STOBAR

STOBAR (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier, combining elements of both STOVL and CATOBAR. Aircraft launch under their own power using a ski-jump to assist take-off (rather than using a catapult like most carriers). However, these are conventional, rather than STOVL aircraft, and thus require arrestor wires to land on the ship. The Russian Navy aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is the only current example of a STOBAR carrier, another will be the Indian "Vikramaditya" and the future "Vikrant" class aircraft carrier. The STOBAR system is simpler to build than CATOBAR — but it works only with light, and lightly armed, fighter aircraft that have a high thrust to weight ratio.

When the Eurofighter was proposed for the "Future Carrier Borne Aircraft" it was envisaged that it would operate in a STOBAR configuration. The FCBA is to be deployed on the British Royal Navy's next generation carriers, CVF. Instead, the Lockheed Martin Lightning II, operating in a STOVL configuration, will be the FCBA.