Taking it for granted, air superiority of developed countries has quite often been equated to being very much complete in themselves. It is quite rightly remarked in the circle of fighter pilots that sophistication of jet fighters is best utilized by the finest of pilots. With decreased use of the aerial-combat skills of an active-duty fighter pilot in real life situations involving special tasks like the risk filled air-to-air strikes, there has been a widening of opinion regarding the airworthiness of modern day fighter jets.
Technological advancements have helped design the modern fighter planes for higher speeds and tougher conditions. These advanced jets have made life eaiser for the pilot. As such, costs of these super machines have been hovering to as much as 2 billion dollars. An overview of some of the high performance jet fighters that are most talked about among air combat experts has been furnished below.
Considered as most powerful of US fighter planes, the F-15 Eagle with a top speed of 2.5 Mach is primarily an air to air fighter with a secondary option for air to ground and has had very good success in the Middle East, with no loss at all. Built to replace F-15 Eagle was the F-22 Raptor, which has almost the same engine and speed as the F-15 but has its wings moved back. The thrust vectoring nozzles on the F-22 moves faster giving it much better control an less drift. As for the F-22 Raptor, it is believed that the russians have something better called the T50 PAK.
Having achieved the distinction of being the best selling fighter plane in the world, the F-16 Fighting Falcon was the top performing fighter plane. It has now been replaced by the more agile F-18 and is referred to as the BMW of planes. With a top speed of about 1,000 miles per hour or Mach 1.8, F-18 is the most used all-around US Navy plane that can carry bombs, missiles and fuel tanks.
The F-14 Tomcat was upgraded at first to fire at six targets over 100 miles away, each one, at a single go. Its most recent upgrade has equipped it with laser guided bombs that could be used in poor visible conditions and at night.
Being endowed with the most amazing functionality of not being detected by radar, the B-2 Spirit is by far the most expensive plane owned by the US and costs nearly 2 billion dollars. It carries air to ground bombs and has similar functionalities as the newly inducted F-117 Nighthawk, which is also non-detectable by the radar.
The only plane that can hover like a helicopter is the Harrier AV-8b. It has been equipped with night vision and can deceive enemies by stopping in mid flight.
The Tu-160 is a strategic bomber that operates from very high altitudes with top speed of just over Mach 1 at 680 MPH and can hold 36,000 pounds of bombs. The A-10 Warthog is a very well armored fighter aircraft that can hold up to 16,000 pounds of a wide assortment of weapons on its wings!
The french Rafale is a very good fighter with great capabilities and is considered the most advanced operational fighter jet from the west.
The Sukhoi variant of SU-37 is the cutting edge fighter plane that can hold air to air missiles, air to ground missiles, anti-tank missiles and bombs. Well known for its super maneuverability and the ability to dump speed very quickly followed by rapid pick up of acceleration, the Sukhoi's are superior matches to any of the tactical fighter aircraft in the world.
Remember that, a fighter plane is recognized by its top control features with the ability to reach high speeds carrying heavy loads.
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