Editing V/STOL (section)

{{distinguish|STOVL}}
{{Short description|Aircraft takeoff and landing class}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2017}}
[[File:BAe Harrier GR9 ZG502 landing arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[RAF]] Harrier GR9 arrives at [[RIAT]] 2008]]
[[File:US Navy 080220-N-5180F-015 A Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey prepares to land aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA 4).jpg|thumb|right|A U.S. Marine Corps [[Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey|MV-22 Osprey]] prepares to land aboard a ship]]
A '''vertical and/or short take-off and landing''' ('''V/STOL''') aircraft is an [[airplane]] able to [[takeoff and landing|take-off or land]] vertically or on short runways. [[VTOL|Vertical takeoff and landing]] (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do not require runways at all. Generally, a V/STOL aircraft needs to be able to hover. Helicopters are not considered under the V/STOL classification as the classification is only used for aeroplanes, aircraft that achieve [[lift (force)]] in forward flight by planing the air, thereby achieving speed and [[fuel efficiency]] that is typically greater than the capability of helicopters.

Most V/STOL aircraft types were experiments or outright failures from the 1950s to 1970s.  V/STOL aircraft types that have been produced in large numbers include the [[F-35B Lightning II]], [[Harrier jump jet|Harrier]] and [[V-22 Osprey]].

A rolling takeoff, sometimes with a ramp ([[Aircraft ski-jump|ski-jump]]), reduces the amount of thrust required to lift an aircraft from the ground (compared with vertical takeoff), and hence increases the payload and range that can be achieved for a given thrust. For instance, the Harrier is incapable of taking off vertically with full weapons and fuel load.  Hence V/STOL aircraft generally use a runway if it is available.  I.e. short takeoff and vertical landing ([[STOVL]]) or conventional takeoff and landing ([[CTOL]]) operation is preferred to [[VTOL]] operation.

V/STOL was developed to allow fast jets to be operated from clearings in forests, from very short runways, and from small [[aircraft carrier]]s that would previously only have been able to carry [[helicopter]]s.

The main advantage of V/STOL aircraft is closer basing to the enemy, which reduces response time and tanker support requirements. In the case of the [[Falklands War]], it also permitted high-performance fighter air cover and ground attack without a large aircraft carrier equipped with [[aircraft catapult]].