Fifth-generation fighter | |
---|---|
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II (top) and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor (bottom), two fifth-generation fighters used by the United States Air Force | |
Role | Fighter aircraft |
Manufacturer | |
First flight | 1990 (YF-23) |
Introduction | 2005 (F-22 Raptor) |
Status | In service |
Developed from | Fourth-generation fighter |
Developed into | Sixth-generation fighter |
A fifth-generation fighter is a jet fighter aircraft classification which includes major technologies developed during the first part of the 21st century. As of 2024, [update] these are the most advanced fighters in operation. The characteristics of a fifth-generation fighter are not universally agreed upon, and not every fifth-generation type necessarily has them all; however, they typically include stealth, low-probability-of-intercept radar (LPIR), agile airframes with supercruise performance, advanced avionics features, and highly integrated computer systems capable of networking with other elements within the battlespace for situational awareness and C3 (command, control and communications) capabilities. [1]
As of January 2023, [update] the combat-ready fifth-generation fighters are the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, which entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in December 2005; the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which entered service with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in July 2015; [2] [3] the Chengdu J-20, which entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in March 2017; [4] and the Sukhoi Su-57, which entered service with the Russian Air Force (VVS) on 25 December 2020. [5] Other national and international projects are in various stages of development.
The emerging generation of advanced fighter aircraft in the first decades of the 21st century has come to be known as the fifth generation. [6] The defining characteristics of such a fifth-generation fighter are not universally agreed upon, and not every fifth-generation type necessarily has them all. Some generation counts include more than five leading up to the emerging new generation. [7] [8]
Whereas previous fourth-generation fighters emphasized maneuverability and close-range dogfighting, typical fifth-generation characteristics include: [8] [1]
In order to minimize their radar cross-section (RCS), most fifth-generation fighters use chines instead of standard leading edge extensions and lack canards, though the Sukhoi T-50 has engine intake extensions that seem to function somewhat like canards, and the Chengdu J-20 designers have chosen the agility enhancements of canards in spite of their poor stealth characteristics. [9] They all have twin canted vertical tails (similar to a V-tail) also to minimize side RCS. Most fifth-generation fighters with supermaneuverability achieve it through thrust vectoring.
They all have internal weapon bays in order to avoid high RCS weapon pylons, but they all have external hardpoints on their wings for use on non-stealthy missions, such as the external fuel tanks the F-22 carries when deploying to a new theater.
All fifth-generation fighters have a high percentage of composite materials, in order to reduce RCS and weight.
All revealed fifth-generation fighters use commercial off-the-shelf main processors to directly control all sensors to form a consolidated view of the battlespace with both onboard and networked sensors, while previous-generation jet fighters used federated systems where each sensor or pod would present its own readings for the pilot to combine in their own mind a view of the battlespace. [10] [11] [12] The F-22A was physically delivered without synthetic aperture radar (SAR) or situation awareness infra-red search and track. It will gain SAR later through software upgrades. [13] However, any flaw in these complex software systems can disable supposedly unrelated aircraft systems, and the complexity of a software-defined aircraft can lead to a software crisis with additional costs and delays. [14] [15] By the end of 2013, the biggest concern with the F-35 program was software, especially the software required for data fusion across the many sensors. [16]
Sukhoi calls their expert system for sensor fusion the artificial intelligence of the Su-57. [17] Flight tests of their integrated modular avionics started in 2017 on a fiber optic networked multicore processor system. [18] The system is not without faults. In December 2020, a malfunction with the computer flight control system caused the first production Su-57 to crash. [19]
An automatic software response to an overheat condition apparently has contributed to a crash of an F-22. [20] Issues with the avionics also contributed to an F-35A crash in 2020. [21]
The F-35 uses software-defined radio systems, in which common middleware controls field-programmable gate arrays. [13] Col. Arthur Tomassetti has said that the F-35 is a "software intensive airplane and software is easy to upgrade, as opposed to hardware." [22]
In order to ease the addition of new software features, the F-35 has adopted a kernel and application separation of security responsibilities. [23]
Steve O'Bryan of Lockheed Martin has said that the F-35 may gain the ability to operate UAVs through a future software upgrade. [24] The USN is already planning to place its Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system under the control of a manned aircraft, to act as a flying missile magazine. [25]
The combination of stealthy airframes, stealthy sensors, and stealthy communications is designed to allow fifth-generation fighters to engage other aircraft before those targets are aware of their presence. [26] Lt. Col. Gene McFalls of the USAF has said that sensor fusion will feed into inventory databases to precisely identify aircraft at a distance. [27]
Sensor fusion and automatic target tracking are projected to give the fifth-generation jet fighter pilot a view of the battlespace superior to that of legacy AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft that may be forced back from the front lines by increasing threats. Therefore, tactical control could be shifted forwards to the pilots in the fighters. [28] Michael Wynne, former Secretary of the United States Air Force, has suggested elimination of the Boeing E-3 Sentry and Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS in favor of more F-35s, simply because so much effort is being made by the Russians and Chinese to target these platforms that are built to commercial airliner standards. [29]
However, the more powerful sensors, such as AESA radar which is able to operate in multiple modes at the same time, may present too much information for the single pilot in the F-22, F-35 and Su-57 to adequately use. The Sukhoi/HAL FGFA offered a return to the two-seat configuration common in fourth generation strike fighters, but this was rejected over cost concerns. [30]
There is ongoing research to apply track-before-detect across sensor fusion in the core CPU to allow fifth-generation fighters to engage targets that no single sensor has by itself detected. [31] Probability theory is used to determine "what data to believe, when to believe and how much to believe". [32]
These sensors produce too much data for the onboard computers to fully process so sensor fusion is achieved by comparing what is observed against preloaded threat libraries that contain known enemy capabilities for a given region. [33] Items that do not match known threats are not even displayed. [34]
Gilmary M. Hostage III has suggested that fifth-generation jet fighters will operate together in a "combat cloud" along with future unmanned combat aircraft, [35] and Michael Manazir has suggested that this might come as quickly as loading a UCLASS with AMRAAMs to be launched at the command of an F-35. [36]
2005 | F-22A Raptor |
---|---|
2006 | |
2007 | |
2008 | |
2009 | |
2010 | |
2011 | |
2012 | |
2013 | |
2014 | |
2015 | F-35B Lightning II |
2016 | F-35A Lightning II |
2017 | Chengdu J-20 |
F-35I "Adir" Lightning II | |
2018 | |
2019 | F-35C Lightning II |
2020 | Sukhoi Su-57 |
2021 | |
2022 | |
2023 | |
2024 | Shenyang J-35A |
TBA | Chengdu J-20S |
KF-21EX | |
TAI TF-X Kaan | |
Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate | |
HAL AMCA |
Prototypes and concept demonstrators built by American manufacturers included the Lockheed YF-22 – 1990 (2 built), Northrop YF-23 – 1990 (2 built) for the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, Boeing Bird of Prey – 1996 (1 built), McDonnell Douglas X-36 – 1997 (2 scale models built), the Lockheed Martin X-35 – 2000 (2 built) and Boeing X-32 – 2001 (2 built) for the Joint Strike Fighter program.
Previous-generation radar low observable (LO) aircraft, also referred to as stealth aircraft, such as the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber and Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk ground attack aircraft were not designed for air to air combat, lacking the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, low probability of intercept (LPI) data networks, aerial performance, and air-to-air weapons necessary to engage other aircraft. [37] In the early 1970s, various American design projects identified stealth, speed, and maneuverability as key characteristics of a next-generation air-to-air combat aircraft. This led to the Request for Information for the Advanced Tactical Fighter project in May 1981, which resulted in the F-22. [38]
The USMC is leveraging the USAF's experience with "fifth-generation air warfare" in the F-22, as they develop their own tactics for the F-35. [39]
According to Lockheed Martin in 2004, the only fifth-generation jet fighter then in operational service was their own F-22 Raptor. [2] [40] Lockheed Martin uses "fifth-generation fighter" to describe the F-22 and F-35 fighters, with the definition including "advanced stealth", "extreme performance", "information fusion" and "advanced sustainment". [2] [41] For unknown reasons, their definition no longer includes supercruise capability, which has typically been associated with the more advanced modern fighters, but which the F-35 lacks. [42] Lockheed Martin attempted to trademark the term "5th generation fighters" in association with jet aircraft and structural parts thereof, [43] and has a trademark for a logo with the term. [44]
The definition of the term fifth-generation fighter from Lockheed Martin has been criticized by companies whose products do not conform to these particular specifications, such as Boeing and Eurofighter, and by other commentators such as Bill Sweetman: [45] "it is misleading to portray the F-22 and F-35 as a linear evolution in fighter design. Rather, they are a closely related pair of outliers, relying on a higher level of stealth as a key element of survivability – as the Lockheed YF-12 and Mikoyan MiG-25, in the 1960s, relied on speed and altitude." [46]
The United States Navy and Boeing have placed the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in a "next generation" fighter category along with the F-22 and F-35, [47] as the Super Hornet has a "fifth-generation" AESA radar, modest radar cross-section (RCS) reductions and sensor fusion. [48] [49] A senior USAF pilot has complained about fifth-generation claims for the Super Hornet: "The whole point to fifth generation is the synergy of stealth, fusion and complete situational awareness. The point about fifth-generation aircraft is that they can do their mission anywhere – even in sophisticated integrated air defense [IADS] environments. If you fly into heavy IADS with a great radar and sensor fusion, but no stealth, you will have complete situational awareness of the guy that kills you." [50] Michael "Ponch" Garcia of Raytheon has said that the addition of their AESA radars to the Super Hornet provides "90 percent of your fifth-generation capability at half the cost." [51] And a top Boeing official has called their newest 4.5 generation fighters "stealth killers". [52]
China has two stealth fighter aircraft, Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-35, both classified as fifth-generation fighter by United States Department of Defense. [53]
By the late 1990s, several Chinese fifth-generation fighter programs, grouped under the program codename J-XX or XXJ, were identified by western intelligence sources. PLAAF officials have confirmed the existence of such a program, which they estimated would enter service between 2017 and 2019. [54] [55] By late 2010, two prototypes of the Chengdu J-20 had been constructed and were undergoing high-speed taxi trials. [56] The J-20 made its first flight on 11 January 2011. [57] On 26 December 2015, a new J-20 with serial number 2101 was seen leaving its Chengdu Aviation Corporation factory. It is believed to be the first of the low rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft. [58] 2101 conducted its maiden flight on 18 January 2016. [59]
The J-20 officially entered training unit service in March 2017, [4] becoming the first operational stealth fighter outside of the United States and in Asia. [60] The J-20 underwent testing and exercises in late 2017, [61] and was inducted into PLAAF combat units in 2018. [62] [63]
Another stealth fighter design from SAC started to circulate on the internet in September 2011. [64] In June 2012, photos about a possible prototype of F-60 being transferred on highway began to emerge on the internet. [65] This aircraft was named Shenyang FC-31 later, and made its maiden flight on 31 October 2012. [66] A more refined version of the FC-31 is dubbed "J-35". [67]
Technology demonstrators included the Mikoyan Project 1.44 – 1998 (1 built) and Su-47 – 1997 (1 built).
In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union outlined the need for a next-generation aircraft to replace its fourth-generation jet fighters, the Mikoyan MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-27, in front line service. To meet the characteristics for the next-generation aircraft, work was underway on two aircraft projects: the twin-engined delta canard Sukhoi Su-47 with forward-swept wings and the Mikoyan Project 1.44. However, due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and lack of funds, both remained only as technology demonstrators.
After 2000, the Russian Defence Ministry initiated a new fighter competition known as "PAK FA" (Russian : ПАК ФА, short for: Перспективный авиационный комплекс фронтовой авиации, romanized: Perspektivny Aviatsionny Kompleks Frontovoy Aviatsii, lit. ''Prospective aeronautical complex of front-line air forces'') to develop a next-generation fighter for the Russian Air Force, with Sukhoi and MiG as the main competitors. Sukhoi came up with its heavier, two-engine T-50 proposal (now Sukhoi Su-57) while Mikoyan proposed a light, single-engine Mikoyan LMFS design, based on the former MiG-1.44 project. [68] Sukhoi won the competition and in 2002, it was selected to lead the development of Russia's next-generation fighter based on the T-50 design. Later development of the multirole Mikoyan LMFS were continued from MiG funding. [69] However Mikoyan LMFS program was also cancelled and replaced by similar Sukhoi Checkmate program.
Russia's first fifth-generation aircraft, the Sukhoi Su-57, will replace its aging MiG-29s and Su-27s. [70] [71] The Su-57 first flew on 29 January 2010. The first production Su-57 was delivered to the Russian Air Force on 25 December 2020. [72]
The Mikoyan PAK DP is another proposed fifth-generation fighter, being developed to replace the MiG-31. [73] [74] [75] [76] The project began in 2010, and "According to Russian news reports, the MiG-41 will be equipped with stealth technology, reach a speed of Mach 4–4.3, carry anti-satellite missiles, and be able to perform tasks in Arctic and near-space environments." [77]
Russia unveiled a prototype of the single-engine Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate Light Tactical Aircraft in July 2021 at the biennial MAKS (air show), with maiden flight initially expected in 2023 (subsequently delayed to at least 2024). The fighter is mainly designed for export and is expected to be less costly than 2-engine competitors. [78]
The TAI TF-X Kaan, [81] or in Turkish as Milli Muharip Uçak (MMU, National Combat Aircraft), [82] is a stealth, twin-engine, all-weather, fifth generation air superiority fighter in development by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and BAE Systems as its sub-contractor. The TF-X is planned to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Turkish Air Force and to be exported to foreign states. [83]
Taxiing and ground running tests of the prototype began two days before the scheduled roll-out, on March 16, 2023. [79] [84] It was officially given the name "Kaan" on May 1, 2023. [85] [86] [80]
On 21 February 2024, the first Kaan prototype took its 13-minute maiden flight, taking off from Mürted Airfield Command in Ankara, Turkey. [87] [88] This prototype uses General Electric F110 engines, also used in the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
In June 2024, KAI announced plans to add internal weapon bays to its 4.5 generation KF-21 Boramae, as part of its KF-21EX 5th generation enhancement programme. [89]
India is independently developing a twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable stealth multirole fighter, called the HAL Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). It is being developed and designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and will be manufactured by a SPV with initial prototypes produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. As of 2022, the AMCA prototype is under construction, with a first flight of the prototype expected by 2025. [90] [91] [92]
In early 2018, India pulled out of the parallel project called FGFA, a fifth-generation derivative of the Sukhoi Su-57, which it alleged did not meet requirements for stealth, combat avionics, radars and sensors by that time. [93] The completed FGFA was to include 43 improvements over the Su-57, including stealth, supercruise, advanced sensors, networking and combat avionics. [94] [95]
Saab's Flygsystem 2020 is a program to develop a fifth generation fighter.
Japan developed a prototype of a stealth jet fighter called the Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin, previously referred to as the ATD-X. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Japan, seeking to replace its aging fleet of fighter aircraft, began making overtures to the United States on the topic of purchasing F-22 fighters for their own forces. [96] However the U.S. Congress had banned the exporting of the aircraft in order to safeguard secrets of the aircraft's technology such as its extensive use of stealth; this rejection necessitated Japan's development of its own modern fighter, to be equipped with stealth features and other advanced systems. [97]
A mock-up of the X-2 Shinshin was constructed and used to study the radar cross section in France in 2009. The first prototype rolled out in July 2014 and the aircraft made its first flight on 22 April 2016. By July 2018, Japan had gleaned sufficient information, and decided that it would need to bring on international partners to complete this project. Several companies have responded. [98]
Japan has signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop a sixth-generation fighter called Mitsubishi F-X.
F-22 [99] [100] [101] [102] | F-35A [103] [104] [105] | F-35B [103] | F-35C [103] [104] [105] | Su-57 [106] [105] | J-20 [107] [108] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Country | USA | USA | USA | USA | Russia | China |
Maiden flight | 1997 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2010 | 2011 |
Entered service | 2005 | 2016 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2017 |
Number built | 195 [a] | 354 | 108 | 38 | 22 [b] | 300 |
Length, meters | 18.92 m (62 ft 1 in) | 15.67 m (51 ft 5 in) | 15.61 m (51 ft 3 in) | 15.67 m (51 ft 5 in) | 20.1 m (65 ft 11 in) | 21.2 m (69 ft 7 in) |
Wingspan | 13.56 m (44 ft 6 in) | 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in) | 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in) | 13.1 m (43 ft 0 in) | 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in) | 13.01 m (42 ft 8 in) |
Wing Area, sq. meters | 78.04 | 42.7 | 42.7 | 62.1 | 78.8 | 73 |
Empty Weight, kg | 19,700 | 13,300 | 14,700 | 15,800 | 18,500 | 17,000 |
Loaded Weight, kg | 29,410 | 22,470 | 21,770 | 25,900 | 29,270 | 25,000 |
Max Weight, kg | 38,000 | 31,800 | 27,300 | 31,800 | 35,000 | 37,000 |
Thrust vectoring | 2D | none | STOVL | none | 3D | none/3D |
Takeoff-Landing | CTOL | CTOL | STOVL | CATOBAR | CTOL | CTOL |
Max speed, Mach | 2.25 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Cruise speed, Mach | 1.76 | 1.3 | ||||
Ferry range, km | 3,220 | 2,220 | 1,670 | 2,520 | 3,500 | 5,500 |
Ceiling | 20,000 m (66,000 ft) | 15,000 m (49,000 ft) | 15,000 m (49,000 ft) | 15,000 m (49,000 ft) | 20,000 m (66,000 ft) | 20,000 m (66,000 ft) |
Engines | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Dry thrust, kN | 232 | 125 | 125 | 125 | 176.6 | 172 [c] |
Afterburn. Thrust, kN | 312 | 191 | 191 | 191 | 294.2 | 294 [d] |
Thrust/weight ratio | 1.08 | 0.87 | 0.9 | 0.75 | 1.02 | 1 |
Radar cross section | 0.0001 | 0.005–0.3 | 0.005–0.3 | 0.005–0.3 | 0.1–0.3 | 0.05 |
Gun(s) | 20mm | 25mm | None | None | 30mm | None |
Int/Ext hardpoints | 8/4 | 6/6 | 4/6 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 8/4 |
Radar | XBand | XBand | XBand | LBand | X + LBand | XBand |
Radar range target | 240 km | 150 km | 150 km | 150 km | Unknown | Unknown |
Fighter aircraft are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and the carrier variant (CV) catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) F-35C.
The Sukhoi Su-27 is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, with 3,530-kilometre (1,910 nmi) range, heavy aircraft ordnance, sophisticated avionics and high maneuverability. The Su-27 was designed for air superiority missions, and subsequent variants are able to perform almost all aerial warfare operations. It was designed with the Mikoyan MiG-29 as its complement.
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also incorporates ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22 airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while program partner Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
The fourth-generation fighter is a class of jet fighters in service from around 1980 to the present, and represents design concepts of the 1970s. Fourth-generation designs are heavily influenced by lessons learned from the previous generation of combat aircraft. Third-generation fighters were often designed primarily as interceptors, being built around speed and air-to-air missiles. While exceptionally fast in a straight line, many third-generation fighters severely lacked in maneuverability, as doctrine held that traditional dogfighting would be impossible at supersonic speeds. In practice, air-to-air missiles of the time, despite being responsible for the vast majority of air-to-air victories, were relatively unreliable, and combat would quickly become subsonic and close-range. This would leave third-generation fighters vulnerable and ill-equipped, renewing an interest in manoeuvrability for the fourth generation of fighters. Meanwhile, the growing costs of military aircraft in general and the demonstrated success of aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II gave rise to the popularity of multirole combat aircraft in parallel with the advances marking the so-called fourth generation.
The Sukhoi Su-35 is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable air superiority fighters, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by Sukhoi.
Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, all collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 Nighthawk was the first operational aircraft explicitly designed around stealth technology. Other examples of stealth aircraft include the B-2 Spirit, the B-21 Raider, the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II, the Chengdu J-20, and the Sukhoi Su-57.
The Sukhoi Su-30 is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air interdiction missions. The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) were reported to have 130 Su-30SMs in operation as of 2024.
The Sukhoi Su-57 is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA programme, which was initiated in 1999 as a more modern and affordable alternative to the MFI. Sukhoi's internal designation for the aircraft is T-50. The Su-57 is the first aircraft in Russian military service designed with stealth technology and is intended to be the basis for a family of stealth combat aircraft.
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is an Indian single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather fifth-generation stealth, multirole combat aircraft being developed for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The Mark-1 variant of the aircraft will be a fifth generation fighter while the Mark-2 variant will have sixth-generation technologies. The aircraft is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) - an aircraft design agency under MoD. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) consisting of ADA, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and a private company is being formed for the development and production of AMCA. In March 2024, the project received approval from India's Cabinet Committee on Security for the prototype development and mass production expected to begin by 2035.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a two-seater, twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.
The Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin is a Japanese experimental aircraft for testing advanced stealth fighter aircraft technologies. It is being developed by the Japanese Ministry of Defense Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) for research purposes. The main contractor of the project is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Many consider this aircraft to be Japan's first domestically made stealth fighter. ATD-X is an abbreviation for "Advanced Technology Demonstrator – X". The aircraft is widely known in Japan as Shinshin although the name itself is an early code name within the Japan Self-Defense Forces and is not officially in use. The aircraft's first flight was on 22 April 2016.
The Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) was a fifth-generation fighter concept, based on the Russian Sukhoi Su-57, that was being developed by the joint forces of Sukhoi and HAL for the Indian Air Force. While the programme was earlier called FGFA, the combined project then referred as Prospective Multi-Role Fighter (PMF). The completed FGFA was to include a total of 43 improvements over the Su-57, including advanced sensors, networking and combat avionics. The Indian version would be a two-seater with pilot and co-pilot or weapon systems operator (WSO).
The Shenyang J-16 Hidden Dragon is a Chinese all-weather 4.5 generation, tandem-seat, twin-engine, multirole strike fighter built by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and operated by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It is developed from the Shenyang J-11, the licensed production variant of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 and Sukhoi Su-30.
A sixth-generation fighter is a conceptualized class of jet fighter aircraft design more advanced than the fifth-generation jet fighters that are currently in service and development. Several countries have announced the development of a national sixth-generation aircraft program, including the United States, Russia and China. Whilst other countries have joined collaborative multinational projects such as Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom with Global Combat Air Programme, and France, Germany and Spain with FCAS; in order to spread development and procurement costs. The first sixth-generation fighters are expected to enter service in the 2030s.
The Mikoyan LMFS Liogkiy Mnogofunktsionalniy Frontovoi Samolyet (LMFS)—or Light Multi-Function Frontline Aircraft, also known as the MiG-XX, was a proposed light Russian single-seat all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft. The design is derived from the company’s PAK FA proposal, which was rejected in favor of Sukhoi's, along with lessons learned from the cancelled Mikoyan MiG-1.42/1.44. It was supposed to replace the Mikoyan MiG-29 and MiG-35 and be a more affordable complement to the PAK FA, which became the Sukhoi Su-57. However, by 2021, the project was no longer under development, while Sukhoi unveiled its own LTS medium-weight single-engine stealth fifth-generation fighter.
The Chengdu J-20, also known as Mighty Dragon, is a twin-engine all-weather stealth fighter developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is designed as an air superiority fighter with precision strike capability. The aircraft has three notable variants: the initial production model, the revised airframe variant with new engines and thrust-vectoring control, and the aircraft-teaming capable twin-seat variant.
Jet fighter generations classify the major technology leaps in the historical development of the jet fighter. Different authorities have identified different technology jumps as the key ones, dividing fighter development into different numbers of generations. Five generations are now widely recognised, with the development of a sixth under way.
The Shenyang J-35 is a series of Chinese twin-engine, all-weather, stealth multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), designed for air superiority and surface strike missions. The aircraft reportedly has two variants, a land-based variant designed for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), and a carrier-based variant optimized for catapult-assisted takeoff (CATOBAR) for the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF).
The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate, also designated as the Light Tactical Aircraft, is a single-engine, stealth fighter aircraft under development by Sukhoi for export and for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Sukhoi Design Bureau also designates the aircraft as T-75.
No, neither the F135 or F136 engines were designed to supercruise.
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