IAF – Page 51 – Air Marshal's Perspective

March 2, 2021December 27, 2024

60: Talk on “Modernisation and technology advancement in IAF” during Technovanja of VJTI

Coming up Q & A Session

(It was fun interacting with the College students. They asked some very pertinent questions)

March 1, 2021December 27, 2024

59: FOURTH GENERATION FIGHTER AIRCRAFT

Categorization of fighter jets in generations is a classification system used around the world. The basic classification into five generations is widely accepted and recognized. Some accounts have subdivided the 4th generation into 4 and 4.5, or 4+ and 4++.

Fourth generation jet fighters (1970 to late 1980s)

These fighters debuted in the mid-1970s and are still in use in most of the air forces of the world. This generation is the longest lasting of the five generations so far.

This generation fighter jets are mostly multirole aircraft with the ability to switch and swing roles between air-to-air and air-to-ground, as opposed to the previous role-dedicated aircraft. This in turn blurred the distinction between air defence and ground attack missions.

Fly-by-wire control systems improved the maneuverability of these aircraft at the expense of aerodynamic stability.

These aircraft introduced more efficient and powerful turbofan jet engines, allowing thrust-to-weight ratios of greater than one.

Use of composite materials in their construction revolutionized the stealth technology.

Electronics was the most essential part of these aircraft including ‘look-down’ doppler fire-control radars, integral and podded EO/IR targeting sensors, laser and GPS- guided precision weapons, active air-to-air missiles, heads-up displays, and improved electronic warfare systems.

According to available sources, fighters in this generation include the following:-

Grumman F-14 Tomcat
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-31
Sukhoi Su-27
Yakovlev Yak-38
Panavia Tornado
Dassault Mirage 2000
Saab Viggen
Mitsubishi F-2
AIDC Ching-Kuo
Chengdu J-10
Hindustan LCA

Coming Up: Generation wise description (4.5 to 6th)

References:

https://www.airforce-technology.com/features/top-sixth-generation-fighter-jets/

https://www.sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Air-Combat-Seminar-summary-AndrewMcL.pdf

https://www.fighterworld.com.au/az-of-fighter-aircraft/five-generations-of-jets

http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/2005/articles/oct_05/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_generation_fighter

https://www.airforce-technology.com/features/top-sixth-generation-fighter-jets/?utm_source=Army%20Technology&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=Must%20Read&utm_content=Image

https://migflug.com/jetflights/fighter-jet-generations/

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0182.shtml

Comments and value additions are most welcome

February 27, 2021December 27, 2024

57: THIRD GENERATION FIGHTER AIRCRAFT

Third generation jet fighters (early 1960s to 1970)

The Third generation of fighters were designed to be multirole fighters capable of performing both air defense and ground attack missions. They could carry a wide range of weapons and other ordnance such as air-to-ground missiles and laser-guided bombs, while also able to engage in air-to-air interception beyond visual range.

These aircraft were capable of sustained supersonic flight, carried improved fire control radars and semi-active air-to-air missiles and the first generation of tactical electronic warfare systems.

The advent of more economical turbofan engines brought extended range and sortie times, increased thrust, better performance and maneuverability. Some designers even resorted to variable geometry or vectored thrust.

This generation witnessed signiﬁcant enhancements in the avionic suites and weapon The supporting avionics included pulse-doppler radar, off-sight targeting and terrain-warning systems. Doppler radar supported a ‘lookdown/shoot-down’ capability, and with oﬀ-bore-sight targeting and semi-active guided radio frequency missiles.