A navalised aircraft (or navalized aircraft) is an

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

that has been specifically designed for naval use, in some cases as a variant of a land-based design. An aircraft based on an

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

is called

carrier-based aircraft A carrier-based aircraft (also known as carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-borne aircraft, carrier aircraft or aeronaval aircraft) is a naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. Carrier-based aircraft must be able to launch i ...

Characteristics

A navalised aircraft typically differs from its land-based equivalent by: * The airframe, engine and

avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...

are marinised against salt water

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

. * It is designed to be used on a

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

. For a fixed wing aircraft this typically means

catapult A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden rel ...

attachment points, a

tailhook A tailhook, arresting hook, or arrester hook is a device attached to the empennage (rear) of some military fixed-wing aircraft. The hook is used to achieve rapid deceleration during routine landings aboard aircraft carrier flight decks at sea, ...

and strengthened undercarriage.

Naval helicopter A military helicopter is a helicopter that is either specifically designed for or converted for usage by a military. A military helicopter's mission is a function of its design or conversion. The most common use of military helicopters is airlif ...

s usually have wheels rather than skids and may have mechanisms to attach to the deck. * It is designed to occupy minimum hangar space – for example the wings, tail-boom or rotors may fold. * There is enhanced protection against water ingress (including that from hosing down with fresh water to get rid of salt water). * Equipment such as sensors and weapons are optimised for naval roles. * The avionics is compatible with the complex electronic equipment of a warship, and that there is no electromagnetic interference between the two. * There is provision for

ditching In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water sur ...

at sea. * Helicopters may have provision for receiving fuel through the cabin while hovering adjacent to a ship. For safety reasons, the aviation fuel provided by ships may be different (e.g.

AVCAT Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial ...

) from that provided by airfields and tanker aircraft.

Examples

The T-45 Goshawk is a navalised version of the

BAE Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...

jet trainer A jet trainer is a jet aircraft for use as a Trainer (aircraft), trainer, whether for basic or advanced flight training. Jet trainers are either custom designs or modifications of existing aircraft. With the introduction of military jet-powered ai ...

. Differences from the Hawk include changes to the undercarriage for aircraft carrier compatibility and a strengthened airframe. The engine design was also modified for the aircraft's role at sea. A proposed navalised version of the Alpha Jet would have had similar design modifications.http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1991/1991%20-%201042.html Flightglobal article from 1991 Other examples of navalised variants of land-based aircraft include: *

Bell AH-1 SuperCobra The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J ...

British Aerospace Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/ vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered serv ...

Dassault Rafale M The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...

* HAL Tejas Naval *

Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two year ...

Hawker Sea Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft. Some models were built in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry. British variants Hurricane Mk I Hurricane Mk I (Early producti ...

Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

Mikoyan MiG-29K The Mikoyan MiG-29K (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum-D) is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau. The MiG-29K was developed in the late 1980s from the MiG-29M. Mikoyan describes ...

* North American FJ-2 & FJ-3 Fury *

Sukhoi Su-33 The Sukhoi Su-33 (-33; NATO reporting name: Flanker-D) is a Soviet/Russian all-weather carrier-based twin-engine air superiority fighter designed by Sukhoi and manufactured by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association, derived f ...

Supermarine Seafire The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes, Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised aircraft ...

Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificati ...

References

{{reflist Naval aviation technology

Characteristics

Examples

See also

References