Editing STOVL (section)

{{Short description|Short takeoff and landing aircraft}}
{{distinguish|V/STOL}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Refimprove|article|date=December 2007}}
[[File:FA2 Sea Harrier Launches from HMS Illustrious MOD 45139505.jpg|thumb|A [[British Aerospace Sea Harrier|Sea Harrier]] launches from the flight deck of [[HMS Illustrious (R06)|HMS ''Illustrious'']] in 2001]]

A '''short take-off and vertical landing aircraft''' ('''STOVL aircraft''') is a [[fixed-wing aircraft]] that is able to [[takeoff|take off]] from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and [[Landing|land]] vertically (i.e. with no runway). The formal [[NATO]] definition (since 1991) is:

{{quote|A Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of clearing a 15 m (50 ft) obstacle within 450 m (1,500 ft) of commencing take-off run, and capable of landing vertically.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/other_pubs/aap_6v.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030624192308/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/other_pubs/aap_6v.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 June 2003|title= NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions}}</ref>}}

On [[aircraft carrier]]s, 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 (aviation)|ski-jump]]". There are 14 aircraft carriers that operate these STOVL aircraft: United States (9), United Kingdom (2), Italy (2), and Spain (1). Use of STOVL tends to allow aircraft to carry a larger payload compared to [[VTOL|vertical take-off and landing]] (VTOL), while still only requiring a short runway. The most famous examples are the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier]] and the [[British Aerospace Sea Harrier|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.