After the Wright brothers accomplished the first human flight in 1903, aircraft soon demonstrated military utility and were used on a large scale in World War II, and today air superiority is increasingly a key factor on the battlefield. After World War II, with the advent of missiles and precision-guided bombs, countries focused more on multi-purpose fighters capable of both air combat and ground and sea strikes, and the typical air superiority fighter became less and less available, with only countries with vast geographic areas, still retaining air superiority fighters.
The primary mission of air superiority fighters is to defend their own airspace and intercept potential enemy aircraft incursions, but also for air combat outside their borders to seize air superiority.
F-22 fighter jets are a standout
The F-22 Raptor, the world’s first mass-produced fifth-generation stealth fighter, is a heavy fighter for air supremacy, and while it can also perform ground attacks, its primary mission is to defend the U.S. homeland and gain air superiority in foreign conflicts. the F-22 entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 2005, with 187 officially produced. the F-22’s stealth, aerodynamic The F-22’s combination of stealth, aerodynamic performance and advanced avionics systems achieves unparalleled air combat capability. To prevent leaks and maintain sophistication, the F-22 is prohibited from export, and the USAF is the only current user.
The F-22 is equipped with AN/ APG-77 active phase grating, AIM-9X infrared air-to-air missile, AIM-120C/D medium-range air-to-air missile, two-dimensional F119-PW-100 thrust vectoring engine, advanced integrated avionics and human-machine interface, etc. The fighter can cruise at supersonic speeds of Mach 1.82 (1,963 km/h) without the use of afterburners, with a currently announced maximum speed of Mach 2.25 (2,414 km/h) and an actual maximum speed classified by the U.S. Air Force.
The F-22 is capable of over-the-horizon operations and is assessed to be several times more capable than the F-15. The F-22’s stealth capabilities, agility, accuracy and situational awareness make it the best all-around fighter in the world, bar none.
The F-22 is designed with a series of stealth structures to form the smallest radar wave reflecting profile, covered with radio wave absorbing stealth materials on the outside, radio electronic countermeasures on the inside, and small radiating on-board radio electronics, with a minimum radar reflecting surface of only about 0.005-0.01 square meters, equivalent to a small bird.
The F-22 is 18.92 meters long, with a wingspan of 13.56 meters, height of 5.08 meters, maximum takeoff weight of 38,000 kg (83,500 pounds); maximum lift of 20,000 meters, maximum range of 3,220 kilometers, and a combat radius of 851 kilometers (460 nautical miles, without air refueling).
The F-22 can detect enemy aircraft up to 400 kilometers away, with a reconnaissance capability comparable to that of the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, and can double as an early warning aircraft.
The F-22s are equipped with a 20mm M61A2 Vulcan gun and can carry six AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and two AIM-9 Rattlesnake missiles, as well as precision-guided bombs.
The F-35 Lightning II (F-35 Lightning II) is similar in appearance to the F-22 Raptor, but is more like a smaller version of the single-engine F-22, sharing much of its technology with the F-22, and can also be considered a low-cost version of the F-22, with an air combat capability second only to the F-22. But the F-35 fighter is designed to be a multipurpose fighter, taking on more of a pioneering attack role, which will be covered in a separate article.
The F-22’s stealth capabilities are not only a potential enemy’s nemesis, but also a major headache for enemy air defenses. Other warplanes and the F-22 air combat, may not have found the trail, it was shot down first. No matter who meets the U.S. stealth fighter, it will be a nightmare.
An F-15C Eagle travels to Norway to participate in an Arctic challenge exercise, Sept. 12, 2013. (U.S. Air Force)
F-15 fighter is still the best fourth-generation fighter
The F-15 Eagle, an all-weather, highly maneuverable heavy fighter developed and produced by the United States during the Cold War to counter the Soviet MiG-25, has been continuously improved and upgraded since then. The U.S. military once had about 700 F-15s, with at least 178 to be in service until 2025.
Before the F-22 fighter, the F-15 had been the world’s best air superiority fighter, including foreign sales models had participated in all the actual combat, setting an unbeatable air combat record of 104:0.
The F-15 is equipped with a multi-functional avionics system, including a heads-up display (HUD), advanced radar, inertial navigation system, flight instruments, UHF communications, and also built-in tactical electronic warfare system, enemy identifier, electronic countermeasures, and central digital computer system. These automated equipment can help pilots to obtain battlefield information in a timely and convenient manner, track and kill enemy aircraft.
The F-15 is 19.44 meters long, with a wingspan of 13.03 meters and a height of 5.68 meters. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 (3,062.6 km/h) and a cruise speed of Mach 0.95 (1,163.79 km/h); a maximum lift of 20,000 meters, a maximum range of 5,740 kilometers, and a combat radius of 1,965 kilometers (no air refueling or air defense interdiction missions).
The F-15s are equipped with the M61A2 Vulcan 20mm gun and can carry four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, or four AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, four AIM-9 Rattlesnake missiles, and can also mount a variety of bombs, including nuclear bombs.
The F-22 is replacing the F-15 in air superiority missions, but the U.S. military is still ordering the F-15EX to enhance its ground-strike capabilities and evolve into a multi-role fighter. The U.S. military’s sixth-generation air superiority fighter is also under development.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon, a multi-role light fighter to complement the F-15 in a high-low configuration, has also been another air combat winner in addition to the F-15, but the F-16 is also a multi-role fighter and will be covered in a separate article.
Russian Su-27 fighter jets perform at the Zhuhai Air Show in China, Nov. 10, 2014.
The Su-27 fighter’s excellent maneuverability
The Su-27 fighter (Su-27) is a twin-engine, all-weather, heavy fighter developed by the former Soviet Union, NATO code name Flanker, designed to counter the U.S. F-15 fighter, the same fourth-generation air superiority fighter. At least 118 Su-27s are in service in Russia, with derivative models exported to many countries.
The basic design of the Su-27 is similar to that of the MiG-29, but is significantly larger, and the aircraft has excellent agility, good control at low speeds and high angles of attack, and can perform almost zero-radius turns. At the 1999 Paris Air Show, the Su-30MKI, a derivative of the Su-27, attempted a similar stunt but crashed out of control and the pilot ejected, and at the 2002 Ukraine Air Show, the Su-27 crashed again during a demonstration.
In 2000, two Ethiopian Su-27s took on two Eritrean MiG-29s in what was actually a confrontation between two generations of Soviet fighters, and although the Su-27s won, the two sides fired dozens of Russian-designed and produced R-27 air-to-air missiles at each other, with a shockingly low hit rate.
Compared to the U.S. F-15, the Su-27’s avionics are backward and maintenance gaps are large. 8,000 hours of F-15 airframe life and 3,000 hours of engine overhaul for the first time; the Su-27’s airframe life is only 3,000 hours and 500 hours of engine overhaul for the first time. Despite this, the Su-27 is still an excellent air superiority fighter and has been exported to several CIS, African and Asian countries, with the Chinese Communist Party being the largest subscriber.
The Su-27SK is 21.9 meters long, with a wingspan of 14.7 meters and a height of 5.92 meters, and has a maximum takeoff weight of 30,450 kg (67,131 lb); a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h; a service ceiling of 19,000 meters; and a range of 3,530 km.
The main armament is the 30mm GSh-30-1 gun, which can carry six R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles and four R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles externally, as well as rockets and bombs for ground strikes.
The Su-27 itself is available in several versions and has spawned multirole fighters such as the Su-30, Su-33, and Su-35, which will be covered in a separate article.
The J-11, a Chinese Communist Party fighter jet copied from the Russian Su-27, at the Zhuhai Air Show on November 6, 2000.
J-11 fighter jet
In 1998, the Chinese Communist Party purchased 76 Su-27SK/UBK complete and loose parts assemblies from Russia, and thereafter obtained production licenses and started to improve them into various types of J-11, and upgraded the avionics, using domestic engines and active phased array radar to enhance multipurpose capabilities, imitating American technology.
The main indicators of the J-11 are similar to those of the Su-27. The first J-11A is entirely a Russian Su-27SK prototype; the J-11B began to be domesticated and gradually strengthened its ground-strike capability, claiming better performance of the domestically produced engine, but the actual power performance is feared to decline. Based on Russian missiles and imitating some U.S. missile technology, the CCP has developed air-to-air missiles such as the Thunderbolt-12, but the U.S. military considers the CCP’s missiles to have considerable gaps.
According to the 2020 Japanese Defense White Paper, the CCP has a total of 349 Su-27 and J-11 warplanes of various types.
After the Su-27 was derived from the multi-role fighter Su-30, the CCP reintroduced it into production to mimic the J-16; the CCP also got another derivative S-33 prototype from Ukraine to mimic the J-15; including the Su-35, which was later imported again, all of which are multi-role fighters and will be covered in a separate article.
A French Air Force Mirage 2000C fighter jet participates in a military exercise in the United States on Oct. 26, 2009.
Mirage 2000C fighter jet
The Mirage 2000, like other European fighters, is a multirole fighter, except for one model, the Mirage 2000C, which is an air superiority fighter and a fourth-generation light fighter, entered service with the French Air Force in 1983 and 124 were produced.
The model C is the abbreviation of the fighter (Chasseur), the radar effective search distance of more than 110 kilometers, comparable to the F-16 fighter at that time, but due to the short time, other performance is not more outstanding. After that, Mirage2000C also exported to many countries.
The Mirage 2000 was 14.36 meters long, with a wingspan of 9.13 meters and a height of 5.2 meters; maximum takeoff weight of 17,000 kg (37,479 pounds); maximum speed of 2,336 km/h; maximum range of 3,335 km (with secondary fuel tanks); and a service ceiling of 17,060 meters. Main armament is two 30mm cannons carrying French-made Magic air-to-air missiles, which can also carry rockets and air-to-ground missiles, among others.
Russia’s MiG-31 fighter jets fly over Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, 2018.
MiG series fighter jets
The most developed and produced in the former Soviet Union would be the MiG (MiG) series of fighters.
The MiG-31, which entered service in 1982, still resembled the MiG-25 in appearance, but with more light-alloy materials, enhanced supersonic performance, a turbofan engine and advanced radar to defend the former Soviet Union’s vast airspace. More than 500 MiG-31s were produced, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they could not be maintained in a timely manner, and about 100 of them are being upgraded to MiG-31BMs in Russia.
The MiG-31 is 22.69 meters long, with a wingspan of 13.46 meters and a height of 6.15 meters; has a maximum takeoff weight of 46,200 kilograms (101,900 pounds); a maximum speed of Mach 2.83 (3,467 km/h); a maximum lift of 17,500 meters; and a maximum range of 3,000 kilometers (with three secondary fuel tanks). The main armament is a GSh-30-1 gun, which can carry R-77 and R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles and R-60 and R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles, as well as rockets, ground missiles and bombs.
The MiG-29 is another Russian medium-light fighter in service, designed primarily for the U.S. F-16, which entered service in 1982, with more than 1,600 produced and exported to Eastern Europe, the CIS and the Middle East.
The MiG-29 is 17.32 meters long, with a wingspan of 11.36 meters and a height of 4.73 meters; maximum takeoff weight of 18,000 kg (39,683 pounds); maximum speed of Mach 2.25 (2,400 km/h); maximum range of 2,100 km (with a secondary fuel tank); and maximum lift of 18,000 meters. The main armament is a 30mm GSh-30-1 gun, which can carry R-series short- and medium-range air-to-air missiles, as well as rockets, ground missiles and bombs.
As the Su-33 is not suitable for Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the MiG-29 is now also becoming a carrier-based aircraft and is exported to India. Russia has about 125 MiG-29s in service and is developing MiG-35 replacements. The MiG series of fighters in service, all belong to the third generation of fighters.
J-10 fighter jet at the Zhuhai Airshow on November 3, 2008.
J-10 fighter jet
J-10 is a single-engine light fighter developed and produced by the Chinese Communist Party, called the fourth generation, the actual third generation, from 1986 to start development, because there is no mature original imitation, and to get rid of the original backward model, many borrowed, took a long time, until 1999 to first flight test, the first configuration of the Russian engine, officially delivered in 2003; later changed to domestic turbofan-10 engine, the In 2006, it was mass-produced. The J-10B is an air superiority fighter, taking into account the ground strike capability, and was discontinued in 2015; after that, the J-10C was mass-produced, and the derivative J-10CE was exported to Pakistan.
The J-10 is 16.43 meters long, with a wingspan of 9.75 meters and a height of 5.43 meters, and has a maximum takeoff weight of 19,277 kilograms; a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (2,205 km/h); a service ceiling of 18,000 meters; and a maximum range of 2,950 kilometers (with three external secondary fuel tanks, unarmed).
The J-10’s main armament is a 23mm twin-barrel cannon equipped with air-to-air missiles such as the Thunderbolt-12, which can also carry rockets, air-to-ground missiles and bombs. The J-10’s radar is claimed to have a maximum search range of 160 kilometers, but it is unconfirmed that the J-10 has no record of air combat, but has many records of crashes that have resulted in the death of pilots.
As described in the 2020 Japanese Defense White Paper, the CCP has a total of 468 J-10s of all types and remains one of the mainstay of the CCP’s air defense.
A J-20 fighter jet performs at the Zhuhai Air Show on Nov. 1, 2016.
J-20 fighter jet
The latest development of the Chinese Communist Party’s J-20 fighter is also supposed to be an air superiority fighter and self-listed as a fifth-generation stealth fighter. The first J-20 squadron was established in 2018 and is now more often seen at air shows and military parades. According to the description of the 2020 Japanese defense white paper, the J-20 fighters total 22 aircraft, indicating no real mass production.
The J-20 should mimic the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter, but from the revealed images, the aircraft’s aerodynamic design has major problems and is prone to high instability, with two extra small delta wings at the front end that seem to compensate for such deficiencies, but undermine the overall stealth design. The biggest problem should be that the domestic engine is not up to scratch and cannot provide supersonic power, and once the afterburner is used, it will lose its stealth capability.
The J-20’s on-board equipment cannot be confirmed at this time. The smaller bomb bay can only carry four air-to-air missiles, and also eliminates the cannon, so it is yet to be confirmed whether it is actually deployed and has actual combat capability.
The world’s new air superiority fighters are getting fewer and fewer, and the multipurpose fighters are getting more and more, which will be introduced in the next article.
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