'CATOBAR' ('C'atapult 'A'ssisted 'T'ake 'O'ff 'B'ut 'A'rrested 'R'ecovery) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an
aircraft carrier. Aircraft launch using a
catapult assisted take-off. However, these are conventional, rather than
STOVL aircraft, and thus require
arrestor wires to land on the ship. Only three countries operate carriers that use the CATOBAR system; the U.S.
''Nimitz'' class,
USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and
USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), France's ''
Charles De Gaulle'', and Brazil's ''
NAeL São Paulo''.