Naval aviation

Naval aviation is the use of aircraft by naval forces for combat, surveillance, transport, and support, operating from ships, shore bases, or both.

Aircraft carrier: A warship designed to operate aircraft at sea, serving as a mobile airbase. Its flight deck launches and recovers aircraft beyond the reach of shore airfields.
Anti-submarine warfare: Military operations to detect, track, deter, or destroy submarines. Aircraft search broad ocean areas and attack submarines beyond a ship's immediate range.
Eugene Ely: An American aviation pioneer who made early shipboard aircraft take-offs and landings. His 1910–1911 demonstrations showed that aircraft could operate from ships.
Land-based aviation: The operation of aircraft from airfields on land rather than from naval vessels. Shore-based aircraft avoid carrier constraints but may lack access to distant maritime theaters.
Catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery: A carrier operating system that uses catapults to launch aircraft and arresting wires to stop them on landing. It lets carriers operate heavier aircraft from short decks.
Maritime patrol aircraft: Long-range aircraft designed to monitor maritime areas and support anti-submarine and surface warfare. They provide persistent surveillance over waters too broad for ships to cover alone.
HMS Ark Royal (1914): A British seaplane carrier commissioned in 1914 and used during the First World War. It exemplified early naval aviation before purpose-built fleet carriers became standard.
Naval helicopter: A helicopter operated by a navy for missions such as anti-submarine warfare, transport, and rescue. Rotary-wing aircraft can use small ships and hover over targets, unlike most fixed-wing aircraft.
Short take-off and vertical landing: Aircraft operation using a short runway for take-off and vertical or very short landing. It enables some carriers without catapults to operate fixed-wing aircraft.
Airborne early warning and control: The use of airborne radar and command systems to detect threats and coordinate forces. Elevated sensors extend a fleet's warning time against aircraft and missiles.

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