Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing 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. The key performance features of a fighter include
not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft.
The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges
on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its
doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters.
We are frequently asked which fighter jet is the best in the world.
So what are the best fighter jet of all time? Here are the 5 best jet fighters of all Time.
#F-15 Eagle So this choice shouldn't
cause too much controversy, right? When it came into service in 1976,
it was immediately recognized as the best fighter in the world. Today, it is arguably still the best
all-around, cost-adjusted fighter, even if the Su-27 and F-22 have surpassed it in some ways.
The F-15 E is among the most successful modern fighters,
with over 100 victories and no losses in aerial combat.
The Eagle can be outfitted with a variety of air-to-air weapons, including AIM-7F/M Sparrow
missiles or AIM-120 AMRAAM advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles on the lower fuselage corners,
AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missiles or AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles on two pylons under the wings,
and an internal 20 mm (0.79 in) M61 Vulcan Gatling gun in the right wing root.
#F-14 Tomcat Because of its versatility,
the F-14 served as an air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor,
and even tactical reconnaissance platform. Designed to incorporate the air combat
experience learned during the Vietnam War, the F-14 was the first of the American "Teen
Series" fighters that included the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the F/A-18 Hornet.
The plane featured an advanced weapons system that includes a powerful Hughes AWG-9 radar,
which used in conjunction with the Phoenix AIM-54A missiles,
can pick out and destroy a chosen target from a formation at a distance of over 100
miles. Additional armaments include a variety of other intercept missiles,
rockets, bombs, and an internal M61A1 Vulcan 20mm Gatling-style rotary cannon.
#F-16 Fighting Falcon Unlike the early model F-14 and F-15s,
the Falcon was also designed as a multirole fighter, and it could lug up to seventeen
thousand pounds of munitions or electronic-warfare gear on its eleven hardpoints, including a new
generation of precision guided weapons such as Maverick missiles and laser-guided bombs.
A twenty-millimeter Vulcan cannon in the lower fuselage served as a backup weapon.
On 23 May 2006. Two Turkish F-16s and one reconnaissance F-4 were flying at 27,000
feet (8,200 m) in international airspace over the southern Aegean without submitting flight
plans to Greek FIR authorities. Two Greek F-16s intercepted them off the coast of the Greek
island of Karpathos. During the ensuing simulated dogfight, a Turkish F-16 and a Greek F-16 collided
in midair and crashed. The Turkish pilot survived the crash, but the Greek pilot was killed.
#F-86 Sabre As F-86 Sabres battled MiG-15s over North Korea,
in the first jet vs. jet battles in history, the dogfights most resembled World War I
and its famed "knights of the air." Not that there was anything chivalrous about Korea in the
air or on the ground. But compared to the trench warfare below, "Mig Alley" was almost romantic,
an arena where relatively small numbers of fighters dueled in a conflict carefully
managed to avoid escalating into World War III. Considered one of the best and most important
fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other
eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the 1950s, the
Sabre proved versatile and adaptable and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces.
#Sea Harrier The Sea Harrier is
one of only three jet fighter aircraft that have an impressive track record in air-to-air combat,
the others being the aforementioned Eagle and the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker.
The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War and the Balkans conflicts;
on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its
usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, when it was the
only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20
enemy aircraft during the conflict; 2 Sea Harriers were lost to enemy ground fire. They were also
used to launch ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force.
So, do you agree or disagree, and why or why not? Drop your comments below.