STOVL

STOVL (from Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing, "short takeoff and vertical landing") is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short or unprepared runway and land vertically. The most popular aircraft is probably the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, which was thought and designed to be a VTOL aircraft, although its characteristics are currently STOVL due to the greater fuel and weapons capacities it now has. The same is true for the future F-35 Lightning II in its F-35B variant, which has already demonstrated its VTOL capabilities in prototype tests and is currently considered a STOVL aircraft. Examples of STOVL-capable aircraft:

• EWR VJ 101C
• Dassault Mirage IIIV
• Yakovlev Yak-38
• Yakovlev Yak-141
• Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II

Examples of STOVL-capable vessels currently in service:

• USS America (LHA-6)
• USS Wasp (LHD-1)
• USS Essex (LHD-2)
• USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)
• USS Boxer (LHD-4)
• USS Bataan (LHD-5)
• USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6)
• USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)
• USS Makin Island (LHD-8)
• Cavour (C 550)
• Giuseppe Garibaldi (C 551)
• INS Viraat (R22)
• Juan Carlos I (L-61)
• HMAS Canberra (LHD 02)
• HTMS Chakri Naruebet