STOVL

On aircraft carriers, non-catapult-assisted fixed-wing short takeoffs are accomplished with the use of thrust vectoring, which may also be used in conjunction with a runway "ski-jump". There are 16 aircraft carriers that operate these STOVL aircraft: United States (9), Japan (2), United Kingdom (2), Italy (2), and Spain (1). Use of STOVL tends to allow aircraft to carry a larger payload compared to vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), while still only requiring a short runway. The most famous examples are the Hawker Siddeley Harrier and the BAE Sea Harrier. Although technically a V/STOL aircraft, they are operationally STOVL aircraft due to the extra weight carried at take-off for fuel and armaments. The same is true of the B variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which demonstrated VTOL capability in test flights but is operationally a STOVL.