The Price of Prestige

70 chapter three

resembles conventional takeoff and landing. The catapults in particular

are expensive, large, and difficult to operate. They consume a lot of en-

ergy, which often leads designers to opt for nuclear propulsion. However,

this type of carrier can operate heavier aircraft and allow for greater pay-

loads and longer range. Because of its size, it can also carry a larger num-

ber of planes, and with the right design and training, it can allow for simul-

taneous takeoffs and landings.^10 Currently, only the United States, France,

and Brazil operate CATOBAR carriers.

Intuitively, the easiest way to reduce the cost of a carrier is to reduce

its size. A smaller and cheaper carrier is bound to offer lower capabili-

ties, but that is often tolerated as an acceptable trade- off. Yet efforts to

procure smaller carriers have always failed — resulting in significantly re-

duced capabilities but an only marginally cheaper ship. On average, a car-

rier of about 75 percent of the displacement of a USS Nimitz –class car-

rier provides only 25 percent of the American design’s overall capabilities

at 80 percent of the Nimitz’s cost (Slade 1994 ).

The second option is the STOBAR (Short Take- Off But Arrested

Recovery), a Russian technique employing conventional aircraft but uti-

lizing a ski jump instead of catapults. While the STOBAR is cheaper and

allows for a smaller ship, it imposes significant trade- offs. In order to use

the ski jump, the planes have to be lighter and carry a lighter payload.

This means less effective aircraft and a smaller range. Because the ship is

smaller, it also means fewer planes. Russia and China currently operate

STOBAR carriers.

The last option is the cheapest and produces the smallest vessels. STOVL

(Short Take- Off and Vertical Landing) carriers employ special aircraft

capable of vertical takeoff and landing. This allows for a smaller deck and

eliminates the need for catapults, ski jumps, or landing barriers. However,

the ability to fly vertically comes at a cost. Taking off or landing vertically

consumes significant amounts of energy, thus reducing the range of the air-

craft and the payload that it can carry. Moreover, these planes are usually

less nimble than their more conventional counterparts. The small size of

the vessel also means a smaller fleet of aircraft. The STOVL requires the

simplest design of the ship but the most specialized design of the aircraft.

Because of its simple design and lower cost, the STOVL is the preferred

choice of most carrier club members: Britain, India, Italy, Thailand, and

Spain opted for this type of carrier.^11

Hence, even within the carrier club there is significant variance in cost,

size, and capabilities. In fact, the smaller carriers in this review are not