

Propulsion systems

Propulsion plant
Diesel generator: IZAR MAN 32/40 16V 7,860kWm 720 rpm.
Turbo generator: GE LM-2500 19,750 kW, 3,600 rpm.
PODs

PODs approx. 11 MW.

ABB.
Siemens-Schottel.

Engine room arrangement:

Performance

Propulsion
Propulsion system: Electric ship.
Propulsion machinery: 1 Gas turbine + 2 Diesel generators.
Propellers: 2 x POD @ 11.0 MW each.
Speed and Endurance
Deployment operations:
Full load displacement: 27,078 tons.
Max. sustained speed: 19.5 knots.
Operations as aircraft-carrier:
Full load displacement: 24,660 tons.
Max. sustained speed: 21 knots.
Endurance: 9,000 miles at 15 knots.

PERFORMANCE
Speed (nudos) Sea State Displacement (Tn) Power(kw)

Generators

Regime (%)

10

27.079

2.680

1 x DDGG

100

15,0

Pruebas

27.079

5.466

2 x DDGG

70

15,0

27.079

6.814

2 x DDGG

79,5

19,5

Pruebas

27.079

15.344

1 x DG+TG 2 x DG+TG 79,5 62

19,5

27.079

18.653

1 x DG+TG 2 x DG+TG 93 72,5

21,0

Pruebas

24.660

22.000

2 x DG+TG

86

Propulsion systems - Modernization - Armada Espaola

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Propulsion systems - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Page 10 of 12
Components of diesel-electric propulsion

Benefits:
No operational risk.
No rudders.
No shafts.
Excellent manoeuvrability.
Minimum consumption, maximum endurance.
Maintenance. Simple assembly and replacement of gas turbines and community with the Alpha Group
and F-100.
Drawbacks:

Shipbuilding benefits

Non-balanced plant (1+2).

Expensive procurement costs of equipment.

In agreement with current shipbuilding trends which demand high manoeuvrability and the initial feasibility

Large engine rooms.

studies, the ship is conceived as a totally electric ship (AES) with POD-type azimuthally propulsion
propellers operated by alternating current electric engines. The propulsion electric engines are fuelled by
two diesel engine generators and a gas turbo-generator group.
A POD propeller eliminates:

Propulsion Types
Typical diesel propulsion with fixed or
controllable pitch propellers.

Reducer.
Thrust block.
Shafting.
Sterntube and airtight closing systems.

Benefits of electric propulsion:

Bearing lube system.

Reduction of fuel consumption.

Rudder.

Flexibility of onboard arrangement.

Servo.

Lower maintenance costs.

Aft thrusters.

Reduction of necessary spaces.

Reduction of gas emissions.
The use of POD type propellers is not new in the Spanish Navy. The aircraft-carrier Prncipe de Asturias
and the FFG frigates use the same systems but are just auxiliary mechanisms and are less powerful.
Further benefits combining diesel-electric propulsion with POD systems:
Reduction of propulsion power.
Reduction of noises and vibrations.

POD Propellers.
POD Propellers
POD design:

Manoeuvrability without aft transversal propellers.

Permanent magnet engine.

One package propulsion.

2 screws rotating in the same direction and coupled to the same shaft.

Reduction of costs and times.

Trimmer to optimise the hydrodynamic flow.

Flexibility in hull forms.

Compact and light design.

Technical data - Modernization - Armada Espaola

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Technical data - Modernization - Armada Espaola

Page 12 of 12

LHD Juan Carlos I

Armament. The ship has the following weapons:

Background

Technical data

Systems

Mission profile

Propulsion systems

Launching

Four 20 mm. guns.

Four 12.7 mm. machine-guns.
There are future plans for an anti-missile close-in weapon system (ESSM or RAM type).
Complement:
Crew of LHD "Juan Carlos I"

Technical data

LHD "Juan Carlos I"

Dimensions:
Length: 230.82 m.
Width: 32 m.
Height: 27.5 m.
Draught: 6.9 m.
Configurations:
The configuration of the ship can change depending on the mission assigned. The main configurations are:

Amphibious Operations
Displacement fully loaded: 27,079 tons.
Maximum sustained speed: 19.5 knots.
Air Operations
Displacement fully loaded: 24,660 tons.
Maximum sustained speed: 21 knots.
Internal Arrangement of the Ship. The ship has four decks:
Dock and garage for heavy cargo.
Habitability deck.
Hangar and light cargo garage.
Flight deck with a portside sky-jump.

Officers

Petty-Officers

Ratings Total

Crew

24

49

170

243

Staff

45

32

26

103

Landing Force

46

64

792

902

Beach Naval Group

18

23

Embarked Air Crew

41

60

71

172

Additional troops may embark setting up billet containers in the hangar.