The Mikoyan MiG-29, a Soviet air superiority fighter designed in the 1970s.

An air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to enter and seize control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are usually more expensive and procured in lesser numbers than multi-role fighters while being lighter, smaller, and more agile than interceptors.

[edit] Evolution of the term

During World War II and through the Korean War, fighters were classified by their role: heavy fighter, interceptor, escort fighter, day fighter and so forth. Towards the end of the war, these types began to coalesce, as individual airframes became more capable and took on more roles. With the development of missiles in the 1950s that could destroy targets beyond visual range, design diverged between fighters optimized to fight in the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) regime (interceptors), and fighters optimized to fight in the Within Visual Range (WVR) regime (air superiority fighters). In the United States, the proponents of BVR thought this regime would supersede WVR, with corresponding compromises in maneuverability and other performance characteristics in fighter aircraft which were necessary qualities for dogfighting, or WVR close-range combat. Such thinking even influenced the development of aircraft, such as the F-4 Phantom II, which initially had no internal gun.

[edit] Lessons in combat

However, combat experience in Vietnam proved the BVR proponents wrong. Owing to restrictive rules of engagement and the failings of 1960s missile and radar technology, combat often devolved into a close-range dog-fight, one for which American fighters and pilots were unprepared. The lessons from this conflict spurred a rethinking of design priorities for fighter aircraft, in which the Navy's TOPGUN and the Air Force's RED FLAG programs, developed specifically to teach pilots the lessons of dogfighting, were created.

[edit] Air superiority fighters

This rethinking drove the Navy's VFAX/VFX of the 1960s and Air Force's FX (Fighter Experimental) concept of the 1970s, which resulted in the Navy's F-14 Tomcat, and Air Force's F-15 Eagle. The VFX would compromise the air superiority role for better interception abilities with more powerful radar and longer ranged AIM-54 Phoenix missiles necessary to destroy large fleets of bombers at standoff ranges. The FX was to be a specialized air superiority fighter built to excel at the shorter ranges of fighter combat.

[edit] Current fighters

Sukhoi Su-30MKI, a 4.5 generation fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force with thrust vectoring.

F-22 Raptor, a fifth generation stealth fighter jet.

F-15 Eagle

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor will be the USAF's next generation air superiority fighter. It incorporates many advanced technologies like supersonic cruise without afterburner (supercruise), high maneuverability and thrust vectoring of its engines. Some early advertising material for the F-22 billed it as an "air dominance fighter." It will be one of the most expensive tactical combat aircraft ever produced, with a current "flyaway" cost per jet of US$137 million.

The Boeing F-15 Eagle has been the USAF's premier air superiority fighter aircraft for nearly 30 years. The F-15 is in service with the USAF (F-15C), the Japanese Air Self Defence Force JASDF (F-15J), the Israeli Air Force (F-15I) and the Royal Saudi Air Force (F-15S). The U.S. Air Force will keep 178 F-15C and 224 F-15E fighters in service past 2025 which will serve alongside the F-22 Raptor.^[1]

The General Dynamics F-16 was one of the first of a series of multi-role fighters designed to perform both air superiority and ground attack. Although not a pure air superiority fighter, it introduced inherent instability into fighter design. This allows for a large increase in maneuverability and is made possible by a computer-aided electronic flight control system dubbed "fly-by-wire."

When the F-14 retired from frontline US Navy service in the second half of 2006 it was replaced in the interim by the multi-role F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. When the F-35C becomes operational, it will assume the roles of fleet defense and air superiority fighter for carrier air groups. This changeover from an interception leaning design to a more typical air superiority type is due to a change in the type of threat that US aircraft carriers face. The primary threat of large formations of Soviet bombers has been replaced with the threat of small high-speed aircraft penetrating through the carrier's screen.

The Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E is Russia's newest fighter aircraft. It is a modern upgrade to the Su-27 Flanker family and shares a lot of similarities to the Su-30MKI. The Su-35 is intended to be the last of the famous Flanker family. Although the last of the Flankers, it was upgraded even further in 2008 with the introduction of the Su-35BM. Only a small number of Su-35 has been fielded by the Russian Air Force with about 5 in active service.

The Sukhoi-30 MKI is the main air superiority fighter of the Indian Air Force. The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a successful outcome of collaboration between Sukhoi, HAL, French and Israeli avionics firms and DRDO to produce a customized Su-30 for the Indian Air Force. It is believed that this version of Su-30 is the most advanced of all Su-30 and Su-27 versions available to nations around the world.^[2] The Indian Air Force has about 100+ of these aircraft in service and is to procure a total of 280.^[2]

The Chinese Chengdu J-10 as well as their J-11 multi-role fighters are considered to be their mainstay air superiority fighters. The French Air Force fields the Mirage 2000-5 as its air-superiority fighter. The new generation of European fighters currently entering service are all capable of the air superiority mission, as only one of many roles. They are the Saab Gripen, Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

In order to maximize their combat effectiveness and strategic usefulness, air superiority fighters will usually operate under the control/co-ordination of an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.

[edit] See also

• Air supremacy
• Interceptor aircraft
• Multirole combat aircraft

[edit] Notes

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[edit] External links

• Glossary of Nato Definitions
• Rand: Revival of the Air-Superiority Fighter