Coming up Q & A Session
(It was fun interacting with the College students. They asked some very pertinent questions)
54: CLASSIFICATION OF JET FIGHTERS: GENERATIONS
Categorization of fighter jets in generations is a classification system used around the world. I have always maintained that this is a broad concept with hazy demarcation lines. Although dependent upon the advancement of technology it does not define specific features or capabilities and has a large scope for difference of opinion. Recent discussion with Former CAS, Air Chief Marshal NC Suri, triggered the quest for further research and study of the subject. Sharing few of the related aspects.
Classification. Relevant aspects are as follows:
- This method of categorization is unofficial because there is no authorized classification concept based on features or performance of aircraft.
- There is no clearly defined line between successive generations. Different authorities have identified different technology jumps as the key ones, dividing fighter development into different numbers of generations.
- Each category represents a certain class of technology used in the aircraft: avionics, systems, design, features, engines and weapons etc. Higher generation means a more technologically advanced aircraft.
- A Generational shift in jet fighter aircraft occurs when a technological innovation cannot be incorporated into an existing aircraft through upgrades and retrospective fit-outs.
- The criteria for the various generations are not universally accepted and are subject to differing opinions.
Genesis.
- The origin of the generational categorization of jet combat aircraft is debatable.
- The usage appears to have first appeared in Russia during the mid-1990s when officials were planning a competitor to the American Joint Strike Fighter. They categorized previous fighters into four categories and concluded that the next one would be in the fifth generation.
- Aviation Week correspondent Bill Sweetman claims it originated from within Lockheed Martin’s business development machine shortly after the X-35 was declared the successful JSF solution in 2001.
Previous attempts at Classification
- In 1990 air historian Richard P. Hallion proposed a classification of jet fighters into six generations up to that time. Some others classified them into five generations up to around the same period.
- Taylor and Guilmartin named four classifications based on the maximum speed; subsonic, transonic, supersonic and Mach 2, and added a fifth “new” generation with multi-mission capability.
- Russian and Chinese observers also categorize aircraft into generations, albeit with differing and broader definitions across fewer generations that relate more towards their own platforms and capabilities.
Accepted Classification Norms. In 2004 Aerospaceweb listed division into five generations. The basic classification into five generations has since been widely accepted. Regardless of their origins Five generations are now widely recognised, with development of a sixth under way. Some accounts have subdivided the 4th generation into 4 and 4.5, or 4+ and 4++.
Coming Up: Generation wise description
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://migflug.com/jetflights/fighter-jet-generations/
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0182.shtml
Comments and value additions are most welcome
50: CHINA THROUGH USA PRISM (Indo – China Perspective) Part – 4
CHINA : NUCLEAR CAPABILITY BUILDING
Annual Report to US Congress. Office of the US secretary of defense recently published the unclassified part of the annual report on military and security developments involving the people’s republic of china. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has been providing this report for the last 20 years.
Excerpts from US Report.
- China’s strategic ambitions, evolving view of the security landscape, and concerns over survivability are driving significant changes to the size, capabilities, and readiness of its nuclear forces.
- China’s nuclear forces will significantly evolve over the next decade as it modernizes, diversifies, and increases the number of its land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms.
- Over the next decade, China’s nuclear warhead stockpile—currently estimated to be in the low- 200s—is projected to at least double in size as China expands and modernizes its nuclear forces.
- China is pursuing a “nuclear triad” with the development of a nuclear capable air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) and improving its ground and sea-based nuclear capabilities.
- New developments in 2019 further suggest that China intends to increase the peacetime readiness of its nuclear forces by moving to a launch-on-warning (LOW) posture with an expanded silo- based force.
Comments
Ambition. China has a global ambition and has clearly articulated her long term vision for improving her strategic capability. Towards this aim she has developed a large scale weapons research, development and manufacturing capability including nuclear weapons. China is modernising and expanding her nuclear arsenal, and is developing the nuclear triad, made up of new land and sea-based missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft.
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