An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are capable of being or are employed as both ‘standard’ air superiority fighters and as interceptors are sometimes known as fighter-interceptors. There are two general classes of interceptor: light fighters, designed for high performance over short range; and heavy fighters, which are intended to operate over longer ranges, in contested airspace and adverse meteorological conditions. While the second type was exemplified historically by specialized night fighter and all-weather interceptor designs, the integration of mid-air refueling, satellite navigation, on-board radar and beyond visual range (BVR) missile systems since the 1960s has allowed most frontline fighter designs to fill the roles once reserved for specialised night/all-weather fighters.
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD, pronounced ), also known in the United States as "Wild Weasel" and (initially) "Iron Hand" operations, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses, including not only surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) but also interrelated systems such as early-warning radar and command, control and communication (C3) functions, while also marking other targets to be destroyed by an air strike. Suppression can be accomplished both by physically destroying the systems or by disrupting and deceiving them through electronic warfare. In modern warfare, SEAD missions can constitute as much as 30% of all sorties launched in the first week of combat and continue at a reduced rate through the rest of a campaign. One quarter of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD missions. Despite generally being associated with aircraft, SEAD missions may be performed using any means, including through actions by ground forces.
Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and military flight training which consist of realistic physical recreations of the actual aircraft cockpit, often with a full-motion platform.
F-15 Strike Eagle II is an F-15E Strike Eagle combat flight simulator released in 1989 by MicroProse and is the sequel of F-15 Strike Eagle. It was followed in 1992 by F-15 Strike Eagle III, the final game of the series.
Super Strike Eagle is a 1993 arcade-style combat flight simulation video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was later released in Japan as F-15 Super Strike Eagle.
Fleet Defender is a combat flight simulator published by MicroProse in 1994. The game uses the F-14B version of the F-14 Tomcat even where anachronistic because the developers found the original, underpowered F-14A unforgiving and "not much fun" in an entertainment flight simulator. An expansion pack, Fleet Defender: Scenario, and a port for the PC-98 were released in 1995.
F/A-18 Interceptor is a combat flight simulator developed by Intellisoft and published by Electronic Arts for the Amiga in 1988. The player mainly flies the F/A-18 Hornet, but the F-16 Fighting Falcon is also available for aerobatics, free flight and the first mission. Contrary to the title of the game, the real F/A-18 is not a true interceptor aircraft, having been designed instead as a multirole anti-ship strike fighter.
F-15 Strike Eagle III is an F-15 Strike Eagle combat flight simulator released in 1992 by MicroProse and is the sequel of F-15 Strike Eagle and F-15 Strike Eagle II. It is the final game in the series.
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe is a World War II air-combat combat flight simulation game first released in August 1991 by Lucasfilm Games.
F-117A Stealth Fighter is combat flight simulator for the Nintendo Entertainment System where the player fights enemy aircraft and destroy ground targets.
F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0 is the 1991 remake of the 1988-1990 Cold War combat flight simulator video game F-19 Stealth Fighter by MicroProse, itself a remake of the 1987's Project Stealth Fighter. The original PC version was updated with a corrected aircraft model once the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk was declassified and with 256-color VGA graphics instead of the original's 16-color EGA, among other changes.
Flight of the Intruder is a flight simulator developed by Rowan Software and published by Spectrum HoloByte in 1990 for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 with Imagineering as the developer and Mindscape as the publisher. The game is based on the novel of the same name and received as the successor of the first game of the Falcon video game series.
F-16 Combat Pilot is a 1989 F-16 fighter flight simulator created by British software company Digital Integration Ltd. for Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. It is considered as one of the first combat flight simulators to have a dynamic campaign environment. While the graphics, scenery and audio are quite sparse and basic, the instruments and flight dynamics of a F-16C Fighting Falcon are fully featured and modeled.
Top Gun is a shoot 'em up combat flight simulation game based on the 1986 hit film Top Gun. It was developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in the United States and Canada in November 1987, and then in Europe. It is an adaptation of VS. Top Gun, a 1987 Nintendo VS. System arcade game also by Konami. As the second game to establish the Top Gun game series, it was followed by Top Gun: The Second Mission. It is known for its extremely high difficulty.
Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone is a jet flight simulator from Absolute Entertainment for the Super NES, released in 1994. It is the sequel to Turn and Burn: The F-14 Dogfight Simulator, a Game Boy game which also featured the F-14 Tomcat aircraft. An enhanced port of this game was released as F-14 Tomcat on Game Boy Advance. A Sega Mega Drive version was planned but never released.
Falcon is a combat flight simulator video game and the first official entry in the Falcon series of the F-16 jet fighter's simulators by Spectrum HoloByte. Originally developed by Sphere for Macintosh and MS-DOS in 1987 and ported to several platforms between 1988 and 1992, the game earned commercial success and critical acclaim.
The 58th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 58th Special Operations Wing. It is stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 is an arcade-style combat flight simulator developed by Ubisoft Bucharest and published by Ubisoft. The game is the sequel to Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, released in 2009. The game was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in September 2010, and for Wii and Microsoft Windows in November 2010.
F-117 Night Storm is a Sega Mega Drive-exclusive video game that was released in 1993 by Electronic Arts.
