For nearly sixty years, U.S. Navy fighters have launched from aircraft carrier decks with steam-powered catapults. These catapults were created for carriers because they can safely accelerate large aircraft with big payloads. Catapult-Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) operations soon became the norm for the U.S. Navy and a handful of its allies. Now China is looking to get in on the action. Growing evidence suggests that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is mimicking the U.S. Navy's launch methods, and the change could have big ramifications for the western Pacific. Although powerful, the CATOBAR system expensive. So several navies— including Britain, Russia, Spain, and ...
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