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Older aircraft did not have a launch bar integrated into the nose gear; instead, a wire rope called a catapult bridle was attached to the aircraft and the catapult shuttle…

An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but also installed land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carriers, as a form of assisted take-off.

Older aircraft did not have a launch bar integrated into the nose gear; instead, a wire rope called a catapult bridle was attached to the aircraft and the catapult shuttle. The ramps (Van Velm Bridle Arresters or horns) at the catapult ends on older carriers were used to catch these ropes so they could be reused; bridles have not been used on US aircraft (French Navy Super Etendard Modernisé attack aircraft used bridles until their retirement in 2016 and Brazilian Navy A-4 Skyhawk fighter bombers used bridles until the aircraft carrier São Paulo went out of service in 2017) since the end of the Cold War and all carriers commissioned since then have not had the ramps.

The last carrier commissioned with a bridle catcher was USS Carl Vinson; starting with USS Theodore Roosevelt the ramps were deleted. During Refueling and Comprehensive Overhaul refits in the late 1990s–early 2000s, the bridle catchers were removed from the first three Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. USS Enterprise had been the last US Navy operational carrier where the ramps were not removed.

F-4, A-3, A-4, F-8 and RA-5C aircraft were bridle equipped. Back in the 70’s A-6, A-7, E-2, and C-2 were the first aircraft equipped with nose tow. In the early days, the bridles were shot off the bow, so the ramps were for bridle overrun. The bridles were hooked to a strap that ran in a track alongside the cat slot and were brought to a stop by a cammed disc brake.

‘The extensions were called “Bridle Catchers,” says James Shannon, Senior Chief Petty Officer BMCS (SW/AW)(E-8) at US Navy (1995-present), on Quora.

‘Catapulting aircraft from the carrier deck has evolved. In the past, most aircraft were launched by attaching the aircraft nose to the catapult via a wire bridle. The bridle catcher would ‘catch’ the wire so that it could be reused.

‘This method evolved, however. Nose wheels would be fitted especially so that they could be attached directly to the catapult shuttle.

‘As soon as all the aircraft in the airwing gradually evolved to using the launch bar/nose wheel method, there was no longer a need for the bridle catcher.’

Shannon concludes;

‘USN Carriers eventually removed the bridle catchers or were built without them.’

The video below features the bridle Launch of an F-4 Phantom.

This other clip instead features the Launch Bar/Nosewheel Launch of a Super Hornet.

Photo by U.S. Navy

The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet – Rafale M’s competitor – already demonstrated the ski-jump capability in December 2020 at NAS Patuxent River in the US.

Dassault aims to bring its Rafale M (Marine) carrier-borne fighter to the shore-based test facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa in January 2022, India to prove that the jet can take off from a ski-jump, ThePrint reports.

Dassault is eyeing a mega contract with the Indian Navy for new fighters. The service in fact plans to procure new fighters to replace the Russian MiG-29Ks.

According to a source in the defense establishment “The Rafale M will not take off from the aircraft carrier (during the showcase) but from the shore-based test facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa, Goa. Dassault Aviation is confident and wanted to showcase their capability in India itself.”

Carrier-based fighters primarily come in three categories — STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing), STOBAR (Short Take-off but Arrested Recovery), and CATOBAR (catapult take-off but arrested recovery).

US Navy aircraft carriers and French Navy’s Charles de Gaulle use CATOBAR Indian carriers — INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant — employ STOBAR. That’s why foreign fighters have to showcase their capability as a basic requirement.

STOBAR is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier, combining short take-off without catapults and arrested recovery using cables on the deck for the aircraft to catch.

As we have already reported, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet – Rafale M’s competitor – already demonstrated the ski-jump capability in December 2020 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in the US.

Dassault Aviation had been in talks with the Indian Navy for the Rafale M even before they signed the contract for the 36 air force fighters in 2016.

In 2017, the Navy issued a Request for Information (RFI) for 57 new fighters.

In 2020, the Indian Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh said the service may pursue joint acquisition of fighters with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“We have the MiG-29K operating from the Vikramaditya and will operate from the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)-I [the INS Vikrant]. To replace them, we have taken up a case for the Multi-Role Carrier-Borne Fighters (MRCBF) which we are trying to do along with the IAF,” he explained.

In 2016 Comptroller and Auditor General of India (the country authority which audits all receipts and expenditures of the Government of India and the state governments), issued a report criticizing the MiG-29K fighters for problems with engines and electronic control systems which resulted in “serviceability” of the airplanes “varying between 16 percent and 39 percent” meaning that out of fleet 10 fighters, only 3 were normally available for operations at given time.

Sources in the defense establishment said that the lift of the INS Vikrant may be too small to accommodate either the Rafale M or the F/A-18. While the Boeing fighter comes with foldable wings, Rafale does not.

“The mere fact that both companies are eager to offer their aircraft means that they have taken into account various measurements,” a source said, refusing to get into the specifics.

While Dassault is happy to merge naval requirements with that of the IAF, Boeing is skeptical about it, they added.

Photo by U.S. Navy

The Royal Canadian Navy helped solve a shortage of tea on board HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The Royal Canadian Navy helped solve a shortage of tea on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, supplying one of the most critical, morale-boosting items available on the Royal Navy aircraft carrier, Alert 5 reported.

While on deployment in the Pacific, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, based at Portsmouth, ran out of its stash of the steaming amber liquid for the flag officers’ mess.

While the boss of the British task force, Commodore Steve Moorhouse, was aboard HMCS Winnipeg, with a minor high-seas catering crisis looming, the quick-thinking commander of the Canadian frigate stepped in to resupply the pride of the Royal Navy.

‘I went across thinking I would be offered traditional Canadian hospitality, whatever that may be,’ Commodore Moorhouse told CBC News following his 90-minute visit to the Canadian vessel. ‘And they very, very kindly laid on English tea, afternoon tea.’

The gesture of the Canadians genuinely touched Cdre Moorhouse, former captain of HMS Queen Elizabeth.

‘I had a cup of Earl Grey and English scones with cream and jam,” he added. ‘I said, “Hey, that’s fantastic, we’ve just run out of Earl Grey tea in the flag area on Queen Elizabeth”. I returned to the ship weighed down with probably a thousand tea bags.’

The commander of the Winnipeg said it was the least they could do to help an allied unit suffering through the privation of a long sea voyage.

‘We gave him three boxes and he sent me an email afterward and said I was a hero going back to a British ship with tea from Canada,’ Canadian Commander Doug Layton said.

Surprised by the gift, Cdre Moorhouse added: ‘Whenever you visit a ship, sailors will say, “Hey sir, what did you get? What did they give you? Was it maple syrup or something like that?,’ he said. ‘And I said, “No, I’ve got Earl Grey tea bags”.’

HMS Queen Elizabeth has almost completed her tour of the Far East.

The 65,000-tonne warship, is now in Singapore, having previously spent time in Japan and Guam.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Royal Navy. The ship is capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft.

The flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth is used to launch the new F-35B Joint Strike Fighter fast jet. Four fighter jets can be moved from the hangar to the flight deck in just one minute.

The ship’s two propellers weigh 33 tonnes each. The powerplant behind them generates enough power to run 1000 family cars.

Photo by Royal Navy / Crown Copyright

The statement “China has the largest navy in the world” is largely misleading and used mainly for sensationalist headlines.

Since the release of the Department of Defense’s “2020 China Military Power Report” last year, much has been made of China’s securing the title of the “world’s largest navy.” As reported by The Diplomat, indeed, the United States Office of Naval Intelligence has confirmed that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has surpassed the US Navy in total battle force ships, approximately 537 ships (of which 360 deployable) to 480 total ships (of which 297 deployable), with future projections expecting the gap to grow. By 2025, the PLAN is predicted to field as many as 400 vessels whereas the US plans only to field 355. Quantitative discussions of this sort have fostered an increasing level of hysteria in the US media and even parts of its foreign policy and defense establishments.

But ‘the statement of “China has the largest navy in the world” is largely misleading and used mainly for sensationalist headlines,’ says Reilly Brangan, studies Bachelor of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering student at the University of New South Wales, on Quora.

‘In reality, China does not have the world’s largest navy, in any meaningful metric.

‘But “China has more ships than the United States!” you may claim. It is true, the PLAN has over 530 active vessels in service, whereas the United States Navy only has some 480 vessels in service. What this fails to consider is that almost half of the PLAN is made up of vessels like these,

Type 022 Missile Boat

‘And these,

Type 037 Corvette

‘Together, the PLAN’s Missile boats, coastal patrol craft and small mine clearing vessels account for 256 ships, or almost half of the entire PLAN vessel count. This is why simply using vessel numbers is not a genuine or realistic metric for “largest” or most capable navy. By the same metric I could throw 500 sail boats in the water and also have a larger Navy than the United States Navy, does that mean I can compete against it in any meaningful way? No.

‘If we use this same metric, the largest navy in the world is actually the Korean People’s Army Naval Force (KPANF), which absolutely dwarfs both the USN, and the PLAN with over 1,000 vessels in service. But the reality is quite obviously that the North Korean naval forces are dwarfed by both of those nations.

‘The more appropriate metric to analyse in this scenario is total fleet displacement, i.e the total combined tonnage of all of the vessels in each of these respective services.’

Brangan concludes;

‘The US Navy, which is heavily biased towards large surface and sub-surface blue water combatants, has a total fleet displacement of over 4.6 million tonnes whereas the PLAN has a total fleet displacement of less than 2 million tonnes, or well below half that of the United States Navy. In blue water fleet capability, the PLAN is still dwarfed by the USN as of 2021.’

It should also be mentioned that China relegates duties that would be assigned to the US Coast Guard to their navy as well, so it would be apt to add Coast Guard vessels to the US total, which adds at minimum 243 more ships.

Photo by U.S. Navy and AHMED XIV Own Work via Wikipedia

The Handler and his minions hate having the E-2 moving around the flight deck.

The E-2 Hawkeye is the Navy’s all-weather, carrier-based tactical battle management airborne early warning, command, and control aircraft. The E-2 is a twin-engine, five crewmembers, high-wing turboprop aircraft with a 24-foot diameter radar rotodome attached to the upper fuselage.

The Hawkeye provides all-weather airborne early warning, airborne battle management, and command and control functions for the Carrier Strike Group and Joint Force Commander. Additional missions include surface surveillance coordination, air interdiction, offensive and defensive counter-air control, close air support coordination, time-critical strike coordination, search and rescue airborne coordination, and communications relay. An integral component of the Carrier Strike Group air wing, the E-2 uses computerized radar, Identification Friend or Foe, and electronic surveillance sensors to provide early warning, and threat analysis against potentially hostile air and surface targets.

Usually, Hawkeye is also the first aircraft to be launched from aircraft carriers at the beginning of day operations. Why?

‘Because the Handler and his minions hate having the E-2 moving around the flight deck. It’s big and bulky, with those two windmills of death just waiting for the unwary,’ says Andy Burns, US Navy Flight Officer with under 1500 hours in the Hawkeye, on Quora.

‘But seriously – getting an E-2 “up” and in position for launch makes moving everything else around the flight deck more difficult. Besides its sheer size, since it doesn’t have an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), the E-2 needs to be supplied with external power until its onboard electrical generators (driven by the engines) are online, and there are only a few places on the flight deck with the necessary “deck edge power” connections.

‘The bow cats have those deck edge power connections nearby, so it’s just easiest to tow the E-2 there, getting it out of the way of all the other jets that need to be moved and “spotted,” before the next launch. When it’s time to start up for the next event, you get the Hummer started, spread, and launched first, and clear the deck for everyone else.

‘Of course, there’s always the risk that the plane will go “down” on the cat, and have to be pulled aft and one of the spare E-2s moved up for launch, in which case you can hear the Handler’s major arteries clanging shut across the ship.

‘So the E-2 is the first aircraft to be launched from carriers not “because the Hawkeye is the long-range eyes of the carrier group,” or to that effect. That’s not wrong, but it’s sort of obsolescent. That’s the Cold War answer, put it that way, when the E-2 had its original mission of defending the Battle Group against long-range Soviet aviation by detecting the bombers and guiding interceptors against them. Fleet air defense is still one of the E-2’s missions but it’s not a primary one anymore. In fact, the official designation for VAW squadrons was changed a couple of years ago, from “Carrier Airborne Early Warning” to “Airborne Command and Control.”’

Burns concludes;

‘The answer to the question of why the E-2 is always the first fixed-wing airborne on any given launch cycle, no matter what else is going on, is because it’s a pain in the ass to have it taxiing around the flight deck and makes it more difficult to move the other airplanes around. That’s really it.’

Photo by U.S. Navy