McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a multiple role fighter jet capable of achieving supersonic flight speeds and carrying out a mixed variety of missions. The aircraft features twin engines which give it the necessary power for carrier takeoffs, high performance maneuverability, and carrying a large munitions load. The F/A-18′s high thrust to weight ratio of nearly 1 allows the aircraft to perform near vertical ascents and high G turns, which can be crucial in combat scenarios. It can also fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 allowing it to be used for a variety of roles. The standard armament for the F/A-18 is one M61 Vulcan cannon which holds 500+ 20mm rounds along with up to nine hard points which can be configured to hold a variety of weapons depending upon the specific mission. The F/A-18 design was heavily relied upon for the development of the larger, more powerful F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The Super Hornet improved upon the F/A-18′s capabilities by allowing for a greater payload and longer range, thus improving the two areas which were viewed as the F/A-18′s weaknesses. Contrary to what the name suggests the Super Hornet was not intended to replace the F/A-18 but rather to complement it. The Super Hornet was actually developed with the goal of replacing the existing A-6 and F-14 Tomcat.

Design
The F/A-18 Hornet features twin General Electric F404 turbofan engines with afterburner and a thrust of 17,750 pounds per engine. The F/A-18A model is the standard single seat version of the aircraft while the F/A-18B model is a two seat version, both with similar characteristics and capabilities. The F/A-18 features a mid-wing design and leading edge extensions which allow the fighter jet to maintain a high degree of maneuverability even at high angles of attack. The leading edge extensions provide powerful vortices which allow the wings to generate lift when flying at high angles of attack, thus preventing stalls and allowing for greater performance. The great aerodynamic characteristics of the F/A-18 allow it to make extremely tight turns at both moderate and high speeds, making it a solid performer in air to air situations.

When originally built the F/A-18 was one of the first aircraft to feature a digital fly by wire control system with quadruple redundancy. It also features a multiple function heads up display which allows the pilot to switch between fighter roles, attack roles, or a combination of both. This allows pilots and commanders the versatility that is necessary when going into a battle situation where the situation is unknown. While previous fighter jets were either one or the other, attack or fighter, the F/A-18 essentially played the role of two aircraft. It also featured an advanced digital avionics suite, the first of its kind, which allowed for easy upgrades to newer systems. This is compared to previous models which required extensive work and physically swapping out instruments when new developments came along.

The F/A-18 was also designed to increase its availability by reducing down time for maintenance and repairs. With this in mind the engine was mounted to the aircraft with only ten contact points and uses standard tools and equipment for removal or installation. In the event that a new engine is needed, a crew of 4 are able to easily remove the engine in less than 20 minutes using standard tools. This has led to impressive availability percentages for the F/A-18 and it boasts an average time between failures which is three times longer than any other Navy strike aircraft. This was deemed an issue with the F-14 Tomcat and the A-6 Intruder, so great attention was paid to ensure it wouldn’t become an issue with the F/A-18.

Development
The F/A-18 Hornet was developed as a sort of hybrid model fighter jet as a result of two different design concepts being developed by the US Navy and Air Force. The combined results of the Navy’s Naval Fighter Attack Experimental program (VFAX) and the Air Force’s Lightweight Fighter program (LWF) were used to develop what would later be known as the F/A-18. McDonnell Douglas and Northrop Grumman worked together on the project, with much of the design coming from the Northrop YF-17, which was developed for the LWF program. Since McDonnell Douglas had more previous experience in developing carrier based aircraft they took the lead on the project, which essentially altered the YF-17 to be suitable for carrier based operations. Under this agreement McDonnell retained the right to manufacture the units for the Navy and Northrop had rights to sell a land based variant to ally nations.

The first F/A-18A was complete on September 13, 1978 and was first flown on November 18, 1978. The F/A-18 entered into operational service with both the Marines and Navy in early 1983. There were a total of 380 of the F/A-18A’s produced between 1980-1987, with production shifting to the F/A-18C variant in 1987. To date there have been a total of 1,480 F/A-18′s produced, including all variants. The aircraft is utilized by military forces throughout the world, from Malaysia to Australia and Kuwait to Finland and everywhere in between. The F/A-18′s most notable role is being the aircraft which is flown by the US Navy’s flight demonstration team the Blue Angels.

Boeing, Dassault, & Saab In Three Way Battle For Brazilian Fighter Jet Contract

The Brazilian government is negotiating with aircraft manufacturers Boeing, Dassault, & SAAB as part of their FX-2 fighter aircraft competition. This contract is potentially worth several billions of dollars and is therefore garnering major attention from all three of the manufacturing companies. While each manufacturer has unique advantages to offer, it seems likely that the contract will go to either Boeing or Dassault. The interesting part of Brazil’s FX-2 fighter aircraft competition program is the fact that they are not only interested in buying the actual fighter jets, but they are also demanding that the technology behind the aircraft be transferred to them.

This demand for a transfer of technology is certainly a complex matter that has executives at all three manufacturers working hard to come up with a viable solution. Brazil is leveraging the allure of a multi-billion dollar deal to help entice the manufacturers to essentially hand over the design technology used to build the fighter jets being sold. This will essentially allow Brazil to circumvent much of the research and development process in the future, if they are to start a fighter jet manufacturing program. With the impressive recent growth of the aviation industry in Brazil it is no wonder that they will be trying to develop a fighter aircraft manufacturing industry all their own. Now that the country has established a successful network of manufacturing companies for the civil aviation market, the step up to producing aircraft for military applications will be much easier to facilitate.

While none of the current military aircraft manufacturers are eager to hand over what amounts to years of research data, Brazil is putting them all on the spot. Boeing representatives recently held an event in Brazil to promote their offering for the FX-2 competition, which is a version of the F/A-18 Super Hornet. This event was coordinated by the head of Boeing’s Super Hornet program, Tom DeWald. He used the event as a way to gain popular support for the F/A-18 program and to educate the Brazilian public about what Boeing was going to bring to the table for this deal. In addition to simply building the aircraft for the military, Boeing states that they will help to bring jobs to the area and help with industrial planning & development. They stated that not only will the people of Brazil gain economic opportunities just from Boeing but also from their extensive number of suppliers.

The amount of time and effort that Boeing has spent to gain support for the sale of F/A-18 Super Hornets to Brazil shows that they are taking this deal seriously. Being the worldwide leader in the aerospace industry allows Boeing to bring more to the table as compared to the other competitors. The ultimate decision will likely come down to which manufacturer is willing to provide Brazil with the most extensive transfer of technology. It appears that the specifics of the actual jet being purchased may not be quite as important as the technology that Brazil is looking to gain. There is still a ways to go until anything is finalized, as the next step in the decision making process is not slated to take place until 2012. By that time it should be much clearer as to which company will be awarded this lucrative and interesting contract.

Ten Best Fighter Aircraft In Service In The World – 2011

Video of the 10 best fighter aircraft to be in service 2010 to 2015

China’s J20 Better Than America’s F-22 Raptor?

The J-20 has thrust vectoring and the design probably means it will out turn an F-22 in a dogfight, however…

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is the current stealth air superiority fighter jet employed by the United States Air Force. The jet was initially designed with air superiority in mind but has found additional roles in electronic warfare, air to ground attacks, intelligence gathering and more. The Raptors stealth design has allowed it to become a fighter jet with unmatched versatility and performance. The future of the F-22 has become uncertain as the funding for the additional units to be built has been pulled and the jet is facing stiff competition from the developing F-35 program. There have been 168 units built thus far, of the scheduled 187 that were called for in the initial plans. Although the future role and production plans of the F-22 are uncertain, the one thing that is not up for debate is the fact that this is an aircraft that is unmatched on all levels. There are no other aircraft in the world that can match the maneuverability, power, performance, stealth, and versatility of the F-22 Raptor.

Development
The United States Air Force started the Advance Tactical Fighter(ATF) program in 1981 with the initial goal of designing and building an aircraft to replace the F-15. Given the worldwide political tension at the beginning of the 1980s the goal was to attain air superiority over the rest of the world, most notably Russia. The ATF program was in many ways a direct response to the Soviet Union’s/Russia’s development of the Su-37 Flanker, which made its first flight in 1977. The ATF program was viewed as the next natural step in military fighter jet development in order to keep the US from falling behind other nations.
The initial Request For Proposal(RFP) was made by the USAF in 1986 and two teams were selected from the responses received. The first team consisted of Lockheed Martin/Boeing/General Dynamics and the other team was Northrop Grumman/McDonnell Douglas. The two teams made up of the most notable names in military/civilian aircraft were chosen to compete in the design and test phase of the project, scheduled to be completed in a little over four years. The end result was essentially a “fly off” of the two prototypes and the best overall design would win the ultimate contract to build the aircraft.
The test flights showed that the Lockheed design had better manuverability, while the Northrop prototype led in speed and stealth. The USAF chose the Lockheed design as the winner on April 23, 1991. The decision was said to have been made based on the fact that the Northrop prototype had better manueverability, thus leading to an aircraft that would fare better in dog fighting and reign supreme in air superiority.

Design
The F-22 Raptor falls under the USAF’s classification of a fifth generation fighter jet, which is currently the most advanced fighter jet in production. It houses two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 Afterburner Enabled Turbofans, which feature thrust vectoring nozzles. These nozzles account for the increased maneuverability and excellent handling characteristics of this fighter jet. These engines are estimated to each generate approximately 35,000 ft.lbs of thrust, although this has never been officially released. The design and power of the F-22 allow it to attain super-cruise mode and a speed of Mach 1.82, without using its afterburners. With the afterburners the Raptor is able to reach speeds upwards of Mach 2.0 . The ability to operate in super-cruise mode allows this aircraft to travel a greater range to carry out missions and can get there using less fuel.
The F-22 also has stealth features that are not found on previous aircraft that were built to avoid radar detection. The design relies less on radar absorbent materials, which are prohibitively expensive and result in more down time for maintenance. The aircraft was designed to be minimally noticed by all types of sensors including: infrared, radar, visual, radio frequency and acoustic. For example, the weapons are all located in internal bays with retractable doors to reduce the overall radar signature. The square ports on the aircraft also help to dissipate the heat signature of the engines, thus reducing the chances of any heat seeking weaponry.
The overall design of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is unmatched by any aircraft currently in operation. Although its future remains a bit uncertain, with the development of the F-35 possibly replacing it, it is currently the mainstay of the United States Air Force. There have been recent debates about the effectiveness of the aircraft due to reports of the comparatively low mission ready percentages. Aside from these numbers, which can be misleading, the F-22 has proven to be a worthy replacement of the F-15 and should continue to be a successful fighter jet into the future.

Convair B-58 Hustler Images

The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber, and the first capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the 1960s. Originally intended to fly at high altitudes and speeds to avoid Soviet fighters, the introduction of highly accurate Soviet surface-to-air missiles forced the B-58 into a low-level penetration role that severely limited its range and strategic value. This led to a brief operational career between 1960 and 1969. Its specialized role was succeeded by other American supersonic bombers, such as the FB-111A and the later B-1B Lancer.

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Photoes of the Convair B-58 Hustler

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II Images

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a twin-engined, two-seat, long-range supersonic jet, all-weather interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the US Navy. Entering service in 1960, the Phantom quickly proved to be highly adaptable.

The Phantom is capable of speeds of over mach 2. It can carry a payload of over 18,000 pounds. The Phantom has set 15 world records, including speed and an altitude record.

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Photos of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

Grumman F-14 Tomcat Images

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a two-seat supersonic, twin-engine aircraft capable of variable-sweep wing flight. The F-14 Tomcat was developed for US Navy’s Naval fighter Experimental program. The F-14 first flew in 1970 and was eventually deployed in 1974 to the US aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. The F-14 was used to replace the aging F-4 Phantom.

Images of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Tupolev Tu-160 Images

The Russian built Tupolev Tu-160 variable-sweep wing strategic bomber designed by the Soviet Union to be reach supersonic speeds. The Nato forces had code named the aircraft “Blackjack”. The Tupolev Tu-160 is the largest combat aircraft and the largest supersonic aircraft, as well as the largest variable-sweep aircraft ever built.

Photos of the Tupolev Tu-160

Images courtesy of:

By Panther (МАКС-2003) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Yuriy Lapitskiy [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

JAS 39 Gripen Images

Developed by the SAAB Aerospace Company (Sweden), the JAS 39 Gripen is a multi-role fighter aircraft with a single engine.

Performance
   Speed: mach 2
   Combat radius: 800 km
   Wing loading: 336 kg/m²
   Thrust/weight: 0.97
   Service ceiling: 15,240 m
   Wing loading: 336 kg/m²
   Ferry range: 3,200 km (2,000 mi) with drop tanks
   Service ceiling: 15,240 m

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Gripen with landing gear down

Gripens in formation

Gripen top view

Gripen in flight

Gripen refueling

Group of 4 Gripens in flight

Gripen side view

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