Vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) is a term used to describe aircraft that are able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) describes craft which do not require runways at all. Generally, a V/STOL aircraft needs to be able to hover; helicopters are not typically considered under the V/STOL classification.
Most V/STOL aircraft types were experiments or outright failures from the 1950s to 1970s. V/STOL aircraft types that have been produced in large numbers include the Harrier, Yak-38 Forger and V-22 Osprey.
A rolling takeoff, sometimes with a ramp (ski-jump), reduces the amount of thrust required to lift an aircraft from the ground (compared with vertical takeoff), and hence increases the payload and range that can be achieved for a given thrust. For instance, the Harrier is incapable of taking off vertically with a full weapons and fuel load. Hence V/STOL aircraft generally use a runway if it is available. I.e. Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) or Conventional Take-off and Landing (CTOL) operation is preferred to VTOL operation.
V/STOL was developed to allow fast jets to be operated from clearings in forests, from very short runways, and from small aircraft carriers that would previously only have been able to carry helicopters.
The main advantage of V/STOL aircraft is closer basing to the enemy, which reduces response time and tanker support requirements. In the case of the Falklands War, it also permitted high performance fighter air cover and ground attack without a large aircraft carrier equipped with a catapult.
The latest V/STOL aircraft is the F-35B, which is expected to enter service in 2016.[1]
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This is a partial list, there have been many designs for V/STOL aircraft.
Although many aircraft have been proposed, built, and some even tested, the F-35B is expected to be the first supersonic VTOL aircraft in operational service.
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