In the Korean War, the U.S. Air Force had shot down between six and 10 enemy fighters for every one of its aircraft lost in air-to-air combat. As a tactical fighter aircraft, the F-5N accommodates a pilot only in a pressurized, heated and air conditioned cockpit and rocket-powered ejection seat while the F-5F is a two-seat combat- capable fighter. [21][22] The Super Hornet was also fitted with IRST [23] although not integrated but rather as a pod that needs to attached on one of the hardpoints. However, the Phantoms proliferated around the world. Israeli upgrades contributed to the Turkish air forces Terminator 2020, which has additional wing strakes for improved maneuverability. Jet fighter generations classify the major technology leaps in the historical development of the jet fighter. The Phantom still sees service. ; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may . From the start of the new millennium, advanced systems concepts such as smart helmets, sensor/data fusion and subsidiary attack drones were becoming realities. Also From TNI: Donald Trump: The Worst President Ever? The advent of more economical turbofan engines brought extended range and sortie times, while increased thrust could only partly deliver better performance and manoeuvrability across the speed range. So they began searching for another way to power their aircraft: jet propulsion. ", "Characterization of Radar Cross Section of Carbon Fiber Composite Materials", "Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Analysis 2002. . The Falcon missiles were even worse, and the Pentagon later withdrew them from service. [22] Many of these types remain in frontline service in 2022. Furthermore, the Phantoms J79 engines produced thick black smoke, which combined with the aircrafts larger size, made it easier to spot and target from a distance. The General Dynamics F-16 introduced electronic flight control and wing-body blending, while the Saab 37 Viggen broke new ground in aerodynamic configuration with its canard foreplanes. In response to the increasing American emphasis on radar-evading stealth designs, Russia turned to alternate sensors, with emphasis on IRST sensors, first introduced on the American F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger fighters in the 1960s, for detection and tracking of airborne targets. Germany flew upgraded F-4Fs until 2013, and maintains them in stock in case of future need. ", "Did China downgrade its J-20 stealth fighter from 5th generation to 4th? Its a heavy, twin-engine, two-seat fighterand an agile dogfighter. They were also the first cadre of multi-role fighters such as the MiG-23, F-4, and Mirage III. France introduced its first indigenous AESA radar, the RBE2-AESA built by Thales in February 2012[19] for use on the Rafale. More than 5,000 of these heavy supersonic fighters were built, and hundreds continue to serve and even see combat in several air forces today. Its a heavy, twin-engine, two-seat fighterand an agile dogfighter. The early Phantoms could carry 18,000 pounds of munitionsthree times what the huge B-17 bombers of World War II typically carried. 9 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (Mach 2) Via NASA Starfighter, the name alone sounds fast and deadly. In some cases, such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-35 developed from the MiG-29 with fifth-generation avionics, the upgrade has been classed as fully fifth generation. Navy pilots went on to score a superior kill ratio over Vietnam of 40 victories for seven planes lost in air-to-air combat. Using this method, German MiG-29 using helmet-displayed IRST systems were able to acquire a missile lock with greater efficiency than USAF F-16 in wargame exercises. In practice, air-to-air missiles of the time, despite being responsible for the vast majority of air-to-air victories, were relatively unreliable, and combat would quickly become subsonic and close-range. Nevertheless, the low dogfight loss-exchange ratios experienced by American fighters in the skies over Vietnam led the U.S. Navy to establish its famous "TOPGUN" fighter weapons school, which provided a graduate-level curriculum to train fleet fighter pilots in advanced Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) and Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) tactics and techniques. Developments in fighter jet technology included making them faster, more maneuverable and extending their range and payload capabilities among others. Before, some Phantom units made do with external gun pods that vibrated excessively. IRST sensors have now become standard on Russian aircraft. The sharing of targeting and sensor data allows pilots to put radiating, highly visible sensors further from enemy forces, while using those data to vector silent fighters toward the enemy. The US-produced Century Series, Mirage III, English Electric Lightning and MiG-21 are all quintessential second generation fighters. But when the F-4 confronted the lighter-weight MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters of the North Vietnamese air force in 1965, the Phantom suffered. Iran received 225 F-4s from the United States prior to the Iranian Revolution. - Thecompares.net", "With the J20 stealth fighter in fully operation service, China leaps ahead in Asian arms race", "China racing for 6th-gen fighter edge over US", "China Is Working On Its Own Sixth-Generation Fighter Program: Official", "The First Sixth-Generation Aircraft Ever, the B-21 Raider Is "a Bomber Like No Other", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jet_fighter_generations&oldid=1142322843, Early supersonic, radar, air-to-air missiles, Supersonic (limited purpose), Mach 2 air-to-air missiles only, Supersonic multirole, high efficiency, high maneuverability, Enhanced capabilities, advanced avionics, limited stealth, Advanced integrated avionics, low observable stealth, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 19:39. Air combat manoeuvring also involves a great deal of energy management to maintain speed and altitude under rapidly changing flight conditions. The concept of a third generation fighter is perhaps best exemplified by the F-4 Phantom, an aircraft synonymous with the Vietnam War. This page was last edited on 8 January 2021, at 15:03 (UTC). At the same time, the increasing cost of military aircraft in general and the demonstration of the success of aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom II gave rise to the popularity of multi-role fighter aircraft in line . When the F-4 came out it in 1958 it was a revolutionary designone that went on to set several aviation records. With only a few exceptions, most first gen fighters were considerably faster than the pistons they replaced. Ground fire shot down 474 Phantoms in all services, as the heavy-lifting Phantom fighters did double duty as ground-attack aircraft. A European consortium GTDAR is developing an AESA Euroradar CAPTOR radar for future use on the Typhoon. Beginning in the mid-1960s, third gen fighters were installed with externally mounted targeting pods for precision-guided munitions (PGMs) further increasing their effectiveness as fighter-bombers particularly. [11] The MiG-35 with its RD-33OVT engines with the vectored thrust nozzles allows it to be the first twin-engined aircraft with vectoring nozzles that can move in two directions (that is, 3D TVC). Infrared-homing AAMs saw their fields of view expand to 45, which strengthened their tactical usability. The United States defines 4.5-generation fighter aircraft as fourth-generation jet fighters that have been upgraded with AESA radar, high-capacity data-link, enhanced avionics, and "the ability to deploy current and reasonably foreseeable advanced armaments". These formed the backbone of the Iranian fighter force during the nine-year-long war with Iraq. 10/10 Shenyang J-8B Finback (Mach 1.8) China's first home-produced supersonic fighter? The F-5 also has anti-skid brakes, Initial Navigation System (INS), ALR-87 Radar Warning Receivers (RWR), AN/APQ-159 radar and ALE-40 chaff/flare capability. Recognizing the increased obsolescence of fourth generation fighters, but also the lack of funding for new fighters nearing and following the end of the Cold War, aircraft manufacturers began developing what are sometimes called 4.5 generation fighters. The Israeli Phantoms primary targetand most deadly foeduring these campaigns were Arab surface-to-air missile batteries. The F-5F is a dual-seat version, twin-engine, tactical fighter commonly used for training and adversary combat tactics. The gun was de-emphasized and, in some cases, eliminated. ", "Does China's J-20 rival other stealth fighters? The Pentagon later converted some into QF-4 target practice drones. Single-Seat Supersonic Interceptor Aircraft, Single-Seat, Single-Engine Supersonic Interceptor Aircraft, Long-Range Strategic Medium Bomber / Tactical Strike Aircraft, VTOL Strike / Reconnaissance / Trainer Aircraft, Single-Seat High-Speed Fighter / Interceptor Aircraft, Multirole / Carrierbased Fighter / Strike Fighter Aircraft, Twin-Engine Interceptor / Reconnaissance Aircraft, Single-Seat Jet-Powered Fighter / Fighter-Bomber Aircraft, Supersonic Jet-Powered Fighter / Interceptor Aircraft, Single-Seat Fighter-Bomber / Air Superiority / Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft, Single-Seat Fighter-Bomber / Reconnaissance / Wild Weasel. The Phantom reportedly acquitted itself well versus Iraqi MiGs, and carried out several long-range raids on the Iraqi airfields. [5][6] This effectively condensed the previous classifications to three generations. The F-16 is a highly successful, single-seat fighter jet recognized for its versatility & effectiveness. The Fourth Generation Fighter is the modern standard in combat warplanes. Check 'third-generation jet fighter' translations into Hebrew. A fifth-generation fighter is a jet fighter aircraft classification which includes major technologies developed during the first part of the 21st century. The Falcon missiles were even worse, and the Pentagon later withdrew them from service. Japan maintains the same number of F-4EJ Kais upgraded with pulse-Doppler radars and anti-ship missiles. Full-span leading-edge flaps work in conjunction with trailing-edge flaps and are operated by a control on the pilot's throttle quadrant. Third gen fighters were also designed to host an equally wide range of weapons, from air-to-air missiles, to air-to-surface missiles and laser guided bombs (LGBs). 9/10 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (Mach 2) Classification of fighter aircraft c.19702000. [+] China's new multi-role fighter jet J-10C began combat duty Monday, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force announced. In one engagement on the first day of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, 28 Egyptian MiGs attacked Ofir Air Base. Vietnam had been a war that didnt just need multirole fighter-bombers, but aircraft that were as maneuverable as they fast. This produces a corkscrew effect, further enhancing the turning capability of the aircraft. However, the F-4s problems began to recede. Third generation jet fighters (early 1960s to 1970) This generation witnessed improvements in manoeuvrability, and significant enhancements to the avionic suites and weapon systems. South Korea still has 71 F-4Es (only modestly upgraded) in its 17th Fighter Wing. KAI KF-21 Boramae is a purpose-built joint South Korean/Indonesian 4.5-generation fighter program. Fifth gen fighters have inherited the maneuverability of their fourth and 4.5 gen predecessors (and are arguably more so) but have lost some of the speed associated with these generations due to more pressing operational requirements. The fourth-generation fighter is a class of jet fighters in service from around 1980 to the present, and represents design concepts of the 1970s. Key point:The F-4 served for a long time and even now serve as target practice drones. Enhancements to improve the aerodynamic performance of third-generation fighters included flight control surfaces such as canards, powered slats, and blown flaps. The term generation first appeared in the 1990s, according to the Royal Australian Air Force's Air Power Development Centre Bulletin: "to make sense of the leap-frogging improvements in performance to jet fighter aircraft brought about through major advances in aircraft design, avionics, and weapon systems", and proposes that a . Similarly, new aerodynamic inventions such as swing wings and/or variable thrust were used on many third gen fighters, helping increase both speed and range as well. More . While guns remained standard equipment (early models of F-4 being a notable exception), air-to-air missiles became the primary weapons for air superiority fighters, which employed more sophisticated radars and medium-range RF AAMs to achieve greater "stand-off" ranges, however, kill probabilities proved unexpectedly low for RF missiles due to poor reliability and improved electronic countermeasures (ECM) for spoofing radar seekers. The only other frontline fighter to serve in all three services before or since is the F-35. More. Not really. The Phantoms fundamental flaws were corrected by 1970while more recently, Phantoms have had their avionics and ordnance upgraded to modern standards. In December 1970, Northrop Grumman began development and production on the F-5A-21, an aircraft design that emphasized maneuverability rather than high speed and was officially reclassified as the F-5E. An RF-4 reconnaissance plane was shot down over Syria in 2012, and three F-4s crashed in 2015earning them the appellation Flying Coffins in the Turkish media. The three-dimensional TVC nozzles of the Sukhoi Su-30MKI are mounted 32 outward to longitudinal engine axis (i.e. Despite numerous shortcomings that would be not be fully addressed until newer fighters, the Phantom claimed 280 aerial kills, more than any other U.S. fighter over Vietnam. in the horizontal plane) and can be deflected 15 in the vertical plane. Late to the party, the J-8B was a third gen fighter while the competition had moved on. Many 4.5 generation fighters incorporate some low-observable features. In reality that's exactly what Lockheed delivered. The development of second-generation fighters were shaped by technological breakthroughs, lessons learned from the aerial battles of the Korean War, and a focus on conducting operations in a nuclear warfare environment. The Anglo-American Harrier II and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 highlighted extreme manoeuvrability with, respectively, strengthened exhaust nozzles for viffing (vectoring in forward flight) and manoeuvring control at high angles of attack as in Pugachev's Cobra. [24] The IAI Lavi used an S-duct air intake to prevent radar waves from reflecting off the engine compressor blades, an important aspect of fifth-generation fighter aircraft to reduce frontal RCS. Hoh, Roger H. and David G. Mitchell. [citation needed]) They had little or no avionics, with their primary armament being manually-controlled guns. "Flying Qualities of Relaxed Static Stability Aircraft - Volume I: Flying Qualities Airworthiness Assessment and Flight Testing of Augmented Aircraft." The Israelis pioneered the art of Phantom upgrades in the 1980s with the Phantom 2000 Kurnass, or Sledgehammer. Though retired from Israeli service in 2004, Israeli firms went on to upgrade Greeces 41 Peace Icarus Phantoms, equipping them with ANPG-65 pulse-Doppler radars and the ability to fire AMRAAM missiles. While exceptionally fast in a straight line, many third-generation fighters severely lacked in manoeuvrability, as doctrine held that traditional dogfighting would be impossible at supersonic speeds. All developed and/or introduced in between 1960-1975. The requirements for such a fighter remain under debate. Many also have new types of avionics such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and/or infra-red search and tracking (IRST). The F-15 is also deliberately unlike the F-4. This will spread the energy of a radar pulse over several frequencies, so as not to trip the radar warning receivers that all aircraft carry. For the purposes of this article, we will be using the most widely used and accepted consensus regarding which aircraft are in which generation and the notion of five generations over four. The only other frontline fighter to serve in all three services before or since is the F-35. Powerplant reliability increased and jet engines became "smokeless" to make it harder to visually sight aircraft at long distances. On the other hand, the rules-of-engagement over Vietnam prohibited U.S. pilots from shooting at unidentified targets beyond visual range, further crippling the advantages of the missiles. Salomon has been interested in aviation ever since his parents took him on a Boeing 720 to see his relatives. [28], John W.R. Taylor and John F. Guilmartin; ". There is a printable worksheet available for download here so you can take the quiz with pen and paper. [2] Other schemes comprising five generations up to around the same period have since been described, although the demarcation lines between generations differ. As advances in stealthy materials and design methods enabled smoother airframes, such technologies began to be retrospectively applied to existing fighter aircraft. But its somewhat of an anomaly. One of the innovations on fourth-generation jet fighters is FBW, while generation 4.5 introduced AESA radar. With the end of war in 1918 saw the end of this progress. Due to their advanced age, first generation fighters have been retired for a considerable length of time, now finding themselves primarily as museum exhibits, whilst a few remain in airworthy condition as warbirds. Many types were soon compromised by adaptations for battlefield support roles, and some of these would persist in new variants for multiple generations.[17]. These are a few of the preferred methods employed in some fifth-generation fighters to reduce RCS.[25][26]. The Israelis pioneered the art of Phantom upgrades in the 1980s with the Phantom 2000 Kurnass, or Sledgehammer. Though retired from Israeli service in 2004, Israeli firms went on to upgrade Greeces 41 Peace Icarus Phantoms, equipping them with ANPG-65 pulse-Doppler radars and the ability to fire AMRAAM missiles. Indeed, fourth gen fighters are among the fastest aircraft ever built even faster than their fifth gen counterparts. Over the course of the 1960s, increasing combat experience with guided missiles demonstrated that combat would devolve into close-in dogfights. But when the F-4 confronted the lighter-weight MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters of the North Vietnamese air force in 1965, the Phantom suffered. When the F-4 came out it in 1958 it was a revolutionary designone that went on to set several aviation records. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. A number of new 4.5 generation types are being developed in the 2020s, post the emergence of the true 5th generation and contemporaneous with 6th generation aircraft development, these include the HAL Tejas MK 1A, CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder Block 3, and KAI KF-21 Boramae.[23][13][9]. Due to the dramatic enhancement of capabilities in these upgraded fighters and in new designs of the 1990s that reflected these new capabilities, they have come to be known as 4.5generation. [6] Although details differ, the basic classification into five generations has since been widely adopted.[7][8][9]. Fifth-generation abilities for battlefield survivability, air superiority and ground support are being enhanced and adapted to the future threat environment. The 4.5-generation fighters have introduced integrated IRST systems, such as the Dassault Rafale featuring the optronique secteur frontal integrated IRST. Direct government involvement was spared for those manufacturers located in countries like Germany and Japan, whose leaders had embarked on projects of aggressive military expansionism and needed brand new, state-of-the-art fighter aircraft to do this. The Air Forces Phantoms claimed 107 air-to-air kills for 33 lost to MiGs, and the Marine Corps claimed three. 3rd generation fighter jet are mainly developed between 1960s to 1970s.. This is a detailed video on 3nd Generation Jet Fighter, Evolution Of Jet Fighters. The next generation of fighters were designed from the start to be multi-role. As combat aircraft are essentially weapons platforms, these capabilities mean that the F-4s can handle most of the same offensive tasks a fourth-generation F-15 or Su-27 fighter can do. Worse, American pilots werent trained for close range dogfights, as the Air Force assumed air-to-air engagements would occur at long range with missiles. J-7s, copies of the Soviet MiG-21, were . 3rd Generation of jet fighters. Some designers resorted to variable geometry or vectored thrust in an attempt to reconcile these opposites. The Navy, in contrast, perceived the problem as being a lack of Air Combat Maneuvering training, and instituted the Top Gun training program in 1968. (Recommended: 5 Greatest Fighter Planes of All-Time). [3] A NASA web publication divides jet development into five stages; pioneer (straight wing), swept wing, transonic, the 1960s and 1970s on, culminating in types such as the F-15, F-16 and AV-8A. and integrated engines. These formed the backbone of the Iranian fighter force during the nine-year-long war with Iraq. The term is used for those aircraft designs bridging the gap between the developments of the 1960s and 1970s and those appearing today under the Fifth Generation Fighter classification. The primary sensor for all modern fighters is radar. The American Century series such as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, as well as the Russian MiG-21, English Electric Lightning and French Dassault Mirage III were typical of this era. The Korean War of 1950-1953 forced a major rethink. To increase situational awareness and coordination, most fifth gen fighters have networked data fusion, allowing fifth gen fighters to talk to other allied fifth gen fighters nearby. The huge advance of digital computation and mobile networking, which began in the 1990s, led to a new model of sophisticated forward C3 (command, control and communications) presence above the battlefield. The U.S. explored fitting the technology to the F-16 and the F-15, but did not introduce it until the fifth generation arrived. When the F-15 and the lighter F-16 saw their first major air action over Lebanon in 1982, they shot down more than 80 Syrian third-generation MiGs at no loss. Such a 4th generation aircraft requires a computerised FBW flight control system (FLCS) to maintain its desired flight path.[10]. Air-to-air missile technology dramatically improved with later versions of the Sparrow and Sidewinder. Other famous third generation fighters include the Dassault Mirage F1, Hawker Siddeley Harrier, and MiG-23 . Key Point:The Phantom has proven both versatile and adaptable over time. The third generation was a continuation in researches of advanced avionics, aerodynamics performance and air guided missiles. For instance, modernized F-4s have improved Heads Up Displays (HUDs) so that pilots dont have to look down from the canopy to check on their instruments. [4][5] Contemporary examples of 4.5-generation fighters are the Sukhoi Su-30SM/Su-34/Su-35,[6] the J-15B/J-16 claimed to have AESA,[7] the Chengdu J-10C, the Mikoyan MiG-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale, the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Lockheed Martin F-16E/F/V Block 70/72, McDonnell Douglas F-15E/EX Strike Eagle/Eagle II, HAL Tejas MK1A,[8] JF-17 block III and the Mitsubishi F-2.[9]. Combining many of the developments originally designed for fifth generation fighters with the technology on already-proven fourth generation fighters, 4.5 gen fighters arent distinct enough to be their own separate generation but are unique enough to not fit into the classification of either fourth or fifth generation fighters. Indeed, the notion of a generation fighter isnt even that old: it was coined in the 1990s and is generally associated with the US aviation industry by the international community as a whole. The Panavia Tornado remained multi-role and developed a defensive/offensive sensor, avionics and weapons suite especially capable of anti-radar and anti-missile ground attack, while the Lockheed F-117 introduced stealth as a design concept. Though most were originally designed expressly as fighters, many air forces used them in multirole capacities, particularly as fighter-bombers, interceptors and night fighters (by virtue of their advanced onboard radars). Air-to-air missile technology dramatically improved with later versions of the Sparrow and Sidewinder. Perhaps the most famous 4.5 generation fighters include the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, MiG-35, F/A-18 Hornet and Saab Gripen. Supercruise 2 SRAAM 6 MRAAM", "Le radar RBE2, l'arme fatale du Rafale l'export", "Type Acceptance for Block 5 Standard Eurofighter Typhoon. The F-4 saw extensive use in Israeli service, scoring 116 air-to-air kills against the Egyptian and Syrian air forces, starting in 1969 during the War of Attrition. As a passive sensor, it has limited range, and contains no inherent data about position and direction of targetsthese must be inferred from the images captured. Easyby integrating the same modern hardware used in the fourth generation. The Pakistani/Chinese JF-17 (block-3 variant) and China's Chengdu J-10B/C use a diverterless supersonic inlet, while India's HAL Tejas uses Weighing in at 30,000 pounds unloaded, its enormous J79 twin engines gave (and still gives) the aircraft excellent thrust, propelling the heavy airframe over twice the speed of sound at a maximum speed of 1,473 miles per hour. The F-5 was developed by Northrop Grumman for export through the Military Assistance Program (MAP) in February 1965. Not really. It is one of the best fighter jets in the world. Third-generation fighters were often designed primarily as interceptors, being built around speed and air-to-air missiles. The Phantom reportedly acquitted itself well versus Iraqi MiGs, and carried out several long-range raids on the Iraqi airfields. [12] The technology has been fitted to the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut and later derivatives. For the next-generation F-22 and F-35, the U.S. will use low probability of intercept capacity. But surely the electronics and instruments are out of date? A few even have varying degrees of AI installed to assist the pilot during flight, especially in a dogfight! When the F-15 and the lighter F-16 saw their first major air action over Lebanon in 1982, they shot down more than 80 Syrian third-generation MiGs at no loss. Combined with a thrust-to-weight ratio above unity, this enabled it to maintain near-zero airspeed at high angles of attack without stalling, and perform novel aerobatics such as Pugachev's Cobra. The ambitious project sought to create a versatile common fighter for many roles and services. The supremacy of the fourth-generation was confirmed again in the Gulf War, in which Iraqi fighters shot down only one fourth-generation fighter (an F/A-18 Hornet) for the loss of 33 of their third-generation aircraft. Federal Aviation Administration (DOT/FAA/CT-82/130-I), September 1983. pp. The faceting reflected radar beams highly directionally, leading to brief "twinkles", which detector systems of the day typically registered as noise, but even with digital FBW stability and control enhancement, the aerodynamic performance penalties were severe and the F-117 found use principally in the night ground-attack role. The General Dynamics YF-16, eventually developed into the F-16 Fighting Falcon, was the world's first aircraft intentionally designed to be slightly aerodynamically unstable. Baker 2018, Chapter 3: Generation Rising. The Hawker Hunter appeared too late for the war but was widely used and took part in several later ones. 9/10 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (Mach 2) The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a legendary aircraft an icon of the Vietnam War and the archetype of the third-generation jet fighter designs that entered service in the 1960s. WWII-style manual guns werent particularly effective at the speeds most first gen fighters flew at, necessitating the need for much faster air-to-air missiles. 11ff. The F-5N is a single seat, twin-engine, tactical fighter and attack aircraft providing simulated air-to-air combat training manufactured by Northrop Grumman Corporation. Subsequent types include the Lockheed Martin F-35, Chengdu J-20,[24] and Sukhoi Su-57. These modernized Phantoms flown by the Turkish and Greek air forces can do pretty much what an F-15 can do at a much lower price. In Vietnam, the ratio was closer to two to one (including other aircraft types besides the Phantom). This would leave third-generation fighters vulnerable and ill-equipped, renewing an interest in manoeuvrability for the fourth generation of fighters. The 3rd Generation Fighter crop was headlined by such classic types as the American Century series and Soviet MiG-17 and MiG-21 types. These are the fastest third-generation jet fighters. The concept of a third generation fighter is perhaps best exemplified by the F-4 Phantom, an aircraft synonymous with the Vietnam War. How could the F-4 possibly keep up in this new environment? Germany flew upgraded F-4Fs until 2013, and maintains them in stock in case of future need. These aging aircraft will be replaced by low-houred F-5N/F acquired from the Swiss Air Force surplus by United States Navy (USN). First shown in 1960, the J-8 appeared in various . Propulsion: (2) J85-GE-21C turbojet engines each producing 5,000 pounds (2,273 kg) of thrust.
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