Croatia opts for second-hand Rafales
Croatia has decided to purchase 12 second-hand Dassault Rafale F3-Rs from France to replace the nation's matured Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis-D/UMD fleet, which currently comprises just eight airframes
MQ-25 refuels F/A-18F in historic first
Boeing’s MQ-25A Stingray test asset marked a historic milestone on June 4, when the platform conducted the first-ever aerial refuelling operation between an unmanned tanker and a manned receiver aircraft
VIDEO: RAF discusses new 'Union Jack' livery for Typhoon display
The RAF rolled out a new ‘Union Jack’ inspired paint scheme for the display jet of the Typhoon Display Team last month. At the unveiling, we spoke with Wg Cdr Jim Calvert, the officer commanding No 29 Squadron, about the role of his unit and the fighter’s colourful new livery
First F-35B lands aboard HMS Prince of Wales
For the first time, a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II has landed on the Royal Navy’s second and latest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales (R09), as the vessel conducts sea trials off England’s south coast
ANALYSIS: The current structure of the Brazilian Air Force
As the Brazilian Air Force celebrates its 80th anniversary, we provide an in-depth overview, detailing the structure of South America's largest air arm
Ebbing ANGB selected to host FMS F-35 training centre
The Department of the Air Force has selected Ebbing ANGB in Fort Smith, Arkansas, as the preferred location for establishing an F-35 Lightning II training centre for Foreign Military Sales participants
New livery for RAF’s Typhoon display team
A Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 assigned to the RAF’s No 29 Squadron has been rolled out sporting a brand-new ‘Union Jack’ paint scheme, which will be seen at a variety of air shows over the next two years
USAF hypes up F-15EX after exercise debut
The USAF has lauded the capabilities of its new multi-role fighter, the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II, after the first two examples completed the type’s exercise debut at Northern Edge 21 in Alaska
Qatari F-15QA involved in landing mishap near St Louis
A Boeing F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) multi-role fighter destined for the Qatar Emiri Air Force was involved in a landing mishap at St Louis-MidAmerica Airport in Illinois on May 18, forcing both crew members to eject from the aircraft
Concept Insight: KAI KF-21 Boramae
Khalem Chapman explores KAI’s KF-21 Boramae, an indigenously developed multi-role fighter which will transform the Republic of Korea Air Force by the end of this decade
Fighter aircraft were not the first heavier-than-air military aircraft. During the First World War bi-planes with a pilot and a crew member would carry out. Guns were soon added to these aircraft and the fighters were born; the term dogfight became synonymous with the new form of aerial combat. These aircraft would also crudely drop bombs with a crew member simply throwing the bombs out of the aircraft. After the First World War, fighter development led to the single wing, enclosed cockpit, propeller powered aircraft such as the RAF Hawker Hurricane, Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the United States Army Airforce North American Aviation P-51 Mustang. After the war, the RAF Gloster Meteor was the RAF’s first operational jet fighter and it was rapidly joined by fast jets from France, Russia and the USA.
Today, the roles of military fast jets have hardly changed, from intercepting other fast jets fighters or bombers, to maintaining air superiority, they are bombing air defences and photographing bombed sites for battle damage assessment as well as escorting slower, more vulnerable aircraft.
Different Types of Fighter Planes
From the first aerial reconnaissance aircraft, the Wright brothers military flyer, or Model A, sold to the US military in 1909, it took 45 years until the United States Airforce’s North American F-100 Super Sabre became the world’s first operational supersonic fighter in 1954. There has been a huge amount of technological development between the Super Sabre and the world’s first operational fifth generation fighter, the United States Marine Corp’s Lockheed Martin F-35B/C Lightning II, which entered service in 2015. All fixed wing aircraft, since the advent of jet fighters in World War Two, have been a variety of designs to meet the military’s changing needs. Jet engines were in development before World War Two, but it was only near the end of that war that the first operational fast jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262, took to the skies.
Fighters steadily developed to fly higher and faster, carry more payloads, both missiles and bombs, and became supersonic. The need for greater speed saw the delta wing shape for supersonic flight, air-to-air missiles were used in the Korean War for the first time, and it was only later that fighters were equipped with radar, allowing for longer range interception. The 1960s saw the development of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability with the Royal Navy’s Hawker Siddeley Harrier, which is still in service with the Indian military. Propeller powered fighter aircraft did not end with the flights of the Gloster Meteor and the 1950s saw experiments with VTOL propeller powered aircraft that sat on their tails in a vertical position.
Since the 1980s fast jets have become stealthy, first with the now retired Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk which was primarily a bomber, to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, an interceptor, and the multirole Lockheed Martin F-35, which are both said to have very small radar signatures.
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