[MediaMole]

Carrier landings require much stronger landing gear than USAF aircraft possess.

The hook on a USAF fighter is for emergency use only. It wasn’t designed for carrier landings — in some situations, they can stretch an arresting cable across a runway.

The airframe would need extensive inspection and at least some repairs after using the hook.

[Magnum44]

Just FYI, a field arrested landing does not have the deceleration that you get with a carrier arrested landing, so airframe damage to a non-carrier rated aircraft would not occur.

Also, the arresting cable is always there, you just roll over it if your hook is up. When you have an emergency in the air, you dont want to have to wait for someone to ‘stretch’ the cable before you put it on deck.

FRegards