Uncategorized - Air Marshal's Perspective

March 1, 2021September 27, 2021

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 28, 2021September 27, 2021

INTERESTING TIDBIT ABOUT: GENESIS OF BOYD’S OODA LOOP THEORY

John Richard Boyd (January 23, 1927 – March 9, 1997) was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant in the second half of the 20th century.

Boyd’s key concept was that of the decision cycle or OODA loop, the process by which an entity (either an individual or an organization) reacts to an event.

Genesis

In the era of 1950s air warfare, there was a peculiar anomaly. In dog fights between MiG-15s and F-86s, the plane that was expected to win (the MiG-15) constantly lost. To explore this, Colonel John Boyd (one of the best Air Force pilots in history) decided to research and get to the root of the situation. The question was, how could an inferior aircraft win so decisively?

Boyd’s Analysis: The reason, he concluded, was something that nobody had thought was particularly important. It was the fact that the F-86 Sabre had a hydraulic flight stick whereas the MiG-15 had a manual flight stick. Without hydraulics, it took slightly more physical energy to move the MiG-15 flight stick than it did the F-86 flight stick. Even though the MiG-15 would turn faster (or climb higher) once the stick was moved, the amount of energy it took to move the stick was greater for the MiG-15 pilot. With each iteration, the MiG-15 pilot grew a little more fatigued than the F-86 pilot. And as he got more fatigued, it took just a little bit longer to complete his OODA loop. The MiG-15 pilot didn’t lose because he got outfought. He lost because he got out-OODAed.

These insights lead us to Boyd’s Theory of OODA LOOP. In the aerial dogfight, the loop looks like this…

Observe the other aircraft

Orient yourself by analyzing the situation

Decide what to do

Act (steer or fire)

OODA Cycle Theory.

Boyd hypothesized that all intelligent organisms and organizations undergo a continuous cycle of interaction with their environment. Boyd breaks this cycle down to four interrelated and overlapping processes through which one cycles continuously:

Observation: the collection of data by means of the senses
Orientation: the analysis and synthesis of data to form one’s current mental perspective
Decision: the determination of a course of action based on one’s current mental perspective
Action: the physical playing-out of decisions

This decision cycle is thus known as the OODA loop. Boyd theorized that large organizations such as corporations, governments, or militaries possessed a hierarchy of OODA loops at tactical, grand-tactical (operational art), and strategic levels. It is relevant to any kind of competitive environment: business, politics, sports, even the struggle of organisms to survive.

References:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/research-reveals-four-steps-learn-faster-better-than-everyone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boyd_(military_strategist)

Pic Courtesy: https://online.visual-paradigm.com/knowledge/decision-analysis/what-is-ooda-loop/

February 27, 2021September 27, 2021

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.