Ran across this video online...
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/base/mediatheque/videos/rafale_sur_uss_enterprise
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/base/mediatheque/videos/rafale_sur_uss_enterprise
I never new French air craft had the gear to launch from a cat shot. Everything I have ever seen they just use the ramped air craft carriers with no cat.
A little more in depth info over at defensetech.org
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003619.htmlhttp://www.defensetech.org/archives/003619.html
I never [k]new French air craft had the gear to launch from a cat shot. Everything I have ever seen they just use the ramped air craft carriers with no cat.
Maybe you're looking in wrong places or getting your countries confused. The Brits opted to divorce themselves from the catapult and went with ramps before the Falklands Campaign in the early 80s. The Spanish, Italians and Russians followed suit, but the French, Argentines and Brazilians stayed with catapults without Ramps. Note: the Russians started using ramps to launch and arresting gear to recover in a hybrid combination of old and new methods.
Latest French Aircraft Carrier
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^^^No ramps here^^^
As a matter of fact........when the Rafale was tested on a land-based catapult they had to test it at Lakehurst, which has the only land-based catapult left in the world.
Ran across this video online...
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/base/mediatheque/videos/rafale_sur_uss_enterprise
Hah, you have fallen prey to the Lakehurst propaganda (part of BRAC defense). Pax has a fully functional catapult...I was looking at it last Thursday.
Okay, you got me. The US has the only land-based catapults left in the world........![]()