ADCAV (aéronef à décollage court et atterrissage vertical)

ADCAV stands for aéronef à décollage court et atterrissage vertical. It is the French form used by NATO. The English equivalent is short take-off and vertical landing aircraft, written STOVL aircraft. NATO's bilingual glossary of acronyms and abbreviations lists the two forms side by side: AAP-15 Glossary of NATO acronyms and abbreviations.

The glossary identifies the entry as an AAP-06 term, which places it in NATO's standard terminology rather than in any single national vocabulary. The current NATO terminology database, NATOTerm, contains non-classified military terminology and other terminology relevant to NATO. For bilingual bid documents, the French abbreviation and the English STOVL form refer to the same kind of aircraft.

What the NATO glossary says about ADCAV and STOVL

• French term: aéronef à décollage court et atterrissage vertical, abbreviated ADCAV.
• English equivalent: short take-off and vertical landing aircraft, with STOVL aircraft admitted as the English form.
• Source category: an AAP-06 entry in the NATO glossary.

The two halves of the name describe how the aircraft operates. It leaves the ground using a short take-off distance, and it comes down by landing vertically.

ADCAV compared with VTOL, STOL, V/STOL and ADAV

NATO separates STOVL from several neighbouring capabilities. VTOL is vertical take-off and landing, where the aircraft both takes off and lands vertically. STOL is short take-off and landing, where the aircraft uses a short runway or take-off distance. V/STOL is the umbrella designation for aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing or of taking off with a short ground run, as set out in this NATO document.

Canadian aviation material uses a related abbreviation, ADAV, for aéronef à décollage et atterrissage verticaux. Transport Canada describes these aircraft as capable of vertical climbs and descents and able to operate from very short runways or confined areas, and gives helicopters as an example in Circulaire d'information CI no 100-001. ADAV is not the same abbreviation as ADCAV. ADCAV adds the short take-off characteristic and corresponds to STOVL.

Where the capability appears in Canadian federal procurement

The exact abbreviation ADCAV does not appear in a Canadian federal solicitation, but the underlying capability does appear in defence material. The Department of National Defence describes the F-35 variants on its procurement disclosure page. The F-35A is the conventional take-off-and-landing variant, the F-35B is the short-take-off-and-landing variant, and the F-35C is the carrier variant.

Other federal requirements are written in VTOL terms. An Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada challenge sponsored by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Army required an unmanned aircraft system to perform vertical take-offs and landings within a maximum area of two square metres. The terms are set out on the Minerva initiative page. That challenge uses VTOL, not ADCAV or STOVL.

What ADCAV means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

Read the solicitation's own wording. A buyer may specify STOVL, VTOL, STOL or ADAV performance, and each term carries a different requirement. No Canadian certification or clause is tied to the abbreviation ADCAV itself. A supplier offering a STOVL aircraft must show compliance with the take-off, landing, operating-area, certification and other technical requirements that the solicitation states.

• Match the term used in the tender, in both English and French, before describing your aircraft.
• Do not treat ADAV, VTOL and ADCAV as interchangeable in a compliance response.
• Answer the measurable requirements, such as operating area, rather than relying on the category name.