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Fighter aircraft

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An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The formation displays four generations of Air Force aircraft - 3 of them fighters
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An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The formation displays four generations of Air Force aircraft - 3 of them fighters

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. Fighters are comparatively small, fast, and maneuverable. They were developed in response to the fledgling use of aircraft and dirigibles in World War I for reconnaissance and ground attack roles. These early fighters were mostly wooden biplanes with light machine-guns. As aerial warfare became increasingly important, so did control of the airspace. By World War II, fighters were predominantly metal monoplanes with wing-mounted cannon. Following the war, turbojets replaced piston engines as the means of propulsion, and missiles augmented or replaced guns. For historical purposes, jet fighters are classified by generation. The generation terminology was initiated by Russian defense parlance in referring to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as a "fifth generation" plane. Years are not exact and intended as a guideline. Modern jet fighters are predominantly powered by one or two turbofans, armed primarily with missiles, and equipped with a radar as the primary method of target acquisition.

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Prop-powered fighters

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World War I

A Sopwith Camel 2F1 bi-plane at the Imperial War Museum in London.
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A Sopwith Camel 2F1 bi-plane at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Combat between aircraft has its origins in encounters between opposing scout aircraft early in World War I. Since early scout aircraft were unarmed, early encounters between opposing scouts were peaceful—pilots would often wave to one another as they passed by. Crafty pilots attempted to shoot down their counterparts in a manner of amateur ways, including grappling hooks, small arms, and grenades. As militaries realized the importance of aerial reconnaissance by airplanes and dirigibles, they also realized the importance of arming aircraft to destroy enemy scouts. One early solution was to mount a swiveling machine gun for the backseater or a forward-facing machine gun on the top wing to clear the propeller. Neither was particularly useful for a single seater, the latter being difficult to aim and reload. The central obstacle was firing a machine gun through the arc of the propeller without hitting the blades. French aviator Roland Garros's solution was to fit deflector plates to his propellers where the machinegun would strike. This was an imperfect solution as the plates could not withstand repeated fire. A copy eventually ended up in German hands after a prototype crashed in German territory. Inspired by this, Anthony Fokker's team invented the more reliable interrupter gear, which enabled the widespread design of single-seat fighters.

Notable aircraft:

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1919-1938

A Hawker Fury in Yugoslav service.
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A Hawker Fury in Yugoslav service.

Fighter development slowed between the wars, the most significant change coming from the change from wood, cloth-skinned biplanes to metal, monocoque or semi-monocoque monoplanes. Nations dabbled with twin-engined fighters as heavy fighters, but the idea did not take hold except for some specialized applications requiring a heavier payload. The primary driver of fighter innovation were not military budgets, but civilian aircraft races. Aircraft designed for these races sported innovations like streamlining and liquid-cooled engines that would find their way into the fighters of World War II.

An early fighter: the Boeing P-26 Peashooter which first flew in 1932
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An early fighter: the Boeing P-26 Peashooter which first flew in 1932

Notable aircraft:

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World War II

A Supermarine Spitfire.
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A Supermarine Spitfire.

Aerial combat formed an important part of World War II military doctrine. The ability of aircraft to locate, harass, and interdict ground forces was an instrumental part of the German combined-arms doctrine, and their inability to seize air superiority over Britain rendered an invasion infeasible. Erwin Rommel noted the effect of airpower with the following quote: "Anyone who has to fight, even with the most modern weapons, against an enemy in complete command of the air, fights like a savage against modern European troops, under the same handicaps and with the same chances of success."

Fighter aircraft of the second world war featured all the innovations of the 1930s. Piston-engined fighters continued to be refined and developed with increasing performance and capabilities, up until the advent of jet aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 and Gloster Meteor. Many of these fighters would do over 400 mph (600 km/h) in level flight, and were fast enough in a dive that they started encountering the transonic buffeting experienced near the speed of sound, occasionally breaking up in flight due to the heavy load placed on an aircraft near the so-called "sound barrier". Dive brakes were developed late in World War II to minimize these problems and restore control to the pilots.

Radar, invented shortly prior to World War II, was fitted to some fighters, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Northrop P-61 Black Widow to enable them to locate targets at night. Another innovation of this period was the strike fighter. Short on aircraft, Marines in the Pacific bolted bomb racks on to their F4U Corsairs. This proved a versatile concept, as the fighters were able to fight enemy fighters once they had relieved themselves of their bombload.

Notable Aircraft:

Focke-Wulf Fw 190
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Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Yakovlev Yak-9
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Yakovlev Yak-9
P-51 Mustang
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P-51 Mustang

Jet-powered fighters

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First generation jet fighters (1944-1953)

A MiG-15 in Polish markings.
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A MiG-15 in Polish markings.

The first generation represents the first attempts at using turbojets for propulsion, providing greatly increased speed (the efficiency of piston-driven propellers drops off considerably at transsonic speeds). Many of these early jets resembled their piston-driven counterparts in several ways. Many were straight-winged aircraft armed primarily with cannon; radar was not yet in common usage except on specialized night fighters.

The first jets were developed during World War II and saw combat in its last year. Messerschmitt developed the first operational jet fighter, the Me 262. It was considerably faster than piston-driven aircraft, and in the hands of a competent pilot, was practically untouchable. Due to German fuel shortages, however, it was little used. Nevertheless the plane indicated the obsolescence of piston-driven aircraft. Spurred by reports of the German jets, Britain's Gloster Meteor entered production soon after and the two entered service around the same time in 1944. By the end of the war almost all work on piston powered fighters had ended. Mixed-propulsion designs such as the Ryan FR Fireball saw brief use, but by the end of the 1940s virtually all new combat aircraft were jet-powered.

Despite the advantages, the early jet fighters were far from perfect. Their operational lifespans could be measured primarily in hours; the engines themselves were fragile and bulky, and power could be adjusted only slowly. Innovations such as swept wings, ejector seats, and all-moving tailplanes were introduced in this period.

Notable aircraft:

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Second generation (1953-1960)

A "second generation" North American F-100 Super Sabre. This was the first American jet aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight.
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A "second generation" North American F-100 Super Sabre. This was the first American jet aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight.

The second generation describes the integration of many new technologies to greatly improve the fighting capability of the jet fighter. The introduction of guided missiles such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow moved combat to beyond visual range (though it often devolved into dog fights in visual range), necessitating the standardization of radar to acquire targets. Designers experimented with a variety of aeronautical innovations, such as the swept wing, delta wing, variable-geometry wings, and area ruled fuselages. With the aid of swept wing, these were the first aircraft to break the sound barrier.

The primary specializations of this era were the fighter-bomber (such as the F-105 and the Sukhoi Su-7), and the interceptor (English Electric Lightning and F-104 Starfighter). The interceptor was an outgrowth of the vision that guided missiles would completely replace guns and combat would take place at beyond visual range. As a result, interceptors were designed with a large missile payload and a powerful radar, sacrificing agility in favor of speed and rate of climb.

Notable aircraft:

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Third generation (1960-1970)

A "third generation" F-4 Phantom II.
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A "third generation" F-4 Phantom II.

The third generation is marked by maturity in the innovations introduced in the first generation. At this time aeronautical development approached maturity, and growth in combat capability grew via the introduction of improved missiles, radar, and other avionics. Most significantly, as a result of combat experience with guided missiles, designers conceded that combat could and would degenerate into close dogfights. Guns again became standard, and maneuverability was once again a priority. At this time, aeronautical development approached maturity, and growth in combat capability was accomplished via the introduction of new avionics, radars, and missiles.

These innovations, while greatly improving the capabilities of fighters (the F-4 could carry a payload greater than the B-24 Liberator, a World War II heavy bomber), also came at a considerable increase at cost. Whereas militaries had previously specialized fighters for specific roles, such as night fighter, heavy fighter and strike fighter, to counter the growing cost of fighters, militaries began to consolidate missions. The McDonnell F-4 Phantom II was designed as a pure interceptor for the United States Navy, but became a highly successful multi-role aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as many other nations. It is the only combat aircraft to be simultaneously flown by all three American service branches.

Notable aircraft:

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Fourth generation (1970-1990)

Main article: 4th generation jet fighter.
A "fourth generation" F-15 Eagle.
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A "fourth generation" F-15 Eagle.
The 4.5th generation F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
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The 4.5th generation F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

In reaction to the continually rising cost of fighters and the demonstrated success of the F-4 Phantom II, multirole fighters became popular during this period, and even aircraft designed for a specific role (as the F-4 had) acquired multi-role capability. Fighters such as the MiG-23 and Panavia Tornado have versions specially suited for various roles, while the multirole warplanes including the F/A-18 Hornet and Dassault Mirage 2000. This was facilitated by avionics which could switch seamlessly between air and ground modes. As development costs increased, economics further pushed the development for multirole aircraft.

Unlike interceptors of the previous era, most modern air-superiority fighters have been designed to be agile dog-fighters. Fly-by-wire controls and relaxed stability is common among modern fighters. Aircraft here make up most of the "fourth generations" of fighter jets.

Notable Aircraft:

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Generation 4.5 (1990-2000)

Russia/India's 4.5 Generation Su-30 MKI
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Russia/India's 4.5 Generation Su-30 MKI
The Eurofighter Typhoon
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The Eurofighter Typhoon
A-50, light figher variant of T-50
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A-50, light figher variant of T-50

This half-generation has been coined to describe the current generation of fighters in service, marked by a stagnation of aerodynamic technologies (compared with the boom of the 3rd generation) matched with a tremendous advance in avionics and other flight electronics, as a result of applying the advances made in microchip and semiconductor technology in the 1980s and 90s, as well as limited stealth shaping made possible with supercomputers. A prime example of this generation is the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, an upgrade of the 1970s Hornet design. While the basic aerodynamic features remain the same, the Super Hornet features improved avionics in the form of an all-glass cockpit, a solid-state AESA fixed-array radar, new engines, the structural use of composite materials to reduce weight, and a slightly modified shape to minimize its radar signature. Of these, only the Super Hornet and Strike Eagle have seen combat action.

Notable examples:

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Generation 5

F-22 Raptor
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F-22 Raptor
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a "fifth generation" jet fighter.
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The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a "fifth generation" jet fighter.
The production Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut, featuring a unique reverse swept-wing design.
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The production Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut, featuring a unique reverse swept-wing design.

The current cutting edge of fighter design combines previous emphasis on versatility with new developments such as glass cockpits, thrust vectoring, composite materials, supercruise, and stealth technology. To date, none of these aircraft have been used in combat. Current developments include reducing the radar visibility of fighters—techniques known as stealth—as well as increased range at supersonic speeds (supercruise) and better maneuverability.

Some defense analysts believe that this will be the last generation of manned fighters, given the success of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles. Though these are still in the proof-of-concept stage, these analysts believe the kinks will be worked out before the fifth generation is retired.

Notable aircraft:

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See also

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External links


Lists of Aircraft | Aircraft manufacturers | Aircraft engines | Aircraft engine manufacturers

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