Take-off mode is an important problem to be solved for carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. At present, there are three take-off modes of carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft in the world: large aircraft carriers usually adopt ejection mode, British light aircraft carriers adopt a mixed mode of sliding jump and vertical take-off, and Russian medium-sized aircraft carriers adopt sliding jump take-off mode.
Ejection take-off is divided into steam ejection and electromagnetic ejection, of which steam ejection technology is the most mature.
The steam catapult was first invented by the British according to the technology of the Germans. The US Navy later purchased the British patent and finally developed it successfully. The principle is that the piston driven by high-pressure steam drives the slider on the ejection track to project the carrier aircraft connected with it.
Professor Zhang also said that from the latest "Ford" class aircraft carrier, the United States has given up steam ejection technology and switched to more advanced electromagnetic ejection.
The United States began to engage in electromagnetic ejection after 60 or 70 years. At present, in addition to the American aircraft carrier, only the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has purchased catapults from the United States. For the United States, this is a core technology that must not be exported casually.
As for the mixed mode of sliding jump and vertical take-off and landing adopted by Britain, it must cooperate with vertical take-off and landing fighters. Among the three take-off modes of carrier-based aircraft, Russia's skid take-off mode requires the highest performance of carrier-based aircraft.
Zhang said that in the 1970s, after encountering many difficulties in implementing the concept of steam ejection takeoff, Soviet experts began to study the horizontal take-off and landing technology of carrier-based aircraft deck with large thrust-to-weight ratio and high maneuverability. From the proposal to the successful implementation on the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov, it took the Soviet Union more than 10 years and consumed a lot of manpower and material resources.
Therefore, the take-off technology of Soviet carrier aircraft is hard to come by. However, 70% of the sliding deck of Varyag is similar to that of Kuznetsov, which is a good reference for China to learn from the design experience of Soviet aircraft carriers and explore ways to solve the problem of horizontal take-off and landing of carrier aircraft.
In addition, compared with the advanced but complicated steam catapult take-off mode of American carrier aircraft, the ski jump take-off technology of Soviet aircraft carrier is simple and practical, and the cost of technology research and development and risk control is relatively low, which may be a factor that Chinese aircraft carrier plans to consider.