Air superiority fighter
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An air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to gain air superiority in a war, by entering and seizing control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are designed to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft. They are usually more expensive and procured in smaller numbers than multirole fighters.
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[edit] Evolution of the term
During World War II and through the Korean War, fighters were classified by their role: heavy fighter, interceptor, escort fighter, night fighter, and so forth. With the development of guided missiles in the 1950s, design diverged between fighters optimized to fight in the beyond visual range (BVR) regime (interceptors), and fighters optimized to fight in the within visual range (WVR) regime (air superiority fighters). In United States, the influential proponents of BVR developed the fighters with no forward-firing gun, such as the original F-4 Phantom II, as it was thought that they would never even need to resort to WVR combat. These aircraft would sacrifice high maneuverability, and instead focus on remaining performance characteristics, as they presumably would never engage in dogfight with enemy fighters.
[edit] Lessons in combat
However, combat experience in Vietnam proved the BVR proponents wrong. Owing to restrictive rules of engagement and the failings of 1960s missile and radar technology, combat often devolved into a close-range dog-fight, one for which American fighters and pilots were unprepared. The lessons from this conflict spurred a rethinking of design priorities for fighter aircraft, in which the Navy's TOPGUN and the Air Force's Red Flag programs, developed specifically to teach pilots the lessons of dogfighting, were created.
[edit] Air superiority fighters
This rethinking drove the Navy's VFAX/VFX of the 1960s and Air Force's FX (Fighter Experimental) concept of the 1970s, which resulted in the Navy's F-14 Tomcat, and Air Force's F-15 Eagle. The VFX would compromise the air superiority role for better interception abilities with more powerful radar and longer ranged AIM-54 Phoenix missiles necessary to destroy large fleets of bombers at standoff ranges. The FX was to be a specialized air superiority fighter built to excel at the shorter ranges of fighter combat.
[edit] Examples of current fighters
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[edit] Country of origin
United States
Russian Federation
India
People's Republic of China
France
Other examples include the Saab Gripen, and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
In order to maximize their combat effectiveness and strategic usefulness, air superiority fighters usually operate under the control/co-ordination of an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.
[edit] U.S. Next Generation Air Dominance
Both the Super Hornet and the Raptor will need a replacement in the 2020s and the USN and USAF are exploring the possibility of a common platform, dubbed Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1]
- ^ Fred T Jane (2005). Jane's All the World's Aircraft. Jane's Information Group. pp. 443-444
- ^ Boeing displays concepts for F/A-18E/F replacement
