{"id":1634,"date":"2012-11-21T12:52:03","date_gmt":"2012-11-21T12:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=1634"},"modified":"2012-11-21T12:52:03","modified_gmt":"2012-11-21T12:52:03","slug":"fifth-generation-fighter-jets-a-chinese-russian-and-us-arms-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fifth-generation-fighter-jets-a-chinese-russian-and-us-arms-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifth generation fighter jets – A Chinese, Russian, Indian and US arms race."},"content":{"rendered":"

Stealth fighter jets introduced – New technology means new possibilities.<\/h2>\n

Fifth generation fighters are the most technologically advanced jets ever built. They were designed to operate with the help of digital programs and fly-by-wire to counter the threats they counter on the battlefield. Sophisticated avionics, stealth technology and super maneuvrability are just a few advantages over older jets that gives them domination in the sky. Being invisible to the enemies is a priority for the engineers, but it is also an extremely hard\u00a0task for them. The stealth technology is a complex and advanced range of techniques which makes the aircraft (or any other vehicle) less visible to the opponent\u2019s radars, and therefore reduces the chance of being detected. Appropriate design, smooth surfaces, electronic countermeasures and many others, are certain issues for the aircraft companies to deal with. Each fighter jet requires an appropriate mix of these techniques. Stealth design features enforces complex shape of the whole construction. Plain surfaces reduce the radar bounce-off and specially shaped exhaust nozzles reduce the IR radiation. Also the engines are located in body of the plane in order to hide as much of the heat-signature as possible. Special radars also have to be developed since the enemies can detect the aircraft’s own radar emissions.\u00a0All these aspects have to be taken into account by engineers and this makes the designing extremely complex and expensive. That is the reason why only a few countries have decided to pursue the development of fifth generation fighter jets.<\/p>\n

Lockheed F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lighting II \u2013 Worthy successors to today\u2019s kings of the sky?<\/h2>\n
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Two F-35A Lightning II – long range test flight<\/p><\/div>\n

The United States Air Force undertook the Advance Tactical Fighter program in the mid 1980’s. Two air superiority fighters to replace F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon have since then been developed. In 2005 the first fifth generation fighter jet the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor was introduced by the USAF. It is an air superiority, supersonic, highly maneuverable stealth-featuring fighter equipped with state of the art weapons and electronics.\u00a0It has supercruise at Mach 1.8, which means fly at Mach 1.8 without the use of afterburners.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/CneqtCyA6zg<\/p>\n

The F-22 has never been sold to a foreign country. Even though it was expensive, the US let Lockheed Martin built another fifth generation fighter – The F-35 Lighning II. The aircraft is similar to the F-22 in terms of stealth and having top modern weapons, but it was built in three different variants because it was planned to be used by both the Marines, Air Force and Navy and therefore needed to have STOVL and Vertical Take off and Landing features. The equipment and performance can be changed depending on the mission, for example, if the objective does not require stealth technology the external pylons for weapons or fuel can be loaded (which increases the not only the weapons load but also the radar-visibility).\u00a0This fighter got extremely expensive because to build a fifth generation aircraft capable of doing\u00a0vertical takeoffs and landings proved itself to be extremely complex. The project has currently cost the US tax payers over 1 trillion dollars, and is by that the most expensive aircraft program ever<\/a>.<\/p>\n