F/A-18E Super Hornet

The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a fighter and attack aircraft in service with the United States Navy. The Super Hornet is essentially an all-new aircraft, with similar appearance to and some systems carried over from the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The fighter is colloquially referred to as the "Rhino" (for its prodigious nose). The Super Hornet was ordered from McDonnell Douglas in 1992, first flew in November 1995, made its first carrier landing in 1997 and entered service in 1999. Current versions include the F/A-18E single-seater and F/A-18F two-seater. These are replacing the older F/A-18 models in the Navy's inventory, as well as the F-14 Tomcats.

The Super Hornet maintained the "F/A-18" designation for political reasons only (to procure the development of an essentially new combat aircraft at a time when Congress was unwilling to sponsor new military systems); if the plane had been designated in proper sequence, its designation would have been "F-24A." (the "F-24" designation seems politically undesirable for some reason, it was also recommended for the operational version of the X-35, which was adopted as the F-35 Lightning II).

The early 1990s brought a number of problems for US naval aviation. The A-12 Avenger II program, intended to replace the obsolete A-6 Intruders and a-7Corsair IIs, had run into serious problems and was cancelled. The Gulf War revealed that the Navy's strike capability lagged that of the Air Force in certain respects. With no clean-sheet program likely to produce results before about 2020, updating an existing design became an attractive approach. One such proposal was the "Super Hornet" (or, originally, "Hornet II"), originally put forward in the 1980s to improve early F/A-18 models.

Compared with its predecessor, the Super Hornet has a 25 % larger wing that allows the aircraft to return to an aircraft carrier with a larger load of unspent munitions. This had become important with the greater use of more expensive, precision-guided weapons and a growing consciousness about avoiding collateral damage. The fuselage was stretched to carry more fuel and room for future avionics upgrades. An engine with 35 % more power, the General Electric F414, was developed to power this larger, heavier aircraft. The aircraft can carry five 440-US-gallon (1700-litre) external fuel tanks for long-distance ferry flights or four tanks plus an Aerial Refuelling Store (ARS), or "buddy store," which permits the Super Hornet to refuel other aircraft. Other differences include angular intakes for the engines, a smaller radar cross section (RCS), two extra wing hardpoints for payload, and other aerodynamic changes. By the end of all this, the Super Hornet shared little with earlier F/A-18's aft of the forward fuselage.

Upgraded avionics being introduced in the Super Hornet include the APG-79 AESA radar, the ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting FLIR), and the ALE-50 Towed Decoy System.

JAS 39 Gripen, Saab

The JAS 39 Gripen is the result of a joint development by Saab Military Aircraft, Ericsson Microwave Systems, Volvo Aero Corporation and Celsius Aerotech. It is a fourth generation, multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen fighter combines new knowledge-based, software-controlled avionics systems; modern materials; advanced aerodynamic design; a well-proven engine and fully-integrated system to produce a highly-capable, true multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen is the first Swedish aircraft that can be used for interception, ground-attack and reconnaissance (hence the Swedish abbreviation JAS -- Fighter (J), Attack (A) and Reconnaissance (S) in Swedish) and is now successively replacing the Draken and the viggen.

In 1978 the Swedish Government decided that the Swedish Air Force needed a new multirole aircraft for the turn of the century. At the same time as the Swedish aerospace industry was defining a new project, the Air Force made an evaluation of existing foreign aircraft such as the American F-16 and F-18. After an evaluation process, Parliament decided in June 1982 to go ahead with the Swedish project and the Defence Materiel Administration signed a contract for development of the JAS 39 Gripen, and the final flight tests were completed in December of 1996.

A total of 204 aircraft in three batches have been ordered for the Swedish Air Force. The first batch of 30 aircraft has been completed. Deliveries from the second batch are ongoing, and comprises 96 one-seater and 14 two-seater aircraft. About 60 Gripens are in service with the Swedish Air Force. In June 1997, a third batch of 64 Gripens was approved by the Swedish Government and ordered by the Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). This will take the total for the Swedish Air Force to 204 aircraft, including 28 two-seaters. Production of batch three is scheduled for 2002-2007.

Gripen offers high agility, advanced target acquisition systems - including a powerful multi-role radar, modern weapons, low environmental signatures and a comprehensive electronic warfare (EW) suite. The JAS39 Gripen system is designed to counter all current and future threats. The aircraft has been developed for the Swedish Air Force by the Industry Group JAS (SAAB, Ericsson, Volvo Aero and FFV Aerotech) in close co-operation with the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV). In partnership with Sweden's Saab, British Aerospace is engaged in a number of marketing campaigns for the highly capable Gripen fourth generation combat aircraft. Engineering activity associated with improving the operability of the aircraft in the export market is now underway.

Rafale, Dassault-Breguet

French next-generation fighter. France decided to developed its own fighter, rejecting the European EFA as too heavy for carrier use and too costly for export. Rafale is also a canarded delta, but has less angular lines than EFA. Extensive use was made of composite materials. Rafale A was the prototype, Rafale B is the two-seat version, Rafale C the single-seater, and Rafale M carrier fighter version. Four prototypes were flying in early 1997. Orders for 272 production aircraft for the French armed forces are expected.

France chose to produce the Rafale, which will begin operation in 1999, instead of the EUROFIGHTER. The Rafale is lighter and smaller than the Eurofighter. It will be produced in three versions: Rafale M, Rafale C, and Rafale D. The M is the carrier version, with a spring-loaded nose wheel to help it into the air when launching. The C is a one-seater and the D it a somewhat stealthy version for the air force.

The Rafale, like most of its contemporaries, has taken longer to develop than expected. The Rafale A technology demonstrator made its first flight in July 1986. After the breakdown of discussions between France and the four Eurofighter nations, the French Government decided to proceed unilaterally with full-scale development and production of Rafale in 1987. The first of four production-type prototypes flew in 1991.

B-2A Spirit stealth bomber

Revealed on November 22, 1988, the B-2A is a stealth strategic bomber which resulted from a program started in 1978. The first of six prototypes made its maiden flight on July 17, 1989 with testing scheduled to be completed in 1997. The B-2 is shaped in the form of a 'flying wing', with smoothly contoured surfaces and rounded edges to help deflect radar. Engine exhausts are positioned above and back of the wing front-edge to help reduce infrared signatures. The USAF plan to acquire a total of 20 B-2A aircraft.

The B-2 will probably only be built in small numbers (currently 21 have been ordered), because the cost of replacing all the old B-52's is considered to be far too high. The B-2 is a stealth bomber, a flying wing design with a smooth, rounded upper surfaces, but angular wingtips and a double-W trailing edge. The four engines are deeply buried in the midwing section. The B-2 is difficult and expensive to operate, with 124 maintenance hours per flight hour.

Development of the ATB (Advanced Technology Bomber) began in 1978; the programme was revealed to the public in 1981, when Northrop's design was chosen over a Lockheed/Rockwell proposal. Although no details of the design were revealed, it was widely assumed that the aircraft would be a "flying wing" design, based on Northrop's experience with the XB-35 and YB-49, and this was confirmed when the first prototype was rolled out on 22 November 1988. It made its first flight on 17 July 1989, and the first production B-2 was delivered to the USAF in 1993. Production plans have been drastically cut from 135 aircraft to only 20, of which the last is expected to be delivered in 1997. The aircraft was officially named "Spirit" in February 1994; Northrop became Northrop Grumman in May 1994.

Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF)

After the severance of diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in January 1979, the future supply of military equipment for Taiwan's armed forces was in question. Thanks to the enactment of the the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) in early 1979, Taiwan was able to purchase advanced weapons and military equipment from the US.

Taiwan built nearly 300 Northrop F-Ss under license from 1974 to 1986. From the early 1980's, Taiwan expressed an interest in purchasing US fighter aircraft to replace its obsolescent Northrop F-5 and Lockheed F-104 fighters. The United States, which was interested in improving relations with China, denied Taiwan's request to purchase the more capable F-16, and blocked a subsequnetly proposed $1 billion sale of 100F-20 Tigersharks in July 1982. The 1982 decision by the Reagan administration to bar export of new fighters to Taiwan left technical assistance unrestricted. Taiwan decided to go it alone to build the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF).

Taiwan produced the Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter with extensive assistance by American corporations, led by General Dynamics. The project consisted of four sub-projects. They were the Ying-yang project (in cooperation with General Dynamics Corporation) which made the air-frame; the Yun-han project (in cooperation with Hughes Corporation), which designed the engine; the Tian-lei project (in cooperation with Westinghouse Company), which took care of the avionics system; and the Tian-chien project, which developed the weapons system.

The twin-engine IDF is similar to the F-16 except that it is slightly smaller and has a slightly shorter range. The IDF is a hybrid as far as its external appearance is concerned. The nose of the fighter jet is a replica of the F-20A Tigershark, while ts body, wings, and vertical tail surface are apparently lifted from the F-16, and the shape of its cockpit hood and vertical tail wing and its girth near the engine inlets have a notable French flavor.

The IDF is superior to the F-5E in airborne performance. The IDF accelerates better than the F-104 and its turning radius is smaller than that of the F-5. The aircraft, equipped with four Sidewinder missiles, but without spare fuel tanks, has a combat endurance of three minutes on afterburner and a combat radius of between 70 and 90 nautical miles. With a combat radius of 600 nautical miles while carrying out armed reconnaissance and patrol missions, the IDF is capable of conducting preemptive raids and strikes at airports along the Chinese coast. It is mainly used in combat for air control and is capable of using "Hsiung Feng"-II missiles to attack targets at sea. Most of the IDFs are expected to be armed with the indigenously-produced, BVR Tien Chien-II (Sky Sword-II) ARAAM.

It is equipped with a GD-53 radar, which evolved from the APG-67 and is essentially similar to it in performance. The APG-67 radar uses pulse Doppler technology at X-band and has 15 operational modes in all, eight air-to-air and seven air-to-ground. It can also operate at three different pulse repetition frequencies [PRF]--high, medium, and low--depending on whether the plane is looking up, looking down, or involved in a dogfight in the air, respectively. In a look-down mode, the plane has an effective scanning range of 39 kilometers; looking up, 57 kilometers. The eight air-to-air modes are as follows: searching and range finding while looking down, searching and range finding while looking up, speed searching, tracking (10 targets) and scanning simultaneously, dogfight, tracking a single target, surveying the situation, and continuous-wave indicator interfacing. The seven air-to-ground modes are as follows: real wave velocity topography, Doppler wave velocity sharpening, air-to-ground range finding, moving surface target indicating, freezing, and searching for target at sea surface. In April 1997 Litton's Applied Technology division was awarded a production contract and options totaling $116.2 million by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation of Taiwan, ROC, for Improved Radar Warning Receivers (IRWR) to be installed aboard the Indigenous Defense Fighter.

Sukhoi Su-35 Super Flanker

Improved 'glass cockpit' version of the SU-27, with canard foreplanes, more powerful radar, more powerful engines, and possibly thrust-vectoring nozzles, and an electronics upgrade. The Su-35 has a completely new FCS from that on the Su-27. As well as canards, it has a new, square-topped tailfin (with internal fuel tanks). It also has a new N-011 radar with a range of up to 400 km (or 200 km against ground targets) which can simultaneously track more than 15 targets, engaging six. The new EO complex gives compatibility with advanced "smart" weapons. An advanced datalink allows coordinated group operation and the tailcone houses the antenna for a rear-facing radar which will allow "over-the-shoulder" missile shots. The Su-35 will be compatible with the new 400-km Novator KS-172 AAM-L missile. Flight testing in now reportedly complete and production has been funded. The Su-35 looks a lot like the Su-33. Consideration is being given to retrofit Su-35s with thrust vector control as seen in the Su-37.

Yak-141 Freestyle, Yakovlev

The Yak-141 is the world's first supersonic VTOL fighter. It operates with lift engines in the forward fuselage and a vectoring nozzle on the main engine, placed well forward, between twin tail booms. The Yak-141 seems to be more a technology demonstrator than an actual fighter aircraft, and the need to use afterburner for take-off is a distinct problem. Development is continuing, after being halted temporarily.

Yakovlev Yak-41/141 Freestyle Design of the Yak-41 began in 1975; the first prototype flew on 9 March 1987, followed by a second in April 1989. Tests were conducted on the aircraft carrier "Admiral Gorshkov". In April 1991, one of the prototypes set several records for VTOL aircraft; it was displayed at the Paris Air Show shortly afterwards. One prototype was lost in a crash (attributed to pilot error) on the carrier in November 1991, after which development was suspended (due to lack of funds rather than any problems with the aircraft); the surviving aircraft was mothballed.

Yakovlev have recently announced their intention to restart development of the Yak-41, apparently as a result of renewed interest from the Russian Ministry of Defence (a similar revival of the twin-turboprop Yak-44 AEW aircraft is also being considered).

A more advanced version, has also been designed, with the emphasis now on Air Force rather than Navy service. This version has an extensively modified airframe, with a strong emphasis on stealth (there is a distinct resemblance to theF-22), a much more powerful engine, and more fuel and payload.

The "Freestyle" has been referred to as both Yak-41 and Yak-141; it appears that one designation refers to the standard fighter (Yak-41) and one to the single prototype modified for record attempts (Yak-141).