AIRCRAFT PART 2

1. Fighter Aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. The hallmarks of a fighter are its small size, speed and maneuverability.

         
Many fighters have secondary ground-attack capabilities, and some are dual-role as fighter-bombers. Consequently, the term "fighter" is sometimes extended colloquially to include dedicated ground-attack aircraft.

        
Fighters are the primary means by which armed forces gain air superiority over their opponents in battle. Since at least World War II, achieving and maintaining this air superiority has been a key component of victory in warfare, particularly conventional warfare, between regular armies (as opposed to guerrilla warfare). The purchase, training and maintenance of a fighter fleet therefore consumes a substantial proportion of the defense budgets of modern armed forces.

2. Ground-Attack Aircraft

Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft with primary role of attacking targets on the ground with greater precision than bombers and prepared to face stronger low-level air defense. This class of aircraft is ideal for close air support on the battlefield, but they are also employed in other missions, for example air interdiction or offensive counter air.

    
A more general category is an attack aircraft which, in addition to ground-attack types, includes aircraft for naval air-to-surface missions. To clarify a common mistake: as opposed to fighter aircraft, attack aircraft are not necessarily intended for air-to-air combat.

     
Nowadays, aircraft types built specifically for attack role include principally attack helicopters. Considering airplanes, few such specialized designs are employed — notable examples are the American A-10 Thunderbolt II or the Russian Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot — as air forces tend to assign the task to the ubiquitous multirole combat aircraft (sometimes described also as strike fighters).

3. Surveillance Aircraft

A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance (collecting information over a period). Surveillance aircraft are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, aerial reconnaissance of enemy activity, observation (e.g. artillery spotting), border patrol and fishery protection. This article concentrates on aircraft used in those roles, rather than for traffic monitoring, law enforcement and similar activities.

     
Surveillance aircraft usually carry no armament, or only limited defensive armament. A surveillance aircraft does not necessarily require high-performance capability or stealth characteristics. It may in fact be a modified civilian aircraft which has been disguised in order to look harmless. Technically, anything which can fly and make observations (dynamically or via recording equipment/sensors) of visual information or electronic emissions qualifies as a surveillance aircraft.

4. Bomber Aircraft

Tactical bombers are smaller aircraft that operate at shorter range, typically along with troops on the ground. This role is filled by many designs, including those listed below. In modern terms, any combat aircraft that is not a purpose-designed strategic bomber falls into this category. Ground attack aircraft or "close air support" aircraft are designed to loiter over a battlefield and attack tactical targets, such as tanks, troop concentrations, etc. Examples: Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot'.

Fighter-bombers (also called tactical fighters, strike fighters, and attack fighters) are multi-role combat aircraft which can (at least theoretically) be equipped for either air-to-air combat or air-to-ground combat. Many fighter bombers were also designed to engage in aerial combat immediately after attacking ground targets. Modern multi-role combat aircraft are designed to fulfill multiple roles due to budget restrictions as often as they are for versatility. Examples: Chengdu J-10, Xian JH-7, F-4 Phantom II, F-15E "Strike Eagle", F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Sukhoi Su-34 'Fullback', Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000, and the Panavia Tornado.

5. Close Air-Support Aircraft

In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.

The determining factor for CAS is detailed integration, not proximity. CAS may need to be conducted far from friendly forces, if the mission requires detailed integration with the fire and movement of these forces.     A closely related subset of air interdiction, battlefield air interdiction denotes interdiction against units with near-term effects on friendly units, but which does not require integration with friendly troop movements. The term "battlefield air interdiction" is not currently used in US joint doctrine.

     
Close air support requires excellent coordination with ground forces. In advanced modern militaries, this coordination is typically handled by specialists such as Joint Fires Observers, Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC)s, and Forward Air Controllers (FAC)

6. Multirole Combat Aircraft

A multirole combat aircraft is an aircraft designed to act in at least two different roles in the combat. The primary role is usually a fighter—hence, it is as often called a multirole fighter—while the secondary role is usually air-to-surface attack. More roles are added, such as air reconnaissance, forward air control, and electronic warfare. As of the subtypes of attack missions, besides the most often air interdiction, there may be suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD), or even close air support (CAS).

    
Strike fighter, which similarly refers to a fighter capable of attack role, for historical reasons implies putting more emphasis on the interdiction aspect.

    
The main motivation for developing multirole aircraft is cost reduction. A fleet of multirole aircraft, when comparing to separate fleets of dedicated aircraft, costs less to develop, to manufacture, to maintain, and to supply. Some aircraft are called swing-role, to emphasize the ability of a quick role change, either at short notice, or even within the same mission.

7. Stealth Aircraft

Stealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to interfere with radar detection as well as means other than conventional aircraft by employing a combination of features to reduce visibility in the infrared visual, audio, and radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during WWII. Well-known modern examples of stealth aircraft include the United States' F-117 Nighthawk (1981–2008), the B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber", the F-22 Raptor, and the F-35 Lightning II While no aircraft is totally invisible to radar, stealth aircraft prevent conventional radar from detecting or tracking the aircraft effectively, reducing the odds of an attack. Stealth is accomplished by using a complex design philosophy to reduce the ability of an opponent's sensors to detect, track, or attack the stealth aircraft. This philosophy also takes into account the heat, sound, and other emissions of the aircraft as these can also be used to locate it.

Source : wikipedia.com