Capable of landing and taking off from short runways
That last sentence is the operative sentence. If that is true and can be done without the assistance of arresting wires then it is a revolutionary leap in carrier based plane operations.
Taking off with powerful engine and achieving sufficient lift with the help of wings and sk-lift, is possible without the necessity of a catapult system.
But since WW2, almost all aircraft has been using arresting cables to come to a stop on the deck. I really would like to see how this is going to be achieved without them. To bring stalling speed down and applying heavy braking may not be enough. At sea, surface side winds can toss a plane across deck easily. Wires hold it in place.
There are companies like YDS in Turkey that produce portable and fixed solutions to use arresting cables at airports. Some of them are invasive some are just laid across and tethered at the ends.
I guess we will see when it happens!
Türk Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’nın ihtiyaçları doğrultusunda Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı (SSB) Uçak Durdurucu Sistem Projesi’ni (UDS) başlatmıştı. Proje kapsamında SDT Uzay ve Savunma Teknolojileri, Uçak Durdurucu Sistemleri teslim edecek. Kamu Aydınlatma Platformu’na yapılan açıklamaya göre...
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