Page 412 - (DK) Smithsinian - Military History: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Objects of Warfare

410 FIGHTER AND STRIKE AIRCRAFT Armed with six .5in machine-guns, Bubble canopy

GE 1945–PRESENT Fighter aircraft have been transformed since the first subsonic jets
plus up to 5,300lb (2,400kg) of
bombs/rockets
fought each other in the Korean War (1950–53). Today, they have the
capacity to travel at over twice the speed of sound, and are also capable
of carrying an enormous weight of missiles, rockets, and bombs—well
in excess of the bomb loads carried by World War II heavy bombers such
as the B17 (see pp.314–17). The most recent advances, however, have
been made in the field of aviation electronics. The latest fly-by-wire (i.e.

be impossible using conventional mechanical or human means, while
weapons can be guided toward their target with pinpoint accuracy.
A computerized) control systems allow a maneuverability that would ▲ NORTH AMERICAN F-86 SABRE Fuel drop tank
Date 1949 Origin US
THE NUCLEAR (left fuselage), plus a single 37mm insignia Top speed 692mph (1,114kph) refueling probe
Wingspan 39 ⁄4ft (11.93m)
1
Polish aviation
3
Armed with two 23mm cannons
Length 38 ⁄4ft (11.84m)
cannon (right fuselage), and up to
Inflight
Engine 5,910lb (26.3kN) General
2,200lb (1,000kg) of bombs/rockets
Electric J73-GE-3D
The first swept-wing fighter in the US
Air Force, the F-86 was also a highly
successful fighter that was able to take
on the MiG-15. Including all variants,
over 9,000 F-86s were built—more
than any other Western jet fighter.
▲ MIKOYAN-GUREVICH MIG-15 The Soviet Union broke new
Date 1949 Origin Soviet Union ground with this advanced fighter
that saw the first ever jet combat
Wingspan 33ft (10.08m)
with the US F-86 over Korea. The
Length 33ft (10m) MiG-15 was also manufactured in Armed with 20mm M61
Top speed 684mph (1,100kph) China, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Gatling Cannon, plus guided
missiles and up to 17,000lb
Engine 5,950lb (26.5kN) Klimov (7,700kg) ordnance
VK-1 turbojet

Variable exhaust
nozzle
Ventral fin (port)
▲ GENERAL DYNAMICS F-16C The multirole F-16 was built in
FIGHTING FALCON response to the US Air Force’s
Date 1978 Origin US demand for a lightweight fighter.
One of the first aircraft to use ▼ BAE HARRIER II GR9A The most advanced of all the Harriers,
Wingspan 32¾ft (9.96m) fly-by-wire controls, it was fast a series that began in 1969, the GR9A
Length 49 ⁄2ft (15.06m) and extremely maneuverable. Date 1989 Origin UK is a Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing
1
1
Wingspan 30 ⁄3ft (9.25m)
Top speed 1,500mph (2,410kph) (V/STOL) jet aircraft. This model is
Length 46 ⁄3ft (14.12m) primarily used as a light strike aircraft.
1
Engine 17,155lb (76.3kN) F110-GE-100
turbofan Top speed 662mph (1,065kph)
Engine 21,750lb (96.7kN) Rolls-Royce
Armed with two 30mm Aden cannon in Pegasus Mk 105 vectored turbofan
underwing pods, plus missiles and up to
8,000lb (3,650kg) other ordnance

Fuel drop tank