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    Modern Air Combat

    Uploaded by

    Samiul Tashbir

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 229
    The most in-depth, All the technical dramatically illustrated ] details and dramatic study of the technology | action portrayed in and tactics of modem hundreds of diagrams and air warfare ever published full-color photographs Bill Gunston | Mike Snick Aik GOMBAT ‘The airera, tates and weapons enployed in serial warare today Bill Gunston Mike Spick Almost 300 photographs 46 full-color aircraft-and-weapons drawings Over 250 diagrams and line drawings, Tiisbook isthe most exciting volume on tung siroraft for decades. By cutting through the jargon right down to the basics about modern air ‘combat it opens up the amazing world of air warfare to the ordinary reader Itis an extremely technical subject, to be sure, reflecting the tromendous and increasing advances In computer, electronics, materials and weapon system technology. But the technicalities have been explained simply and, even more helpful perhaps, have been illustrated graphically so that both the lay enthusiast end the wing commander can fully appreciate what is going on in the modera fighter cockpit, how the stresses of aerial dogtights affoct the aircraft and pilot and what is being dono to improve the performance of both, how today's ‘weapons relentlessly seck their targets and how electronte countermeasures work fo confuse deadly weapons and the enemy launch aircraft, Further, the book looks et what should and could be done to enhance fighter design in future, ‘The book is in three parts: the technology of air warfare; the aircraft and their woapons: and air combat tactics. The centrepiece is almast 100 pages of fabulous full-color artwork depicting the most potent fighters and attack aircraft in the ‘world today, with combinations of possible weapon loads spread beneath them, in scale, No other book has ever attempted to got to the heart of the matter in this way: it portrays the fact that modorn combat aircraft are not just extremely boautiful machines: they represent a formidable combination of speed and destructive potential, How that combination is effectively brought to bear in air-to-air combat ts vividly displaved in the section on tactics, which examines fighting effectiveness of tho aircraft, the threats and tasks, methods and manoeuvres, basic aerodynamics and limitations, and —not least — the pilot, his training and equipment. Almost 300 dramatic photographs, most in full color, over 120 explanatory diagrams, and over 135 annotated line drawings of aircraft combine with the lucidly written text fo produce the most {informative and fascinating book on alr warfare {n today’s high-technology climate, The aircraft, tactics and weapons employed in aerial warfare today Bill Gunston @ Mike Spick Published by CRESCENT BOOKS New York — ASalamander Book Credits | | | First Bnglshedition pablishedby Sclamanderooks Lid altar: Ray Bonds ‘This 1989 edition i published by Designer: Mark Holt Guescent Books, distributed by Grown Publishers. ne, Color artwork sir:raft soctlon|:Kal Choi"Tory Hale, OnaPark Avenue, Stopben Seymour MikeTHn. endTudeor Ar Stedios Lt New York ‘New York 10036, Dingeams aniaicrafthreeviews TIGA. United Staloscf America, FilmsetbySX Composing Li hgledeba Color reproduction ay Bantam Lita Lid and Raskowy Hove ah PL Printed in Bellu Hen Prot i Taibey of Congress Catalog Cre No. 89-72749, ‘The publishers wishto thank wholehoartedy thomany argations (©3000 Salamander Books Lid ‘and Indlviduelsin theserospace industry end the asced forces “riousnations, i parcevlorthe CS Air area, who haves bees of Allright reserved Considerable helpia the prspastion ofthis bok. Alleorrepondence conce:aingthe content ofthis volurwe shold be ‘tddrested to Salamander Books Lt, Slamanc 27°0ld Gloucester Steet, Landon WCINAR, United Kingdom ‘Thiebook may not sold ontsdothe United Statesof ‘Ammorica al Caneda spent most of his working Ife accumuatiazs wealth nfarmtioaen etospace technology aus story. Since lbavingibe Service, aac Scie asan advisor to severaleviationcom panies and ircome oct0 the mos! nferuationally nspectad autharvend teadeastersen vision ndecontceubject fle mtnorousboaketoclude tho Salamander titles TholllestatedEncyclopedio othe World's Modern biliary Airral™. “The Baeyclopedia cf the World «Combat ‘Aireralt, "The luted Eneyclopiaol be World's Kocketsand Missiles, "Soviot AlrPower"(withDill wextman} and many of Salamandar'suceaceol asta gi mebjct also contributed tothe authoritative ar Mac ‘The US War Niacin’ hy thesamse company, anderen ugar asslgnmantefortocbrical vltion parodies Me Gunton ealeoa At compllerof"ana’sAlluhe World's Aiezlt and was "alight ates“ oc anol clones Journal low: Theres mo “best iter Tornada ADV cannet match the F-16in adogfinht butthe F-18 ‘cannet fy the Tornada’s¥%bour parole with stand-of illpower. Mike Spick washom in Loadon oss thin thaee wenkbeforsthe ‘Spite made ts;paiden light Educated at CaurchersCalegr, Patersild(aschool withastrongnavalinerest| helaler entered the construction Indust and carried outconsiderabie work on RA Beles. An oacasional boodeasironaviatioa topics, Mr Spick’s interests aclade ergaming, whit led bra ta close stu of als ‘narlare followed by highly sucentfel frat book, "Aly Halo Ministre” (Parick Stephors, 1978) He has nother baoktobiscreit, “Tighe Plot Tactics" Patric Stephens, 1963), whch ia sora study ofthe watotlon of etic, ae! ho et ren Working on aria olscecouinsircombat Contents Foreword ‘The Technology of Air Combat ai Gunes Aircraft Design Aerodynamics Structure Propulsi Weapons llectronic Warfare Displays nm The Aircraft and Their Weapons ni!\Ginsion Acritalia AM-X BAe Buccaneer BAe Harrier BAe Hawk BAe Lightning BAe Sea Harrier Dassault Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet Dassault Breguet Mirage III, 50 8 | Dassault Breguet Mirage F1 96 Dassault Breguet Mirage 2000 98 10 | Dassault Breguet Super Etendard 100 14 | Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt 1 102 18 | FMAIA Pucara 104 26 | General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon 106. 30 | General Dynamics F-111 108 36 Grumman A-6 Intruder 110 48 Grumman F-14 Tomcat 112 66 IAIKfirC2 114 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 116 76 McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk 118 80 McDonnell Douglas AV-8B/HarrierIl_ 120 82 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II 122 84 McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle 124 86 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet 126 88 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-21 128. 90 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-23 130 92 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-25 132 94 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-27 134 > Foreword ‘his book is about fighting aircraft, but unlike most ofthe ‘numerous books already written on this subject ts coneared with the true nitty-gritty of modem air wari ‘weapons, te systemsand the tactios wi familiar detailsas the wingspan and type ofengine fitted. Many people havebeen brought up to believe that all fighter pi largomoustachos and woar polka-dot scarves. Tharo arethose ‘who fool that thesbject of ode ais combaisjusttoo. complicated for comprebension because they de no! possesse PRD inelectronics, nor major inintre-red technology. But we believe this book can opan up the amazing world of modern sir ‘warfare to tho ordinary reader, NoPhDiis noedod. “That thera sa problema in communication i evident from just ‘skimming the pages of any modern deferice magarine-On advertisementtells us: "High LOCis the enemy; bu! our VORILS Integrates multiplex data bus interfacing”. Facingit sanctherad Which proclaims"*The good news'sthat TRW has the necessary digital and RF VLSI... we're usingVHSICtobuilda compact brassboare NTWS for tomorrow's plots”. And modern fighters, it appears, just don’thave achance unless they have RSS,FBW, Hotasand a holographic HUD! ‘Wehave tried inthis book to cul through the gobbledagook and, explainsomoof the fundamantale of how moda warplanosare designed, how thoy fly thoirmissions and how thajock whosits inthe hot seat does his job, Nearly all these jocks are pilots, Afew argcalled navigators, observers, radar intorcopt oficors, naval flight officers or weapon-system operators: more commonly they arecalled the backseater, or oven the GIB (guy in back). There is still come difference of opinion on just when asecond crow- ‘mamberIs needed. Indeed, a decade ago it was fashionable toquestion whether even the mann the front was needed: the Above: The fronteockpit of Below:Nellis AFD.Nevada, with ‘Tornado M12 thowsthe working Lat Vegas inthe backgrewnd, dane wentofamodernfighter’ atleasthavethe advantageof heeding ICBM todestoy it-Bat ‘thoSoviets have 1 JOBICHNts and ‘over 00251Ms. Whal price Noll inisals RPV (remotely piloted vebicle) were themll therage.and ‘many expertssough! fo prove that fighter and attack aircraft. and certainly reconnaissance platforms, could doa etterobifthey ‘wereflown bya pilot who stayed out of her's way. either onthe ‘ground or in another aircraft, controllingan RPV. Butthen there's nothing new nderthe Sun, A quarterot century ago theofficial British view was that manned combat aircraft asa clase were obsolota, The actual wording was”"Having regard to... thelikely progress of ballistic rockets and raisslie idefonce, the Gavernmont have decided not togo.on with tho developmentof asupersonicmanned bomber... Work will proceedon aground-to-air missile defence system which will in tue course replace the manned aircraft of Fighter Command... ‘TheRAF are unlikoly to hava quirement for ghtor acral rmareadvanced than the P-1 and work on such projects willstop,"” “Todoy’s masiod squadrons continuo io oxist not bocauso peoplelike to preserve obsolete conceplsforsentimental reasons, One ofthe things this book perhaps canact dois fully explain why wedo continue tobuild so many combat aircraft. There areplenty of reasons why. for the defence of one’s own territory, itis far ‘more sensible to use nothing but SAM launchers, each with ‘sufficent quickly available missiles toguarantee that thay could neverrn out of Rrapoveer. And ina world populated (atleast on the Soviet side) by thousands of nuclaar warhecds all waiting to he used atop mlssiles af proven pinpoint accuracy, itisdiffcalt to understand why we goon buildingaircraft that cannot fly without runways, Anairbaso i tho most inviting targota long range fnuelear missilecould have. Some of the Soxtet misses may be targeted on ports, special military centresor cities, but wean. Tako it fr granted that overy NATO airfield is covered by toveral missiles. Yet whe I pointed this out ten years ago. aud sent the ‘manuscript to the Pontagon for common, it was roturned with this part described (without justification) as “athinly disguised sales pitch forthe Harric Thoman who wrote that was. sunior fficerin the US Air Force. Occasionally, some of his light-blue buddies ty toscoreoif thedark blues of the Navy by saying” yourcarriors can be sunk, butnobody can sink ourairfields”. Fortunately wehaverot hada full-scale warfor nearly 40 yeats,annd nobody should draw too ‘many conclusions from the way the runway at Port Stanley in the Palklandsemerged almost unscathed from British attorpts to renderit unusable. We have comea very long way beyond the Below: “Today's massed squadrons continue toenbst..", ‘aaesting thatthe British CGavernmont erred whem in 1957 t announced tha mannod Bghters woul be replaced by RPV. Righi:Theclase alreombat is “onsen one”. Here anF-148 of US [Navy sauadron¥P-143 isstobag lan Aggressor AT-38ef VE-33 over the Air Combal Maneuvering Range near Yurna Arizona, '300-pound bombs dropped manually onthat runway, nd theone pointthat must be rammed homes that modern aigpowerts ‘Virtually useless it sbasod on concrote runways Just 20,ears agothis fact was rengniseels SAP sSACused toheepa ‘Proportion of ts bombers in the air, on axruelling “airborneelest™ ‘with livebombson board, while RAF Strike Commandhut led. itsValeansand Vietersfromone bese another including ‘many aot normally used—s0 that they should not be caught on the prourdand seat up ia firoballs, Today we i the Wost no longer bother. Incredibly. even out Harriersare at known airfield Iccations. Meeawhile, tienumber of Soviet CUMS, [RBMs, LLRBMsane SLEMs-— fot just nitalsbu terrifying mgatonaage— targeted om those airficlds has grown dey by day. ‘Any fighter pilot wil toll you thatthe notion of aerial chivalry ie ‘onic bil of fiction. When your lifeand mission area stake, you pltytowin.Uatthe warfare howe oolsandtchniquesaelaid seinthisbook does atleast raston such basic asstimptions asa first-ordersimilarity between opposing typesof aircraft, ad a battlabotvoan aerial sttackors nd ground or ship defenders that isin osensrone-sided Rutthe 750-kilaton warhead landingat the interscetion of therunways.as the base sleeps at night makesit allseem rather pointless ‘Wehope thisiind ofwar will never come t aobudy prossus that kind of hutton, war with wings. bullets and elections hoyravrregrtable wil emu avaltopic. Now read how fr ithascome —— The Technology of Air | 4 ; a t Combat Introduction irom tho earliest days of arial warfare tachnology —ae an alternative toskilled pilots—had tocome iato tomewhere, Thais was especially the cage with the startin 1915 of comb ‘between aeroplanas, Such basics as Hight speed, turn radius (associated with which has always been rate roll and ‘maximurn tate of climb havogone baad-in-hand withermement, armour enginereliahilityand thewase with which acrippled aircraft could be flown by a wounded pilot, to determine the ikoly outcome of any particular ongageren Ta World War however all these matters were utterly secondary in comparison with the pilot. Toa far greater degreethe outcome of pat depended on pilot xporience, Selection of teties, eyesight, muscular strength ,aleriness, cor taking of quick decisions, and the ability to de accurate deflection shooting. Ofcourse the pilot's mount was important but the differencesbetweea one fighting scout and another were farless than between one pilot and anothor. Tn World War l much thesame varlebles were cranked intothe ‘cquations ofeach combat, though the aircraft and their equipment began to playa crucial ole, sothatintha Pactf in 1944 mas skilled and courageous Japanese fell beforethe Firepower af inexperienced US pilotstly raft, suchas y.woreamong Above: While British Aaraspace spscrocking onthe ACA, MBB in West Germany wants ie ‘camnsereplaneba call ‘Gormanmame,Thisison impression ofthe rapssed —s Delon The throa an {meltFunciondigplay) are {olla in brightehetronic green Inthevizer fa f/A-108 Horeet iit Today 'scmmba aircralt Theuitinat examples! mmanfnachinesynbort ‘with 200 combat missions bel ind him would havene option but toreturn tobase Today. for betta or worse, the tachnology is dominant. There tive pilots today who are experienced in actual steven te best efforts the Aggressors and their ‘Warsaw Pact counterparts can quite equal the real thina (though it cancomeremarkably near tot). Thiscertalnly dows mot mean that all pilots are equal - very, very far irom t!—butthe results of air ‘combat are increasingly likely tobe dictated by thehardware. ‘This lead tothe obvious question: will there ever ccme aday ‘when tho pilot is merely a passive supervisor, taken alongforthe tide incase anything happens that ahuman can cope with but lor ‘whieh the hardware had not been programmed? This leads back totholate 19506 whon half the exports thought fghtors were being. replaced by SAMs and thecther balf thought they were being replaced by RPVs. Neither ofthese things has happened, but itis nnptdifficult to argue the caso for either. Cortanly, in thosituation ‘whichexisisovesNATO's Central European front itseems foolish in the extrema to trade fighters one-for-one against avastly superior numberof enemy aircraft Farbetterto use no ighters but large numbers of SAMS. which can unfailingly knock down the fnomy on a1-nil basis without any chance ofscoringan unfortunate“ own goal” NATO isat oresent increesingly forced into the cleft stick of procending itean overcome numerical inferiority by tachnical ‘uperfority. Wherever direct measurement fs not possible the ‘West makes cosy estimates which saekto prove that Sov designers arenathinglikeasclever as those in the West, Thelz tadars may bebig,theargument goes, but they are said tobecrude, low-powered and shart zanged, and the bignossis explaine anvay as evidence of backwardness. Precisely thesamegnesfor ‘AAMS:forexamplethe AA-6 Acti i estimatedby supposed Wostera experts to have arange of 23 miles (37m), thougls itis ‘over20ft long and weighs’ .680Ib, while the USNavy's AIM-54 Phoenix flios morethan 124 miles itis 13ft longand weighs 1.00018). But whenever direct moasuzes are postible, as inthe case of aircraft guns nd numerous army weapons. the notionof inbuilt qualitative superiority vanishes, thisbook cannot pretend to provide answerstothe ‘questions egerding the my!h oi Soviel technical inferiority, but at Joastitean providoa basic groundingin what tho factors aro, how they alflect hedesign of present and future ighters, and what the fighters ofthe 1990s might be expected tabelike, we study the ontpourings ofthe publicity machines of the US. manufacturing industry wemight concludathat tomorrow's fightors will be souned-up versions ofthe SR-71, with fuselagns about daft (27m) long, gross weights in the 100,0001(45,000kg) ‘lass and speods nudging Mach 5, One has only tothink fora ‘vory few soconde oe thatthe real future will be very differen. The Technology of Air Combat First, inflation i already making it extromoly hard to build any fighter aircraftat all. Unless we areextremely qulckand very ‘lover, asin tna case ofthe !-16, oven our small, cheap fightorsere ‘goingto end up more expensivethan the big, capable ones they wore intended to replace (the F/A-16A Hornet isan obviouscase Inpoint) Second, toelth technology likas small combat aircraft per than larger ones. Third, anyone who flies at Mach 3.4 eels his head examined: even Mach 2isalmostalwaysnonsense, because it burns fuel quickly, takes timeto achievoand oliminatos any possibility of inflight manaexvring Fourth, and certainly not the least iraportant, the strange ‘assumption that future wars will bemarked by dropping few bombson runways, leaving" et least 800 metres forall our takeolts ‘and lendings” ses nonsensical as mathematically precise Calculations the pereentaue of NATO aircraft that would sulle ‘operating on Day’3 of enell-cut war. Leader ofsuch calculations has for 20 years boon the USAF, which bocauso ofits powerand prestige axerts aimajorinfluencean military thought. Butsomeot the minor ais forces heveulreedy begun toreulize that. should a major war everbreak out, anything based on an airfiold willbe dead ~ probably before the war begins ‘As thotechnoloay described inthe following pagesis very exponsivelndsed, Westen alrstaffsamvaltto thaictaxpayers not towasteit oy plocingitonan airfield. Dispersal tothousands af remote operating locations, on land orafloat, 4s thoonly apparent way tosuevive, elow: Even marethan the US Navy. the USMarine Corps will ‘ed all the mutirle capability of Above: nthe author's view, we simply hove eabandon. theF/A:18 Herne, Tai Sidewinder was fred inane 1969 thenext generation beyond the (om aHlornetirom MCASEI Toro. AV-38 Harrior IL Aircraft Design Trtngdetnenta wren “Combat aierel se «ificnesuying datos sword nginor"tndoe. though Uhischapter concerned mainly ‘with nha arrose elle Tghtors inevitably ne basta ook tteiigouad enon whic fora Stvampotent arf om ght roger "Pte denign ofcombetaircrfthas chang sock ove past 50 ‘earsthat thoes ito to be Teered y einaback int itary prlorto about 660, hash afew tends are worth bse lance, Ono ‘htheobious discon {he gonerlied tre th Socal hrestexer apa ia sircatspeod Un he md-1950s fahtos naturally becarvover- taster Only twoveusafer Atom Mikeysnand Del Kindalborge: ovosn to basic design ofthe Brat production fguterablotoaccriantata Besond Mach os theler, in 251-"Kelly johnson deer pesiormance corvstorwhst FectmetheLockoed 8310-104 smd fundtht withthe 29 {gino ated properly scherod ‘atisleinitsand sole the Trustive ahead oth deagto beyond Macin®atntich poet he rca won" prevant ‘ructural overstng) 8 mere ‘ie yea terdikoyan seam Sted tho proben a ight towoto iss raph 2 300em hor Mach.) hile Ropubl ‘Aviation war dep tbe halen aig ofthe manstor XF-108fittrtoflyetach’47, 0 Badompa(sasehm/) Thar lave patclar acca problem buildings 2.445 Rgwor batsachanerorenr would nate very useful Speed temuch Tessie then some porte otal the Datta company Sppoartobeliove-Thofater 9 ‘ra ies. egpetor tsetis ‘ftur, became aeeletative Toading apes up ot i proportion teapoebatiaproparten othe F-t0¢ wasnot optimised for ‘manoeuvrability Later itsspeed ‘and small radar signatere were square ltnospoed.& Bgbtertiying ‘alzt4bmp nies in avery sna Tinstodeed It wereioenvocnten shostlesirraf woul have to fyrighton pastit.and ake seme Yimetasioer dwn sufficiently a rahe a rusonsble urn Hoving ‘lloved tesp20dto bleed ff. itis than the slower secraft heceusa the tar other hinge beiig qual a bese. shorter lighor chaaper ard mich ‘moroasi Prolemgedsty ofthe ten yore ‘feared atreombat in Souths! ‘Asia in 1960-73 showed tha, thoughoterburarswace often sed abd supersonespoad ‘ccasionally ached, sry aie ‘combat took placoatsubnonic speed which was usualy baton 280 and 450 kas. The slower tis possiblatofly.thabettertherateot Above: Tosomeestent dus ‘ounterpartoftineF-108isthe Mirage 2000, whichistheonly ‘modern fighter known e have then designed iohave tnchishest possible ight performance. Law- Feveleide" and fuel consumption sifferbodly. Below: What will Sweden’sJAS0 Gripendo thatcannot be dane by today's JA37 Viggen? The answer igthatit il be slightly betor ina tlfight ad willbe mach more seanemical operate. bostdioe beinga generation neveerin frst Might due 966-7), Above: Widely eqarded as tod les ighter. inthe broadest thisearly example. Wecanonly Ail discern what wil replace the Fe inthe year 2000, ura, tosach adegreetha mis abletopullasoamingiy impossible S0gat Mach’ cancesily beaveided byaforewarned Fighter palling » tore gat 430 knot. Whale variables Have hoomerenked into the ight dign process asawer al orgy is that Mach, 22S tvimuch faster than the kde, tod agp gure for aearly ‘ined maximum Mach number ist Thisiscispitethe el hat thanks tosuperiorengines today's Fightorhar mortar twite thrust that could bepackedIntothe prosdinggenaration yen moreianportantthan the diminished kportancrol Mig sd i theinfiuenceot lation on cost fn World Warll atearet ‘weok, ond complotothe design ofa Imabouttwo months, Ted jgaot a0 fighter no teamof thousands of engineers fercheomingat nest 30a week ta ty xcept precuclngactal diewhags ol pa. vontaelly hardware doosget mace, in sompcesesastheend product of compaterraphicnand magnetite which can steer the mechinetocl cutting head Wwithoutany ordinary drawing havingheen created Wehavebeen sobuey sitingat our EP eaphice terminals in ordertosavotime and arene ‘onenotbandiods fenced atiesiees tee County ach obra th Stabaely nod bbc wing 6s Opeiona Reqatecent) tareoea tiene iaeeeye iaveenythingactil bul andi Ticueseeninttietite SheadtheOken whch dxien enbesed wolbetcaly Undated seorsbelre th int fight ofaproreype-Car hs tly tees "pope? ‘The Technology of Air Combat Above: Big, heavy andin most respects typically Russian in its {ough simplicity, the NiG=23 has lwaysbeema vory inflexible represen! ‘which with te demise ofthe Lightning, is totally missing fom Above Since 1960 the McDonnell tom has served the RAF well horwan PGR ruelled bya Vitor K.2).Dutit Koptthe RAY ted to langranuray vulnerable airbases. ‘Toruadi 2s production as the RAF next generation jathistoocan atany me be knocked ou! bya nuclear missilcon tsimmobile airbase. “Those are wo of tho funder factors which tft ‘hedesign olatemf todelentother ‘craft item agete onthe {round inte ce of rinterstons Fndintense moder dafonce Solem, keep fying arn tho Clockwithoutneed.ngany Sinentan, and keep iying ater ‘hoenem smuclossroskar hove tblteratadte Wet aire, Obriowsly, sieralt ha! can opocate ‘hoy tio up large numbers of silo personel whowould gaupithe Srebal just peor tothedeearton far but they alo consumovact Srroortsol nose theteoald ‘athorwisa housed far ssretvable Seance system ‘So longas najce warisavoided, the Wertean jos about goraway with the present situstionin which Shean sanisiespen on Fightore whore priceaveragee £1,000 verkx of empty weight ‘Theseareputintoserviceinsuch srnull number thet try ca bo fliminsted by wipingoat arene fizbazos atasewhicn theSovit VSN (atzatepiorocket troops ‘ould socomplisheteny moment ‘ble ouving 9 outot every 0 lsslessilliatheirsilosoron thetrrabteaaebars Such costly aircraft are affoablein pesostinwe only because, whoreas urbe ightrs activliltine wich varied {roan afew weeks in Weld Wari pt aslangasfeuryeersinthe Tsotsi hs hae 0 st mz than Z0years. Leetenyone tright think we rerltastbe F-tbend Hunterlasted much Jonge thar four yors tho point mmustbemade tateach of ese ‘ypackept oabeingroplacad bys eve version, TRoUSAF ath Fightor Wingo 1950-55 ha ach ESS ropleced on averagpeight Times tnivesuccessvely Improved medels tray the USAF 40th Wingis, in gooera, still {iyiagthesamel-T5eitsece¥ 1074 T therefore fellows inovtably ‘hatfuturealrforeosarogoing roly 90 avory small number ot tesa of avery small numizoof {litfoetiypes. andthe aregolng. (olive wih thocaraaetusl aeratt for maybed0yeursal atin, The desig takes soang and cass 59 ‘mach ithustobe aright as Furseny peste buttatakeyoore over eachstaghol planringant ‘design iss rocipofor disaster. The RAE, foresample, wall st fvon'vea'VISTOL areaft with ‘onsidersbleflosbilty and mission capebility which hed been conceived quitoguekly in 1062.91 [Gut whieh vas cancelled in 1365 ated placa by CTO ‘anway) icra the Tvalfdesigned #4 7955-5610 - ‘porate rom US Navr-carire. To RAP till seo the Phan bu ‘sill soon irtrciocethe‘Fornad F.2tomost tented toralone ‘endurance sendoff interceptor, ‘As Taran stecombat Sghterssre ‘concord the RAF has virtually sothing(themos passionate ‘member of Lightning Training Flightatinbrook could hardly stg) and bs ohn prospect Thothreo partners in Panavia have ‘Above: Rockwell's HIMAT cs ‘reach only Mach 3, but this is ‘mor than enough for tomorrow's ti combats which, Tika today's ‘aelikaly tobe subsonte. Agi) ‘Countemorethanspeod. ban akiryaboute nae fighter oe ight years a 1862 achieve! {hpricoles atta goatet sgreemeaton basco! fcammondesign. But ability at syavernment level te domonsteate thoslishiestconvictonorcourage will probably sodeley the ACA (AgsleCombet Aireralt Peogramenetiatultimatesnccess ‘wil belmposebie ‘uthefollowingandlysshitle seivingto get back the" big Teague’ with projects such ats The Technology of Air Combat sccountisekenof aciual existing, govn gto aswitness rho 1110, ‘rprojctndprogrammes,norsuch 4adXFY-12A, Tadey'swealtnct matterses programme ‘uditional design tcols, such as manager foodiigoepolRieal —ompiter graphics and peeve stats gonerally ti offre ‘imulatonel future aircombals, Inetelyasaplain manvsoveral eablesthedesignestocreates {dele what is notonlyaglgantic mivchbetterderign quicker But Subject utonoin which Mose dsr vailobleeleo tothe ‘experieoceand possiblyluckplay Bad Gu’s.endonhas ast asrmich ‘thot inconsiderate ola shane today sen formes yours.cf Expensiturectocveralyeersanda ending upwithanow fighter billion dolarsisnoguaraniee ofa which samsaclasesecand! Advanced Fighter Conceptfor the Above: The sole major example at 10905 Tyeillhaveawing ofover 2USatiompltobuild avertical- 481(44.8m)span and vectoring Hsing fighter not die ginal jodimensianal vozsis behied airhatenveasthieXFV-12A. yt Zn) fuselage Itisense! anothor Rockwol programe. ‘many proposals for USAF, Sailly itis unsuccessful Car Aerodynamics hoary 1960 sce ite studios, actly by Bre Bikidley lrainated wingsand relied totally ao the thn ‘octer frm engines ich asthe Pepasusand B8.100.A ingles fighteravoldsmany probleme at posos others, and wa have yo Fee one emerge, Today. over 80 Years aftertne Wright Brothers, we mllrelychielyon wingsinorder Hoth and tomaneusre Computed with the bis Our wage sreamazingly primitive but they continue togetbeter “Around a8 your agothe ci arguments aged aver whether the ‘Sraight wirgshould boreplaced by theswepturngerthe deli Today we knowhow to make swings sothin that Trephan sages Ich os (mportan, using fadvancnd structures avai the perlvafaeroelastle distortion tw 30 yoarsagotrsfied Svessinen and, fr example, made the doeignare oft ¥-100 pt thn tallezons inboard (which mont the vwingcould bave ne flaps) ‘Today woaresoclover Weare vee usingve-callodeuporerical proflies to make wings thicker Some asoraparyingisurve show thogeins acaved by cucha wing ‘ona Alpha et though tha Improved mansauvrtbilty ofthis ‘wingwaspnined largely by adding Doneainalacé see etrepee lise {which would alsobave proved Uheerigioal wing), Why makes wingticker? Athicker wing ‘truttaraly suchas na skins bo tbiemar tho waightis dramatically ecuced Morsver Ievoturmelecbetouly greater:tbe pew Alpon je wingholdsalreost ssrmuch fue asthe orignal wing ug external drop tan Wis only common sense thatany wring deal ately fom patie andiion a ight Holy Egiets Id ied geometry wings hich sper faritom ies? ineery pt alight excopt the one for whieh wing wes designed. By 193 movab flap, and sometimes Left The USNavy Gramm Tomcat is aerodynamics themost efficient fightrsever tan Hae telang wings are voted back at 6 for ight at Speeds upto over Mac Right: Dassault followed the delta Mirexe I with this has ight slats and lags. 8 heavier bombload under ts fusclagethan any other airerat ‘exept the far bigger B-1B. Here ‘ight 1.0001 (254k) bombs areon board, leavingtho wing forlanks snd ECM, ls,enabled the wing\o change Hisbehaviowe sathatitcould be closot dealin saver ailferent situations ‘Ammuch riarapovertal form of VCivantalogcometry}arived ‘withthe devel variable ‘Svimplick in 1943, bat t20k ‘nother 17 yoasbafoethie waa ‘cet work satsbactorily wlth ‘widely spread outboard picts. tn the fest production epplictian, the F-111the upperstrfacof the foal Above: The USAF. together wi the US National Aeronaution and Space Administration iststing a deep supercritical wingoman S111 whic has the advantage of boeingableofly with theew wine ‘diferent anglovofsweep The ‘ew wingistho broad, shert- span Shape superimprnes onthe Original wing extremely broad. downstraun of Teadingedgnesnopt tas acute sangloot 72.5" Outboard pivots feanblthe main cuteewingstobe ‘weptat ini eae arn forhigh Speodilightol Mech sumberspto Imovethan’?.Porsobsani ote Abdtakeolfand tending the vege Canbesivangionsardt only 16" ‘anthoieHftgreetlytocrensed iy ‘tending full spanslate and ‘double-sloted aps. ‘With heweinge spread itis possible oily relatively lowly yet \, Wrap Mra ee ea igh Thesefour#-111Chombers ‘tthe Royal Australian AirF oreo demonstrate that tin pow to fy formation withthe wings at anyangle from 725" the ead ‘ircra} lo only 16 the rear ‘treraf!) Normally th diferent Angles mould be fo being supersonic oly. The Technology of Air Combat amy honey leads and amaior “spinoff irom this thatthe lendinggea Isto it theatrcal feanbe flown ram shoe sti with rough surfaces, Varoblesweepis ‘bviously good forcamiertased Shera ‘Inthe highspeed resimeth fullysweptwinghat low trays ddragand sclose othe idea for supecsanic fights very mall spanhasafurtheradvantagets that iwingof very lew espoct rato, witharea distbatod mainly fom frontto ras rathorthan across a wide spaa, bas what iscalled a flat Tica: With ordinary gs the 1traciee vary sharply indood with theangloofattack tie angieat ‘whic ihe wingmeetstae fncomingai bal thoullr-low Stender wing shoves inlitover nangleof ck This meant fightercan sly tfullunatle through turbulent Siceloseto the gourdand hey rosponito tha local upearrents Aerodynamics ‘and dawncarrent called gusts. ‘Gust rosponishasboenonoot the chef factorstocensiderin “egg moors Bigs eng, becausefor30 years it hasbeen seed Chat esate penetratehortoairspacetstofly ‘slow as posible. Thibives \lefenders minima iret get ‘sods ofr and in mostexiting ‘irdefencoradossthereare Aoelaea difculies in detecting {ingetsyory clone tothe ground OF ‘couse there ae prebleme in flying ‘very lowathighepeed. As wellas Low-level Ride Comfort ‘hobastonand toavotdbatiing the ‘round the mission rangi really duced because pase [iebine onigines born falters) limes a Lo eval haa the ‘ory cold thinalathighaltiude, tnd the ensityof ha raat Increases taoetrsseeimpossdon Uhonireratstraeire Avery alicalty amos ogo birdstethee 0 matter bow anode ‘sith bree seen birds cane pilot, ‘Sarma ape song focus nl ‘and oSgburgs pot rime Above:Inganera. the shorter and ‘ubbierawing(, the lower ts ‘pect ratio}. the bettor the ride at Tigh speed in the dense air atlow level Best ofall sre the VG rwing- tonrrongh and the ergearn Miragelllishopelece. niente dvetoto the pound. Above: Seen from bebind raimply wreck engine Pi16A Fighting alcon ofthe Tock ep Uaioe} USAF ath Fasicel Fighter Wing ‘patch theprblemof —lakiagoff. The laps canbe seen at sumtrorporaessuiimiingtatorin20"(ecetop wing profileen the Whatalnsancrow const facie pase) When te wheels i Zpetallynthecriculcasel ff eeeedng ngs crane tmeximum spoodat the lowrst Teral Peel einer tcl strcrewmay not appreciate otstnntegantatewn tie transstestoone- ‘rushing oyetl pking ‘movements nthe rer plane ‘rhichalsobavethnetfel feating ‘The Cambered Fixed Wing Into wsfearne fatigue life The Smooth ride ofthe VGairraftienot juste mattorofcomfertbut of boing bielofly thomsssion properly. Iseuriousthacsoveralrosant Werter aircraft havelbsoe designed withfixed- geometry ae trailingedses are pivoted andcan Iingeupor down este putes ‘ontacing page). The top drawing Showathe 16th he wingact ‘apfor the approach landing Sawiha ring een shape but varie inser! Profile Both the lending and wings bacause ofa belie that VE | fds toomnueh weigh of complealy while Soviet Unionevery alcrft tant flies high-spoed altock misshr have VG Nothingisassimploasitacome, Whilethe tse peated suagestion thata VG wing male acl to carry heavy loadsa weapons an tuck he andi gearawey ia clearly aooxenre look Farnado Ui variable sweep wingtsjust one way of daingit In dosigni nthe Fibsandtonleaserextent he F-16 Wing Profiles Leading ee “rating cece “2 Take ang E 9 Toot Teta tiahebeed se ‘onto | Fania 2 conten = (avetetsgin in) Abra: Th six nan light regimes tthe -16Aare characterized bya | particular wing profile The umbersshiov theangslarsetting ofthehinged portions 18,thowingwasven some VG capability by Ettnatull-xaa Teatingedgecroape snd large walling odgo laps. Compator outvolle, these adjasttheprotle fatthewtagtosulttakeat cree, Nigh gmineereres;superronis Agate land, Theideal ofcourse awn madectflodbiemateral whose section proflean | planfcrinsh canallte thisisceraaly beyond she presact statoolthe Ts besl hats Dracticable sto maks the wing ‘what the Americmscall mission daptve by changing te pros {nd posible, planform shape, ia feasysagesby providing with ‘arlous Kina hingosend piv, TMhobestanewrerfor sah sceats 2 compromise event Performa, complexity, cost and reliably like most hing ia “Theto ate many ether aspocs of fighter aoradveamics Skender Wwingsin hich actcbord exceeds the span cantly tangles of flack fackevond thoveot whichosdinary wings tall Figan Fett withthe Wingrouispreed and you heve a Conventional aeroplane witha ‘wingthatetallsatarourd 16° ADA, (argloot tack) despitebelp from slatsand flaps. Seeetanwingtc ff" and in oxtrome conditions you ‘anil at ADA fom 6" olen 0" at leastvoucouldbeloethe troubles with thoT 0 engine Trought AGA mstltions ‘doubtful ha today’s desygersam> wworkingona sing fightort hal ‘Gionotoetinaly Ny a AOA grestor than a te sircembet ‘Athig AOA itusually tpt bavotwo vores ale thet whether these arecantid outmants for grater olfectivonens or Fxod ‘orca orslope inwants to reduce tolldaate rudder movement \dependsor thoparticula design. Libethe igtiagscruisof 116 today taupersonseRigitoreton los eth no od i tae lab rudder being jas ag oath isla shot the whole surface tov tntesdelbenghingedtns {bee sarfoce upstream, ‘Slave 1958sab radershave oly gradually becorethe favourodchoice,buliamdern Why the VG“ wing Wing’ ‘Aboun A fixe-shape wing is good ‘only in one condition of fight rere thelength ofhorizontall shows” marks out aftenforeach offirsimportant variables fortwo ‘The Technology of Air Combat Above: Thowghithas become fashionabloin the Wos'to F-14A Tomeatsare catapulted 12 USNavy carrier Lighters afixedtalple ieee sally there neem Fight surfaces calla taacons (ilplanefatiewns| which contol Ue alters taal neva ast pitch. Convon ional silorans ney Frasod aswell cltheratlow er isSuperior ‘Gx0d geometry szoralt ae F108 (ed) endA-10 (ue) and ne VO iireraf (Formato, mauve) The Initer is god acrossthe board, becatsett can redesign il ‘Aerodynamics Contrasting Tail Geometries Fgesamre Ayo oo tea Above: Bight high-spoed jets {except or tho fist, ll supersonic) showing differentarrangemontsct {all urfaces From the F100 all Iavestab aiplanes, the As being thelirsttouse ailerons (tailplane inthis caseto| ‘control imboth pitch and rll. wed or rl), Allfavefixed ‘erteal nexcoptfarthe sand 5R-71 which have unueval lab vettcal surfaces There isn ‘fect (accontuatodby theupsiept ‘outer wings). Note Pave Tack pou. highspeeds. orth wing fe eth epotiens. nt spotlrsare the pxtmary oll conta) the ilecansbelng roth In only alow airspeeds. tntho j Tomalotlctaleronsaro the primary contra, the spollers being Postion. “Atelevidentanawteckto tiles eral suchesheNSege IH jethe on takeatand orang the powerful slvong web take theparsel heel pore teiplan nov toopeate witha feltvely eel elective nemnent tim, ndoo thor dowrnthroc has to Bevery ange. Thc a evar! tones tothe elective ical setgh js athe wore porte Tavoher ictal sary itn 2000avaidsthispreblem by inate wing tvaladle pele svithhingedtoading asa! as Ural surfaces and italao hase sipallennard (forward tape {hat eta contradiction in {erm}, More than adecade aries Stabin Swen had gane one Dotlrn givingtno Vegans large ‘canard wihtrallagedge laps or blevatos. Thain thetakoct or Tundiagresime the Viggeahaslit Frey hema in, ps eo thotppod eamard alusLitisa thedowawerdslepressed ain | ‘wing slevons Inmostrogimessbutparticulrly Below: This Mirage ofthe French Armee dal Atrisumwiting]y Fastor han necessary becauseat hey oleyon download. Upthrust is Better than Downthrust Tost winglt $i, Above: Tailessdeltashaveto thrust dowawardswith great force thereat ofthe wingtotakvatt land, adding'weight "just at e worst possible ine Below: Ta contrat the Viggen tatty acing if from flapped canard freplane. My toa) /4 i i ‘The Technology of Air Combat thigh AOA, the Vigen’s canard fenerate powerful vortices ol Fapidlyepinningatr which writho back behind Ups ead scrubtie upper surfaces of the cuter wing Vertices can be advantageous sich conditions iaputtingenergy it he bunny ayer a arin contact ith the wing par Surface and. by preven this layer rem bocoming slugaiah, avoid flow breakaway. ‘The rows of small blades called tubilstonsor vortex generators frociently senclong wings oon ale, are aed for procieety thie purpese. The jagged Aiscontinultiesen fighter bins tilgieknaien mlogteth crate ‘oworul vortices andsodatho Tenbesatleedingedgereot tensions on sch atest asthe Ftd F/A-16, Thosharp chines ‘along ie SR-71 Blackbird can also {Senarte lange vorticsbut in ack, fre for maintaining edequate ‘ratereock divetional ory) ‘abulty

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