LET'S TALK FIGHTERS (by Riq Baldwin)

Due to the fiscal realities presented by the current administration, the United States Air Force (USAF) and her sister services have to make some tough decisions.

The USAF would like to trim some infrastructure, personnel and less-critical future agenda and weapon systems in order to preserve some essential programs that would retain her current capabilities (albeit on a smaller scale) as a successful war-fighting partner with her sea-, and ground-focused sister services.  Included in these “essential programs” is continued production of the F-35 Lightning II fighter and life extension of the current F-16 Falcon fighter.  So, let’s talk “fighters”...

A “Fighter,” simply put, is the term used for any aircraft that is designed to engage another aircraft in flight.  If your side is going to attain air superiority over a combat environment, then you have to have a way of keeping enemy aircraft out.  If enemy aircraft show up in the combat zone, it is USAF, USN, and USMC fighters that have to knock them down.

Following the Viet Nam conflict, the United States has always established dominance of the airspace over a battle environment before sending in the ground troops.  As Republican Guard and Taliban fighting personnel can attest, it is difficult to operate when you always have to worry about being rained on by high-explosive weaponry.  So the first order of business for any conflict is to send in the bomber, ground attack, and fighter aircraft to destroy enemy lines of communications, air defenses, airfields and aircraft so our ground-pounding brethren need concern themselves primarily with the fight in front of them, and not from above.

Clearing the airspace of enemy activity also assures air support of our ground forces, which (in part) is supplied by the same fighters that cleared the airspace to begin with.  Today the Air Force has cold-war era 4^th generation and more modern 5^th generation jet fighters at their disposal, while the Navy and Marines have only generation 4 and 4.5 equipment.  This has to change in the near future as China, Russia and India are developing their own 5^th generation fighters.  All right, let’s have a talk about this “generation” stuff as it applies to fighters…

The first generation of jet fighters comprised the initial subsonic jet fighter designs introduced late in World War II and in the early post-war period.  The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, and F-86 Sabre are USAF examples of our 1^st generation jet fighter fleet.  Guns remained the principal armament of these aircraft that operated during the Korean War and early on in the Viet Nam conflict until they could replaced by 2^nd and 3^rd generation aircraft.

Aircraft designers developed second-generation fighters leveraging technological breakthroughs and focusing on conducting operations in a nuclear warfare environment.  Widespread use of afterburning turbojet engines allowed these aircraft to be the first to break the sound barrier and sustain supersonic speeds in level flight.  Prime examples of second generation Air Force fighters are the F-100 Super Sabre, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, and F-106 Delta Dart.  Dogfighting maneuverability was traded for pure speed to intercept incoming aircraft and get weapons from point A to point B in a hurry.

Third-generation fighter innovations were marked by renewed emphases on maneuverability and traditional ground-attack capabilities.  Enhancements to improve aerodynamic performance of these aircraft included canards, powered slats and blown flaps.  The F-4 Phantom II (built initially for the Navy and also used extensively by the Air Force), F-5 Freedom Fighter, A-7 Corsair II, and the F-111Aardvark are classic examples of 3^rd-generation fighters.

Fourth-generation fighter designs were significantly influenced by Energy-Maneuverability.  This approach emphasized aircraft designs that were capable of performing quick changes in speed, altitude and direction.  Other innovative technologies included head-up displays, multi-function displays and the ability to select weapons, navigation and displays while keeping hands on the throttle and stick.  Bonded aluminum honeycomb structural elements and graphite epoxy laminate skins began to be incorporated into flight control surfaces and airframe skins to reduce weight.  Aerodynamic innovations included variable-camber wings and exploitation of the vortex lift effect to achieve higher angles of attack through the addition of strakes (leading-edge extension devices).

The high cost of production led to the adoption of the "high/low mix" procurement concept which proposed a high-capability and high-cost core of dedicated air-superiority fighters (like the Air Force F-15 Eagle and Navy F-14 Tomcat) to be supplemented by a larger contingent of lower-cost, multi-role fighters like the Air Force F-16 Falcon and the Navy/Marine F/A-18 Hornet.  The Air Force also sported a pure attack fourth-generation aircraft in the A-10 Thunderbolt II.  These aircraft have been the mainstay of our fighter force since the late 1970s.

Occasionally, you will hear about a 4.5, or half-generation aircraft.  These are primarily 4^th generation airframes that have been improved with advanced digital avionics, highly integrated systems/weapons, and modern aerospace materials.  In the U.S., "half-generation" advances allowed production of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from the 1970s F/A-18 Hornet design.  The same advances enabled the F-15E Strike Eagle, a ground-attack/multi-role variant of the venerable F-15 Eagle.

The fifth generation of jet fighters, ushered in by the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor in late 2005, are designed to operate in a network-centric combat environment and feature extremely low, all-aspect, multi-spectral signatures employing advanced materials and shaping techniques (a.k.a. stealth).  Maneuver performance remains important and is enhanced by thrust-vectoring, which also helps reduce takeoff and landing distances.
The stealth aspect of fifth-generation fighters is created by designing its layout and internal structure to minimize radar-cross-section over a broad bandwidth of detection and tracking radar frequencies and permit internal storage of its primary weapons (air-to-air/air-to-ground missiles, guns and gravity weaponry).

The Navy, Air Force and Marines still have a passel of 4^th-generation fighters that would have a tough time surviving a combat environment against a modern enemy equipped with 4^th and/or 5^th generation capability.  The Air Force is getting ready to take ownership of its 187^th (and final) F-22 Raptor, the nation’s only operational 5^th-generation fighter.  All three fighter-equipped services are still waiting on the first operational F-35 Lightening II to supplement the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor, and give our Navy and Marine fighter pilots their first 5^th-generation fighter, and a leg up in the modern aerial combat environment.

Unfortunately, the F-35 Lightning II is facing some severe acquisition issues (ranging from technical to political) that are slowing its initial delivery to the war-fighter…but that is another story.