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The zero-length launch system or zero-length take-off system (ZLL, ZLTO, ZEL, ZELL) is a PTOL method whereby jet fighters and
attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pr ...
could be near-vertically launched using rocket motors to rapidly gain speed and altitude, in particular for point-defence roles. Such rocket boosters were limited to a short burn duration, were typically solid-fuel and suitable for only a single use. They were intended to drop away once expended. The majority of ZELL experiments, which including the conversion of several front-line combat aircraft for trialing the system, occurred during the 1950s amid the formative years of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. As envisioned, the operational use of ZELL would have employed mobile launch platforms to disperse and hide aircraft, reducing their vulnerability in comparison to being centralised around established airbases with well-known locations. While flight testing had proved such systems to be feasible for combat aircraft, no ZELL-configured aircraft were ever used operationally. The emergence of ever-capable
missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
s had greatly reduced the strategic necessity of aircraft for the nuclear strike mission, while questions over practicality had also played a role.


History

During the second world war, Germany experimented with the
Bachem Ba 349 The Bachem Ba 349 Natter () is a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor aircraft, interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After a vertical take-off, which eliminated the n ...
, but development was cut short by the end of the war. According to aviation author Tony Moore, the concept of the ''zero-length launch system'' became popular amongst military planners and strategists during the early years of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Conventional aircraft, reliant on large and well-established airbases, were thought to be too easily destroyed in the opening hours of a major conflict between the
superpower Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to Sphere of influence, exert influence and Power projection, project power on a global scale. This is done through the comb ...
s, thus the ability to remove this dependence upon lengthy runways and airbases was highly attractive. During the 1950s, various countries began experimenting with a diverse range of methods to launch armed fighter jets, typically using some arrangement of rocket motors. In some concepts, such a fighter could be launched from a trailer from virtually any location, including those that could be
camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
d or otherwise concealed up until the moment of launch.Moore 2008, p. 72. The primary advantage of a zero-length launch system is the elimination of the historic dependence on vulnerable
airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
s for air operations. In the event of a sudden attack, air forces equipped with such systems could field effective air defenses and launch their own airstrikes even with their own airbases having been destroyed by an early nuclear attack. Although launching aircraft using rocket boosters proved to be relatively trouble-free, a runway was still required for these aircraft to be able to land or else be forced to ditch. The mobile launching platforms also proved to be expensive to operate and somewhat bulky, typically making them difficult to transport. The security of the mobile launchers themselves would have been a major responsibility in and of itself, especially in the case of such launchers being equipped with
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
-armed strike fighters. The
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
, the ''Bundeswehr's''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
, and the Soviet VVS all conducted experiments in zero-length launching. The first manned aircraft to be ZELL-launched was an F-84G in 1955. The Soviets' main interest in ZELL was for point defense-format protection of airfields and critical targets using
MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S. " Cen ...
s. The American tests with the F-84s started with using the Martin MGM-1 Matador solid-fuel boost motor of some thrust output, which burned out seconds after ignition and dropped away from the manned fighter a second or two later.Holder 2007, p. 138. Tests of the larger F-100 Super Sabre and SM-30 (MiG-19) (with the SM-30 using the Soviet-design PRD-22R booster unit) used similar short-burn solid fueled boost motors, albeit of a much more powerful thrust-class output levels.Khurana 2009, p. 126. Testing proved that the F-100 was capable of a ZELL launch even while carrying both an external fuel tank and a single
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
mounted on its hard points. The conceived mission profile would have been for the pilot to have launched a retaliatory nuclear strike against the attacker before attempting to return to any available friendly airbase, or having to eject from the aircraft if a safe landing site could not be reached. Despite the extremely high thrust generated by the rocket motor, the F-100 reportedly subjected its pilot to a maximum of 4 g of acceleration forces during the takeoff phase of flight, reaching a speed of roughly prior to the rocket motor's depletion.Moore 2008, pp. 72-73. Once all fuel had been exhausted, the rocket motor was intended to slip backwards from its attachment points and drop away from the aircraft. However, testing revealed that this would sometimes fail to detach or cause minor damage to the aircraft's underside when doing so.Moore 2008, pp. 73-74. Despite such difficulties, the F-100's ZELL system was considered to be feasible, but the idea of its deployment had become less attractive as time went on.Moore 2008, pp. 74-75. Eventually, all projects involving ZELL aircraft were abandoned, largely due to logistical concerns, as well as the increasing efficiency of
guided missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...
s having rendered the adoption of such aircraft to be less critical in the eyes of strategic planners. Furthermore, the desire to field combat aircraft that lacked any dependence upon relatively vulnerable landing strips had motivated the development of several aircraft capable of either vertical takeoff and landing (
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can takeoff and landing, take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust- ...
) or short takeoff and landing (
STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...
) flight profiles; such fighters included production aircraft such as British
Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British jet-powered attack aircraft designed and produced by the British aerospace company Hawker Siddeley. It was the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeo ...
and the Soviet Yak-38, as well as experimental prototypes such as the American McDonnell Douglas F-15 STOL/MTD.Khurana 2009, p. 147.


ZELMAL (zero-length launch mat landing)

The ZELMAL program investigated the possibility of a zero-length landing. The program was conducted 1953 and 1954. It involved a Republic aircraft and an inflatable rubber mat. The aircraft would perform a zero-length landing by catching an arrester cable with a tailhook, similar to an aircraft carrier landing. The aircraft would then drop onto the rubber mat. A number of unmanned tests were performed before two piloted ZELMAL tests in 1954. In both cases the pilots suffered spinal injuries. The program was not continued after that.


Manned aircraft involved in ZELL testing

* Republic F-84G Thunderjet * North American F-100D Super Sabre *
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an ...
*
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S. " Cen ...
SM-30 * Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow


See also

*
Index of aviation articles Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Articles related to aviation include: A Aviation accidents and incidents – Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) – ADF – Acces ...
*
Bachem Ba 349 The Bachem Ba 349 Natter () is a World War II German point-defence rocket-powered interceptor aircraft, interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After a vertical take-off, which eliminated the n ...
—World War II vertical launch rocket interceptor *
JATO JATO (acronym for jet-assisted take-off) is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets. The term ''JATO'' is used interchangeably with the (more specific ...
* CAM ship *
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can takeoff and landing, take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust- ...
*
Aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to help fixed-wing aircraft gain enough airspeed and lift for takeoff from a limited distance, typically from the deck of a ship. They are usually used on aircraft carrier flight decks as a form of assist ...
, a device used to launch aircraft from
aircraft carriers 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 shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the capital ship of a fl ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Holder, William G. ''Lost fighters: a history of U.S. jet fighter programs that didn't make it''. SAE, 2007. . * Khurana, K.C. ''Aviation Management: Global Perspectives''. Global India Publications, 2009. . * Moore, Tony. ''X-Plane Crashes: Exploring Experimental, Rocket Plane, and Spycraft Incidents, Accidents and Crash Sites''. Specialty Press, 2008. . * Polmar, Norman and Robert Stan Norris. ''The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945''. Naval Institute Press, 2009. .


External links

* * * Recent photos (out of use, but well preserved) of the hard-site test buildings for Mace
Video of MiG-19 performing a ZELL-style launch
{{Types of take-off and landing Types of take-off and landing