The most in-depth, All the technical dramatically illustrated details and dramatic study of the technology action portrayed in and tactics of modern hundreds of diagrams and air warfare ever published full-color photographs Bill Gunston 1 Mike SpickAIR COMBAT ‘The aircraft, tactics and weapons employed in aerial warfare today Bill Gunston Mike Spick Almost 300 photographs 46 full-color aircraft-and-weapons drawings Over 250 diagrams and line drawings his book is the most exciting volume on fighting aircraft for decades. By cutting through the jargon right down to the basics about modern air combat it opens up the amazing world of air warfare to the ordinary reader It is an extremely technical subject, to be sure, reflecting the tremendous and increasing advances in computer, electronics, materials and weapon system technology. But the technicalities have been explained simply and, even more helpful pethaps, have been illustrated graphically so that both the lay enthusiast and the wing commander can fully appreciate what is going on in the modern fighter cockpit, how the stresses of aerial dogfights affect the aircraft and pilot and what is being done to improve the performance of both, how today’s weapons relentlessly seek their targets and how electronic countermeasures work to confuse deadly weapons and the enemy launch aircraft. Further, the book looks at what should and could be done to enhance fighter design in future, The book is in three parts: the technology of air warfare; the aircraft and their weapons; and air combat tactics. The centrepiece is almost 100 pages of fabulous full-color artwork depicting the most potent fighters and attack aircraft in the world today, with combinations of possible weapon loads spread beneath them, in scale. No other book has ever attempted to get to the heart of the matter in this way: it portrays the fact that modern combat aircraft are not just extremely beautiful machines; they represent a formidable combination of speed and destructive potential. How that combination is effectively brought to bear in air-to-air combat Is vividly displayed in the section on tactics, which examines fighting effectiveness of the aircraft, the threats and tasks, methods and manoeuvres, basic aerodynamics and limitations, and —not least — the pilot, his training and equipment, ‘Almost 300 dramatic photographs, most in full color, over 120 explanatory diagrams, and over 135 annotated line drawings of aircraft combine with the lucidly written text to produce the most informative and fascinating book on air warfare in today’s high-technology climate. eneer ee ie giliiae xMODERN AIR COMBAT The aircraft, tactics and weapons employed in aerial warfare today Bill Gunston @ Mike SpickASalamander Book Credits First English edition published by SalamandorBooks Lt. Bditor:Ray Bonds This 1983 editions published by Designer: Mark Holt Grescent Hooks, distributed by Grown Publishers, Inc Color artwork (aircraft section) Kai Chot, Torry Had, OnePark Avenue, ‘Stephen Seymour, Mike Trim, and Tudor Art Studios Ld. New York, New York 10016 Diagrams and aircraft throo-views: TIGA. United States of America, Filmsetby SX Composing Ltd, hgfedcba Color reproduction by Bantam Litho Ltd.,and Rodney Howe Ld ISBN0817412059 Printed in Belgium by Henr Proostet Gi. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 83-72743 ‘The publishers wish to thank wholeheartedly the many organisations (©1083 Salamander Books Ld. and individuals the aerospace industry and the armed forces of| ‘rious nations in particular the US Ale Fore, who haveall been of Allrights reserved Considerable help in the preparation of this book Allcorrespondence concerning the content ofthis volume should bo addressed to Slamander Books Lid, Salamander House 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WCIN 3AF, United Kingdom. This book may not be sold outside the United States of \, ‘America and CanadeThe Authors Bill Gunston isa former RAF pilotand flying instructor and he has spent mostof his working fe accumulatinga wealth of information on rospace technology and history. Since le aviation and scientific subjects. His numerous books include the ‘Salamander titles "The Illustrated Encyclopedia ofthe World's Modern Miltary Aircraft cvelopediacl the World's Combat Alteraft”, “Thelllusrated Encyclopedia the World's Rockets and Missile", “Soviet Ale Power” (with Bill Sweetman), and many of Salamanders successful illustrated guidesto aviation subje also contributed tothe authortative'"The Soviet War Mach ‘The US War Machine” by the samecompan assignmonts for technical aviation period ‘assistant compiler of "Jane's Allthe World's Aircraft” and wa fermeriy technical editor of “Flight International” and technology editor of"Seience Journal Below: Thereisno “best fighter”. Tornado ADV cannotmatch the ¥.10 inadogight but theF-16 ‘cannot ly the Tornado's4¥shour patrols with stand-ofTkil power. “Mike Spick was born in London less than throe weeks before the Spitfire ade itsmoiden flight Educated a Churchers Collage, Petersfield (a school witha strong naval interest!) he later entered the ‘construction industry and carried out considerable work on RAF airfields. An occasional broadcaster on aviation topics, Mr. Spick’s interests include wargaming, which Tod him to close study of Wartare, followed by ahighly successful fistbook, "AirBattes i Miniature (Patrick Stophons, 1978). He has another book ‘his credit, Fighter Pilot Tactics” (Patrick Stephens, 1083), whichis historical study of the evolution of tactics, and helscurrenily working ona study ofsuceess in aircombet,Contents = Foreword The Technology of Air Gombat sitiGunston Aircraft Design ‘Aerodynamics Structure Propulsion Weapons: Electronic Warfare Displays ‘The Aircraft and Their Weapons ni\Gunston | Aeritalia AM-X BAe Buccaneer | BAe Harrier BAeHawk BAe Lightning BAe Sea Harrier Dassault Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet Dassault Breguet Mirage III, 50 8 | Dassault Breguet Mirage Fi Dassault Breguet Mirage 2000 10 | Dassault Breguet Super Etendard 14 | Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II 18 | FMAIAPucara 26 | General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon 30 | General Dynamics F-111 36 | Grumman A-6 Intruder 48 | Grumman F-14 Tomeat 66 | IAIKfirC2 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 76 | McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk 80 | McDonnell Douglas AV-8B/HarrierII 82 | McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II 84 | McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle 86 | McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet 88 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-21 90 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-23 92 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-25 94 | Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-27 96 98 100 102 104 106 108 110 112 114 116 118 120 122 124 126 128 130 132 134anavia Torna Panavia Tornado IDS Saab Scania Draken Saab Scania Viggen Sepecat Jaguar SOKO/CNIAR Orao/IAR-93 Sukhoi Su-7 Sukhoi Su-11 Sukhoi Su-15 Sukhoi Su-17/-22 Sukhoi Su-24 Tupolev Tu-128 Air Combat Tactics site spick Basic Aerodynamics ‘Threats and Tasks Fighting Effectiveness Air Combat Methods Manoeuvres ‘Training GlossaryForeword this book is about fighting aircraft, bt unlike most of the ‘numerous books already written on this subjectitis concerned with the true nitty-gritty of modem air warfare~the ‘weapons, the systemsand the tactics -whilealso includingsuch familiar detailsas the wingspan and type of engine fitted. Many people have been brought up to believe that all fighter pilots have large moustaches and wear polka-dot scarves. There arethose who feel that the subject of modern air combat isjusttoo ‘complicated for comprehension because they do not possessa PhD inelectronics, nor major in infra-red technology. Butwe believe this book can open up theamazing world of modern air ‘warlare to the ordinary reader. No PhD is needed. ‘That theresa problem in communication is evident from just skimming the pages of any modern defence magazine. One advertisement tells us: “High LCC isthe enemy: but our VORILS integrates multiplex data bus interfacing’. Facingitis anotherad ‘which proclaims “The good news is that TRW has thenecessary digital and RF VLSI. .. we're using VHSIC to build acompact, brassboard NTWS for tomorrow's pilots”. And modern fighters, it ‘appears, just don'thaveachance unless they have RSS, FBW, Hotas and a holographic HUD! ‘Wehave tried in this book to cut through the gobbledegookand explain some ofthe fundamentals of how modera warplanes are ‘designed, how they ly their missions and how the jock who sits Inthe hot seat does his ob. Nearly all these jocks are pilots. A few are called navigators, observers, radar intercept officers, naval Above: The font cockpit of Below: Nellis AFB, Nevada, with flight officers or weapon-system operators; morecommonly they fee"Sayaagahonathewerking LesVegecinthe beckeround tres are called the backseater, oreven the GIB (guy inback). Thereis Gertaumnatefemederstigniae, atlevatnavethecdvestoee of still some difference of opinion on just when a second crew- Pilot Thisireraftretainsamixof needing ICBM todestroy it. But ‘member is needed. Indeed, a decade ago it was fashionable ‘TV-typecomputerized displays the Sovietshave 1,398 ICBMs and toquestion whethereven theman inthefrontwasneeded:the _anddlaltypeinstruments.4. |i a many exportssoughtt prove that ightorand attackaltcrat certainly reconnaissance platforms, could do abetter job ifthey ‘were flown by a pilot who stayed out of harm's way,eitheron the ground or in another aircraft, controllingan RPV. But then there's nothingnew under the Sun. A quarterofa ‘century ago the official British view was that manned combat aircraft as aclass were obsolete. The actual wording was “Having regard to... the likely progress of ballisticrockets and missile defence, the Government have decided not togo.on with the development of asupersonic manned bomber.... Work will proceed on aground-to-air missile defence system which will in ‘due course replace the manned aircraft of Fighter Command... ‘TheRAF are unlikely tohavea requirement for fighter aircraft more advanced than the P.1 and work on such projects willstop.’ Today's massed squadrons continue to exist not because people like to preserve obsolete concepts for sentimental reasons. (One ofthe things this book perhaps cannot do isfully explain why ‘wedo continue to build so many combat aircraft. Thereare plenty ‘ofreasons why, forthe defence of one’s own territory, itisfar ‘more sensible to use nothingbut SAM launchers, each with sufficent quickly available missiles to guarantee that they could neverrun out of firepower. And ina world populated (at least on the Soviet side) by thousands of nuclear warheads all waiting to bbeused atop missiles of proven pinpoint accuracy, itis difficultto ‘understand why we goon building aircraft that cannot fly without runways, Anairbase is the most inviting target long-range ‘nuclear missile could have. Someof the Soviet missiles may be targeted on ports, special military centres or cities, but wecan take it for granted that every NATO airfield is covered by several missiles. Yet when [pointed this out ten years ago, and sent the manuscript tothe Pentagon for comment, it was returned with, this part described (without justification) as “a thinly disguised sales pitch for the Harrier” “Thoman who wrote that was a senior officer in the US Air Force. Occasionally, some of his light-blue buddies ty to score off the dark blues of the Navy by saying ‘your carriers.can besunk, ‘butnobody can sink our airfields". Fortunately we havenot hada full-scale war for nearly 40 years, and nobody should drav too ‘many conclusions from the way the runway at Port Stanley in the Falklands emerged almost unscathed from British attempts to renderitunusable, We havecomea very long way beyand the Below:"Today's massed ‘The classic aircombatis squadironscontinuetoexist...", “oneonone”-HereanF-14A of US ‘suggesting thatthe British Navy squadron VF-143 trestobag Governmentrred when in1957it an Aggressor AT-38of VE-43 over the Air Combat Maneuvering Range near Yuma, Arizona '500-pound bombs dropped manually on that runway, and theone point that must be rammed homes that modern airpoweris virtually useless ifit is based on concrete runways. Just 20 years ago this fact was recognised: USAF's SACused to keep a proportion of its bombers in the air, ona gruelling “airborne alert” ‘with live bombs on board, while RAF Strike Command shuttled its Vulcans and Victors from one base to another -including ‘many not normally used — so that they should not be caught on the ground and sont up in fireballs. Today we in the West nolonger bother: Incredibly, even our Harriers areat known airfield locations. Meanwhile, the number of Soviet ICBMs, IRBMs, LRBMsand SLBMs~not just initials but terrifying megatonnage— targeted on those airfields has grown day by day. Any fighter pilot will tell you that the notion of aerial chivalry is, nice bitof fiction. When your life and mission areat stake, vou play towin, Butthe warfare whose toolsand techniques are laid bare in this book doesat least rest on such basic assumptions asa first-order similarity between opposing types of aircraft, anda battle between aerial attackers and ground or ship defenders that isinno sense one-sided. But the 750-kiloton warhead landingat the intersection of the runwaysas the base sleeps at night makes it all seem rather pointless. ‘Wehope this kind of war will never come. Ifnobody presses that kind of button, war with wings, bullets and electrons — however regrettable —willremaina valid topic. Now rea how far ithas come. SSThe Technology of Air ad be ye oeEngineering Development Center in Tennessee is tryingto prepare forthe next contury. One of ts many ideas isthis parasol-winged costly. Butdareone ignore it?Introduction Frente artist day of aerial warfare technolo alternative to skilled pilots —had to come into tsomewhere, ‘This was especially the case with thestart in 1915 of combat, between aeroplanes. Such basics as flight speed, turn radius {associated with which has alwaysbeen rate of oll) and maximum rate of climb have gone hand-in-hand with armamer ‘armour, engine reliability and the ease with which acrippled aircraft could be flown bj lot, to determine the Likely outcome of any particular engagement. In World War, however, all these matters were utterly ccondary in comparison with the pilot. Toa far greater degree the ‘outcome of anair combat depended on piloting skill, experience, lection of tactics, eyesight, muscular strength, alertness, correct taking of quick decisions, and the ability to de accurate deflection shooting. Of course the pilot's mount was important, but the differences between one fighting scout and another were far less than between one pilot and a Tin World War much thes ‘equations ofeach combat, though the aircraft and thelr equipment bbogan to play a crucial role, so that inthe Pacificin 1944 many skilled and courageous Japanese fel before the firepow highly inexperienced US superi the F6F and FaU. These same aircraft, incidentally, w Above: While British Aerospace sols cracking on the ACA, MB in ‘West Germany wants tobuild the sameaeroplane but callitby the first small fighters to carry radar for making interceptions at rae cena ight. In such aroleevenapilotonhisfirst combat mission might {mpression ofthe propoved ell pulloffa perfect interception, while ifthe radar failed pilot TRF 90 project. Below: The three MEDs (multifunction displays) are reflected inbright electronic green Inthe vizorofamF/A-18A Hornet pilot. Today's combat airerat is theultimate example of manlmachine symbiosis,‘with 200 comb toreturn to base. Today, for better oF worse, the technology is dominant. There are very few active pilots today who are experienced in actual ‘combat, and not even thebest efforts of the Aggressors and their Warsaw Pact counterparts can quite equal the real thing though it ‘can come remarkably nearto it), This certainly does not mean that all pilots are equal very, very far from it! but the results of air ‘combat are increasingly likely to be dictated by the hardware This leadsto the obvious question: will here evercomeaday when the pilot is merely a passive supervisor, taken along forthe ride in case anything happens thata human can cope with but for which the hardware had not been programmed? This leadsback tothe lato 1950s when half the experts thought fighters were being replaced by SAMsand the other half thought they were being replaced by RPVs, Neither ofthese things has happened, but itis not difficult to argue the case for either. Certainly, inthe situation which exists over NATO's Central European front, foolish in the extreme to trade fighters one-for-one agai ‘superior number of enemy aircraft. Farbetter to use no fighters but large numbers of SAMs, which can unfailingly knock dawn the ‘enemy ona 1-nil basis without any chance of scoringan unfortunate “own goal’ NATO isat present increasingly forced into the cleft stick of pretending it can overcome numerical inferiority by technical superiority. Wherever direct measurement isnot possible the ‘West makes cosy estimates which seek to prave that Soviet, dosignersare nothing like as cleveras those in the West. Their radars may beig, the argument goes, but they are said tobecrude, low-powered and short-ranged, and the bigness is explained away as evidence of backwardness. Precisely the same goes for ‘AAMSs; for example the AA-6 Actid is estimated by supposed ‘Western experts to have arange of 23 miles (37km), though itis ‘over 20ft long and weighs 1,6501b, while the US Navy's AIM-54 Phoenix flies more than 124 miles (itis 13ft longand weighs 1,0001b). But whenever direct measures are possible, as inthe case of aircraft guns and numerous army weapons, the notion of Inbuilt qualitative superiority vanishes. Obviously this book cannot pretend to provide answers tothe questions regarding the myth of Soviet technical inferiority, butat Teastittcan provide abasic grounding in what the factors are, how they affect he design of present and future fighters, and what the fighters ofthe 1990s might be expected to be like. fwestudy the outpourings of the publicity machines of the US manufacturing industry we might conclude that tomorrow's fighters will be souped-up versions of the SR-71, with fuselages about Soft 27m) long, gross weights in the 100,0001b (45,000kg) class and speeds nudging Mach 3.5. Onehas only to think fora very few seconds to see that the real future will be very different ‘missions behind him would have no option but The Technology of Air Combat First, inflation isalready making it extremely hard to build any fighteraircraftat all. Unless weare extremely quickand very clever, asin the case of the F-16, even our small, cheap fighters are goingtoend up more expensive than the big, capable onesthey ‘were intended to replace (the F/A-18 Hornet is an obvious case in point) Second, stealth technology likes small combat aircraft rather than larger ones. Third, anyone who flies at Mach 3.5 needs his head examined; even Mach 2is almost always nonsense, because it burns fuel quickly, takes time to achieve and eliminates, any possibility of inflight manoeuvring, Fourth, and certainly not the least important, the strange assumption that future wars will be marked by droppingafew bombs on runways, leaving “at least 800 metres forall ourtakeotts and lanclings", is as nonsensical as mathematically precise calculations ofthe percentage of NATO aircraft that would still be operatingon Day 3 of anall-out war. Leader of such calculations has for20 years been the USAF, which because of its powerand prestige exerts a major influence on military thought. But someof the minorair forces have already bogun to realize that, shoulda, ‘major war ever break out, anything based on an airfield will be dead — probably before the war begins, Asthe technology described in the following pages is very expensiveindeed, Western air staffs owe itto their taxpayers not to waste it by placingit on an airfield, Dispersal to thousands of remote operating locations, on land orafloat, isthe only apparent ‘way tosurvive, the FIA-1BA Hornet. This ‘Sidewinder was fred in June 1983 {froma Hornet from MCASEI Tore, Thisis a McDonnell proposal for thenext generation boyand the AV-4B Harrier,Aircraft Design ryingto define what we mean by “combat aireraft"isas sdficultas tryingtodefine the ‘word “fighter” Indeed, though thichaptersconcerned mainly ‘with what are loosely called Fighters, inevitably onobas to look alaieiground missions which form lanimportant part of most repertoire. "The design of combat airrafthas changed somuch ov vyearsthat theres Teamed by goingback intohistory priortoabout 1960, though afew ttondsare worth aria glance. One ofthe obvious discontinuities in Uhegeneralized curves that ‘normaly thrust over upwards is alert spood, Until the mid-1950s fighters naturally became ever faster, Only two yearsafter Artem Mikoyan and "Duteh' Kindelborger oversaw the basi designof the first production Fighters able to accoleratoto ‘beyond Mach ton the level, in 1951, "Kelly" Johnson drew performancecurves farsuh bocamothe Lockheed 83 (F-108) andfound that with thenew}79 ‘engine and properly schemed ‘ariableinletsand nozzlethe thruststayed aad ofthe dragto beyond Mach (et which poi the aircraft was “redlined” to prevent Hructural overeating) A mere ‘one yearlatorMikoyan steam Studied the problems of ight at tose to 1,583mph (2.500km/h or Mach 235), whileRepublic Aviation was deep inthe challonging design ofthe monster XF-108 ighter to fly t Mach 3.7, 0 2,446mph (3,996Km/) Theresno particular technical problem inbulldinga2.as6mph fighter but such anexercise would ‘ote very dseful Speed is much less important than some people, notably the Dassault comps ‘appear tobelieve. The faster an alrcraft fies, the grater itsradius ‘of turn, because acceerative Toading goes up nt in proportion tospoed butin proportion tothe Above: Two idewinders and the ‘new Vulcan sixcbarrel gun F104 was not optimisod for manoeuvrability. Later ite speed ‘and small radarsignature were ‘Used inattack missions. square of the speed. A ightr flying ft 2,¢46mph ies na very straight line Indeod. fit wereto encounter hostileaircralttwouldhaveto flyrighton past, and take some timo taslowr dawn sufcienty to ‘make reasonable turn, Having allowed thespeed to bleed of itis ‘worse off than the slower aircraft, because the latter (other things boing equal can be smaller. shorter, lighter, cheaper and much more agile Prolonged study ofthe ten years ‘ofvatiedaircombatin Southeast, ‘Asia in 1903-79 showed tha, though afterburners wore often used and supersonic speed ‘occasionally reached, every ar ‘combat ook placeat subsonic speed which was usually between 2hoand 450 knots. The slower itis possibletofly, thebettertherateof Above: Tosome extenttoday’s Counterpart ofthe F-104 the Mirage 000, whichis the only ‘modern fighler known tohave ‘been designed tohave thehighest possibleflight performance. Low= evel “ride” and fuel consumption suffer badly. Sf * Below: What will Sweden's JAS39 Gripendo that cannot bedone by today’s}A37 Viggen? The answer isthat twill be lightly better ina dogfight and will bemuch more ‘economical to operate, besides beinga generation newerin concept first ight due 1966-7).The Technology of Air Combat Above: Widely regarded astoday's _ wook.and complotothe design ofa best fighter, inthe broadest Aighterin about womonths. Today meaningofthe word, theF-16has thedesign ofanew hghter needs ‘lready been dramatical teamof thousands ofengincers, ‘developed beyondthestandard of ach earingatloast £1504 week thisearlyexample.Wecan only anddoingall sorts of vital things ‘dimly discern what wil replace except produciag actual drawings the -16 inthe year 2000, ofpart Eventually hardware doos get turn,tosuchadogreethatmissles made, insomecasesastheend ableto pull ascemingly impossil sraphicsand tsich eam stoor the bya forewarned fighter pulling at450knots. Whenall the Valables Have been cranked into. thefighter design processthe in P graphics ‘answer that emerges that Mach mean much fasterthanthe deal, workfasterthat today a now fighter fad agood figure fora rarely dlsign takes about six years and fttained maximum Mach number costs not hundreds of times more ists. This thefactthat —butthousands of times more. In thanks tosuperiorengines today’s country uch he Ai fighterhasmorethantwicethe Stalfhardly noed to bother writing thrustthatcouldbe packed intothe ORs Operational Requirements) procidinggeneratio ‘anymore. Thereisnomoneyto Above:Big.heavy andinmost _—Below: Incontrast air combats Evonmorvimportantthanthe haveanythingactuallybulli.and if respectstypically Russian in its ‘what the British Aerospace diminished importance affight decision weretobe taken togo_toughsimplicity, the MiG-25 has Axile Speodistheinfluenceofinflation aheadtheORon whichthedesign _alwaysbeen avery inflexible fncostInWorld Warllateamof —seasbased would be totally aircraft Thelastthingitwantsto S0draughtsmen each earning’5a outdated yearsbefaretho rst oistoslow down, tun cornersar which, withthe demise of the fokcouldurnouthundredsof flightofaprototype.Can this truly getintoanykind ofaircombat Lightning is totally missing from factual production drawings every beragarded as “progress”? ‘witha manoeuvrable opponentAircraft Design Above: Since 1969 the MeDonnel Douglas Phantom has served the RAP well (hore an FGR 2i rofuellod bya Victor K.2). Butit Kept the RAF tied tolong-runway ‘vulnerable airbases. Below: Today the Panay ‘TornadoF-2isin production as istoocanatany time be knocked outby amaclear missle onits immobile airbase. ‘Thesoare woo the fundamental factors which affect the design of alreraftto defeat other erat hitsmall targets on the {round in the face of winter storms land intense modern defence systems, keepflyingaround the lock withoutneeding a Attntion, and keep onlyingafter theenemy’s nuclear rockets have ‘obliterated the West airfields, Obviously, aircraft that can operate ‘nly rom major airbases are worse than useless,beeausenotonly do they ieuplarge numbersof skilled personnel wha would go up in Fireball just prior to the declaration ‘of warbut they also consume vast amounts of money that could ‘otherwise bo used for survivable ‘defence systems. ‘Solange major war is avoided, the Westean justaboutgotaway ‘withthe preson situation inwhich fighters whose priceaverages £1,000 perkgof empty weight. ‘Thetoare put into servic insuch small numbers tha they could be tliminatedby wipingout mere 1 firbases, atark which the Soviet, VSN (strategic rocket troops) ‘couldaccomplishat any moment Such costly aircraft are affordable in peacetime only because, whereas arlor fighters had an activeliftime which varied froma fev weoks in World War ‘uptoaslongas four yarsinthe 1950s, today’s fightershaveto last ‘more than 20 years Lest anyone ‘mightthink such airraftas the F-86and Hunter lasted much longer than four years, the point must made that each af theso typos kept on boingreplaced by new version. The USAF ath Fighter Wingin 1950-55 had exch F-tb replaced an averagecight times, n fivesuecessively {improved models. But today the USAF 40th Wingis, in general, stil AyingthesameF-15s ein therefore follows inevitably that futurvale forces aregoing to relyona very small numberof alrcrat ofa vory small number of different types, and they are going tolivewith thesameactual aircraft formaybe humanly overeoch: ‘design isa rocipe for disaster. Tho RAFF forexample, wasall set to recelvea V/STOL aircraft with Considerable flexibility and ‘mission capability which had been conceived quite quickly in 1962-64 but which was cancelledin 1905 and replaced by aCTOL (long ‘hinway)aitcralt the Phantom, Helf designed in 1955-560‘The Technology of Air Combat ¢ ‘operstefrom USNavy carriers. The beentalkingaboutenew fighterfor accountistakenofactualexisting good fighter, as witness the F-1118 RAFatillusesthePhantom,but eight years,and in 1982achieved orprojected programmes, norsuch and XFV-12A. Today's wealth of willsoon introduce the Tornado the priceless initial gal of mattersas programme additional design tools, suchas F.2tomeetitsnoed fora long agreement on basicideasfora ‘management, fundingor political computer graphics and precise eadurancestand-offinterceptor. common design Butinabilityat af Simulation of future air com Asfarasaircombalfightersare governmentleveltodemonstrate me tnables the designer tocreatea concemedtheRAFhas virtually theslightestconvictionorcourage guidetowhatisnotonlyagigantic muichbetter design quicker. But nothing the most passionate will probably sodelaythe ACA” Subjectbutone in which these aids are available also tothe Imemberof Lightning Training (Agile Combat Aircraft) experience and possibly luck play BadGuys,andone hasjustas much | FlightatBinbrookcould hardly programmethatultimatesuccess _anatinconsiderable role. chance today asin former years of argue)andhas nothingin prospect. _willbelimpossible, Expenditureof several yearsande endingupwithanew fighter ‘Thethrve partnersinPanaviahove "In thefollowing analysis i billiondollarsisnoguaranteeofa whichcomesa close second! Above:Rockwell'sHIMATcan Below: Rockwell's predecessor, Advanced Fighter Concept forthe Above: The sole major example of reachonly Mach 1.5,butthisis North American Aviation, was 1900s. Itwillhaveawingofover” aUSattempttobuld a vertical ‘morethenenoughfortomorrow’s often No.1US defence contractor 48/(14.6m)span,andvectoring rising fighter not ted to giant i aircombats which, iketeday's, inthe 1950s, andthe companys two-dimensional norzlesbehind airbases wasthisXFV-124, yet arelikelytobesubsonic. Agility strivingtogetbackinthe "big its 60M (18.2m) fuselage tisone of another Rockwell programme. ‘counts more than speed. Teague" with projects such asthis many proposalsfor USAF. Saaly, itisunsuccessfulso far.Aerodynamics [eee 1900 some hier studies, notably by Bristol Sidley, eliminated wings and relied totally upon thethrast vector fromenginessuch asthe Pegasus and BS 100. A wingless fighter voids many problems, but potas others, and wehave yetto Soe oneemerge, Today, over 80 Years afterthe Wright Brothers, we dillrely chiefly on wings in onder ‘oth tofly and to manoeuvre. Compared withthe birds our wings areamazingly primitive,butthey continueto get better ‘Around 30 years agothechiet arguments raged over whether the straight wingshould boreplaced bythe swept wingor the delta, Today we know how tomake wings sothin thatthe plan shapes much lessimportant, using fcdvancedstructuresto avoid the perils ofseroelastie distortion Which 30 yeas ago terified $lrossien and, forexample, made the designers athe F100 putthe ailerons inboard oehich meant the wing.could haveno laps), Today we are so clover woare oven using.so-called supercritical profiles to make wings thicker, Some accompanyingcurves show thegninsachieved by sucha wing ‘onan AlphaJet (though the {improved manoeuvrability of this wing was gained largely by adding Powerful slatsand allspeed flaps Which would aso have improved theeriginal wing). Why makea wingthicker?A thicker wing is Structurally much easier, andasits skins can be thinner the weight ‘dramatically reduced, Moreover itevolumeis obviously greater the new Alpha etwingholds almost fasmuch ful asthe orginal wing plusexternal drop tanks Tisonly common sensethat any wings deal atonly one particular ‘condition of ight. Earl fighters had fxed-goomotry wings which were far from ideal in every part of fflightexceptthe ono for which the wing was designed. By 1935, movable aps, and sometimes Left: The US Navy Grumman F-14 ‘Tomeatis aerodynamically one of themost efficient fishtersever built Here itslong wings are pivoted back at 60° fr fight at Speeds up to over Mach. Right: Dassault followed the delta hhashigh-litslatsand laps. Below:Tornadocancarry a heavier bombload under ite faselagethan any other aircraft ‘except the far bigger B-1B. Here tight 1,00015 (454k) bombs are on board, leaving the wing for tanks and ECM.‘The Technology of Air Combat slats, enabled the wingto change Itsbohaviour sothat could be close to dealin several different A much more powerful form of ‘VG (varlable geometry) arrived withthe dea of warble ‘weepback in 1943, butt took ‘nother 17 years befor this was ‘madeto worksatisfactorly with ‘widely spaced outboard pivots. 1a the fist production application, the F111, the upper surface ofthe fuselage sonly gently curvedand Weg at - minimum swe a e oie y wos extremely broad, downstream of leadingedges swept atthe ec angleof 72:5" Outboatd pivots enable the main outer wings tobe Sweptat this same anglofor high Speed light at Mach numbers upto more than 2 For subsonic loiter, and takooffand landing, the wings ‘an beswungiorwaed o only 16" and therli greatly increased by extending full-spanslatsand Adouble-slotod flap. With the wings spreaditis possible tofly relatively slowly yet \, Wea pots \) ner mpm becca wire A LY > (orn soststors Above: The USAF, together with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, istesting a deep supercritical wing om an FLL which has the advantage of being abe to ly with the new wing atdifferentangle ofsweep, The new wingisthebroad,short-span shape superimposed on the original wing, Right: These four F-111Chombers ‘demonstrate thal tis possible to flyaformation withthe wings at any angle from 72.5" (the lead aircraft toonly 16" (the rear icra). Normally thediferent Angles would befor light markedly different speeds, 72.5 being supersonic onl. carry heavy loads, anda major spinoff from this thatthe landing gear is up tot, th aireraft ccanbeflovn from short strips with rough surfaces. Variable sweep is, ‘obviously good for carrier basod aircraft. Inthe high-speed ogime the fully swoptwinghaslow wave ddragand is closoto the ideal for ‘supersonic light Is wory small Spanhasa further advantage in that wing of very low aspoct ratio, withares distributed mainly from front torear rather than across @ wide span, basiwhat called fat liftcurve. With ordinary wings the ltt varies very sharply indood with theangle of atack the angle at hich the wing meets the ‘oncoming ait) butthe ultre-low spect ratio "slender wing” shows only small changes init over 4uitelarge changes in angle of attack This means fighter can fly atfulltheotl through turbulent aircloseto the ground and hardly respond othe local upeurrents‘Aerodynamics and downcurents called gusts ‘Gustresponse hasbeen on Uh chief factors to consi designing modern f Inecatise for 30 year ‘considered thatthe safest way to penetrate hostile airspace Istofly Aslowas possible. Thisgives ‘dofendors minimum time to got wady to fire, and in most existing tlirdefenceradars there are technical difficulties in detecting targets very close tothe ground. OF ‘course there are problems in fying very lowat high Speed. As wellas, Low-level Ride Comfort 0Sp bumps perminte Above: n general the shorter and ‘stubbier a wing (ie, the lower its ‘aspect ati), thebetter the ride at high speed in the dense airat low level: Best ofall are the VG swing- thebasic need toavold hittingthe sround,themission rangois featly reduced because gas Turbine engines bu timos faster at low level than inthe very cold thinalrat high altitude, Impacts with birds, sovere bindstrikes can kll he pilot, damage tailplane enotigh to cause wing aireraf all of which can fly [MMach 0.9 sea levelin good ‘crew comfort. Other aircraft are {toorough, and the large-area Mirage lis hopeless. animmediatediveintothe ground, Above: Seen from behind, an orsimply wreck the engine or F-16A Fighting Falcon ofthe gust responseisa imiting factor in ‘what a human crew ean stand especially inthecrucialcaseot _offtheleading edge will droop 15 ‘maximum speod atthe lowest, Tevel People whoarenotcombat intoairframe fatigue life. The aircrew may notappreciate thatthe smooth rideof the VG aircraft isnot plotofgust response shown inthe, justamatter of comfort bt of being Siagram translates intobone- abletofly the mission properly. rushing, eyeball jerking Iscurious that several recent movementsinthevertical plane Westernaircrafthavebeen| Which alsohavethe tfectofeating designed with fxed-geometry ‘The Cambered Fixed Wing Above: Having buillthe VGF-111, General Dynamics then built the ling edges are pivoted and can ge upor down (see six profiles Felswithawingfixedinplan on acing page). The top drawing shapebutvariablein section ‘shows the F-16 with the wing set, profile. Hoththeleadingand ‘upfor the approach toa landingWingsbecause of belief that VC adds oo much weight or ‘Complexity, whilein thes Unionevery aircraft t high-speed attack mission hasa VG wing. Nothing sas simpleas it seems. While thecit-rpeated suggestion thata VG wingmakesit dificult to carry heavy loads of weaponsand tuck helanding goaraway is clearly nonsense look at Tornado}, the variable-sweep wingisjust one way of doing In designing the F'6andtoalessrextent the. F-16 Wing Profiles Loasng co “eal ope =F Tactaning gundt 5 fe aa ra -2 e ———— Tatar ripen cee =, e Ae ‘onguaton p aan Se conan 2 a (atwhoa sp up) Above: The six main ight regimes ‘ofthe F-16A are characterized by a particular wing profile. The ‘numbers show the angular setting ofthe hinged portions. 18, the wing was given some VG fullspan telling edge flaps. Computer controlled, these adjust the profile ofthe wingto sult akeof, cruise, high gmanoouvres, supersonic The deal, ofcourse isa wing made of flexible material whose fection profile and planform sh ‘anall be varied continuously, nd thisiscertainly beyond the present ‘tatoo theart. The best thats practicableistomake the wing ‘what the Americans call "mistion adaptive" by changingits profile and; if possible, planform shape, in ‘easy stages by providingitwith performance, complexity, cost and reliability, lke most things in There are many other aspects of fighter aerodynamics, Slondor wings in which root chord exczeds the span canfly tangles of attack farbeyond thoseat which ordinary wings stall Flyan F-14 withthe ‘wings oulspread and youbavea Conventional aeroplane witha ‘wingthat stalls at around 16° AOA. (angle of attack) despitehelp from slatsand laps. Swoop the wingto 66°and inextromo conditions you can ly at AOA from 60° tobeyond {90° (atleast you could before th troubles with the TFS0 engine brought AOA restrictions). Itis doubtful that today's designers are workingonasinglfightrthat Cannot routinely fiyat AOA greater than 60" inair-combat ‘Athigh AOA itusuallyhelpsto havetwo vertical tis, though whether these arecanted outwards forgreatr effectiveness or fixed vertical orslopeinwardstoroduce roll duetorudder movement ‘dopends on theprticular design Likothe fighting scouts of 1916 today's supersonic fighter often flies with no xed fin the slab rudderbeing justas good asthe Slab horizontal all "slab ‘meaning that the whole surface ‘moves instead of beinghinged toa fixed surfaco upstoam. Since 1950 slabruddershave only gradually becomethe favoured choice, but in modern Why the VG “Swing Wing” is Superior m0 ‘Short ake andlandng Manoouwabaty Longracius of ation Mach 2+ paormance (crow comiont Above: A fixed-shape wis ‘only in one condition of fight Hore the length ofhorizontal bar shows "marks outoften" foreach offive important variables fr two ‘The Technology of Air Combat Above: Though ithas become fashionable in the West to ‘nock” the VG swing wi happens to make possible vastly superior multioleaireraf. Here P-GA Tomeats are catapulted froma US Navy carrier. fightorsa xed tailplane ierare Indeed. Usually theroaro ft and rightsurfaces called tailerons (tllplanolalerons) which control Uheaircraftinvollas wel asi pitch- Conventional sions may bused as wel, either at low or fixed-geometry arcraf the¥-104 (ed) and A-10 (blue), and one VG aircraft Tornado, mauve). The latter is good acrossthe board, bbecausel'can redesign itself‘Aerodynamics Contrasting Tail Geometries F-26Sa0 1007 {ail surfaces. From the F100 all vertical surfaces. There sno hhaveslabtailplanes,the A-Sheing doubt the canard, ason HIMAT, thefirsttousetailerons(tailplanes _willbecome much more common. Above: A Tornado 2 interceptor incombatairpatrolconliguration wereangled sharply down at" Below: The tailplanes ofthe F-s showsclearlyhow each tailplane tomaintainoffectiveness at all, Ispivoted nearmid-chordta move AOA withoutexcossive dihedral ‘asonesurface,inthiscaseto ‘fect accentuated by the upswept Control in both pitch and rol ‘outer wings)-Note Pave Tack pod. high spoeds or the wing maybe fitted with spoilers. Inthe Jaguar spoilers arethe primary rll Control thetallerons beingbrought Inonly atlow arspoeds. tthe Tornado the tailerons are the primary control, tho spoilers being Unlocked only asthe wings rolatedinloareduced-sweep Position "Asolf-ovident drawback'o taille aircraft such as the Mirage I,isthat on takeoff and landing the powerful elevons, which take the place of the usual powered tailplane, have tooperato witha relatively smallffoctivemoment- farm, andsotheirdownthrusthas to bewery large. Thiscan add several tonnes tothe effectivealecrat ‘weight justattho worst possible time when the fixed-geometry thin lta wingisclawingat the arto trytoget enough lift. TheMirage 2000 avoids this problem by hhavinga wingof variable profile, with hinged leading Ualllng surface, en small canard lorwardiailplane, if thats nota contradiction canard with ralling-edge flaps or ‘ators Thus inthe takeolf or gegimothe Viggen has lift from the main wing plus ftom theflapped canard plus it from thedownward-depressed main- ‘wingolovons. Tnmost regimes, bu particularly Below: This Mirage 5 ofthe French ArméedeT'Airisunwittingly, demonstrating that conventional tullessdetastake off and land terthan necessary because of heavy elevon download. Upthrust is Better than Downthrust ‘Talviegit —pr. “ave nay downtisi —7W Above: Tallless deltas have to thrust downwards with great force onthe rear ofthe wingtotake off orland, adding “weight” jst at Tota the worst possible time. ie ‘Below: In contrast the Viggen rotates by adding if froma flapped canard foreplane. Canard: oathigh AOA, the Viggen'scanards fenerate powerful vorticas of ‘apidly spinningair which writho back behind thetips end scrubthe lupper surface of the outer wings Vorices can be advantageous in ich conditions ia putting eneray Intotheboundary layer of airin ‘contact withthe wing upper ‘surface and, by preventing this Iayer from becoming sluggish, avoid flow breakaway. Theroves ofemal bladescalled turbulators or vortex generstors, frequently seen along wings oF on lulls, readied for precisely this purpose. The jagged iscontinuitieson fighter loading fedgos known as dogteeth create powerful vortices, andsodo the Stakes or leading-edge roo! fextensions on such areraft asthe F-toandP/A-18, The sharp chines alongthe SK-71 Blackbird canalso ‘generate large vortices but infact frefor maintaining adequate \weathercock(drvetional or yaw) ‘ability athigh AOA. nthe 1980s basic stability of supersonic fightors was often a problem especially aircraft with Tongand heavy faselages and relatively small wings Yaw/oll couplingled tomany mysterious ‘rashes, and later to larger ale, ‘ventral ins andevenextended ‘wingtips. Inthe maximum-sweep Configuration tho MIC-23 needs so ‘much rearfin ere ithesan lunderfin which has tobe folded Sideways priorto landing ‘The Technology of Air Combat Suchafestureisunlikely tobe countered by split-econd then putunder the contol of fast. sooninthenewandexciting world deflection the contol surfaces to acting contol system to keep the FCCV (control-configured Keoptheaircraft flying point-hrs. dart flyingthe right way round, Vehicle) technology. Here the ‘CCV fighters rely totaly upon 'ACCY onginoerin British fighterisdeliberately designed the instantaneous reaction oftheir Aerospace sald that the task of th without natural flight stability, the computerized fight control ‘ontrolsystom is exactly that ofa buzzword boing RSS (relaxed Ssensorsandtheonly slightly mansittingon the bonnet ofa stati stability Assoonasittsies slower deflections of thelr ‘somph earand pushing bicycle toflysuchanaircraftwillatempt powered control surfaces. They are back-to-front, steering tby the toswapends,butsuchamotion Inprinciple ikea dart whose handlebars. Gedinary humans ‘wouldbe instantly sensedby the fightshavabeentaken fromthe would lose contol of sucha Hightcontol system and tallandmountedonthepolnt,and bleycleat speeds grestor than Another Advantage of Canard Foreplanes Z wy Above: In mos ight regimes vortices (spinning columns of air) ‘waste energy, but the Viggen's| ‘Canard vorticesback up those from the wingtore-energize the sluggish boundary layer over the wingskin, Below: Sweden's Viggen has for Below:Oneofthe few aircrafthat many years been one ofthe most cantarnwiththe Viggen isthe impressive combat aircraft, FAGA,aUSAFexampleafvhich combining advanced pulse: {sshown herepullingupso ‘doppler radar with the ability to sharply thatthefuselagestrake operate from short farm tracks. vortices have become visible, Lowsspeed agility soutstanding,Aerodynamics bout mp (almost Skim). but the CCV ight controls react fast ‘enough fo Keep running Accurataly at 6omph(96.56km/h), Theremightbe 100contzol ‘movements each second, each oo ‘malta benoticed. ‘CCV aircraftmay not look ‘unusual, but they have heir CG (centreof gravity fartothe ear ‘Twoalreraf which have penetrated well intotheCCV domainaretheF-16and Mirage 2000. Such aircraft nod FBW (fly bby wire electrically signalled fight controls, fast-acting suta mcr ecco cheer eegees foes cee Soe See eee eas iano, ee Soasreeca ee, ae ee Fore Coneemend niet cone ain Right: These plan views show the benefits—which any Aightor pilot seem amazing, and basically Impossible-of direct side-force ‘contro. Like pitchforee contro, ‘these demand instantaneous FW fighter. 1.23: ion provides instant control of aircraft Iateral velocity at constant heading (maintained by constant- ‘heading comput smode).This mode insta ‘out drifton landing orerrorsin air-to-ground fringruns. 4.50: direct sideforce, using eanards fand rudder with roll control to ‘maintain zerosideslip. Thisisfor dquickheading changes orfor {racking laterally moving targts. 7.88: yaw pointing using ‘canards, idder and oll control to ‘change yaw angle (heading) whilst ‘holding ight path constant. This sivesnearsinstant aiming control Balancing the Conventional Fighter —_. Balancing the CCV (RSS) Fighter a 4 4 ’ ’ Above: Thefirsttrueatiomptata Above: Atsubsonic specds ficient in many other ways, CCVfighterwasthis rebuild ofthe theconventiona fighter needs tail" Wehave now gotto the first YF-16 prototype withoblique downthrustto balance it and ‘canard control surfaces. Though weight forces, but the CCV (or very much aninterimtestvehicle Relaxed Stati Stability) fighter itwassufficiently promisingto gains from ail upthrust. Atover Teadtothemuch moreadvanced Mach Toth need dowathrust at FAGAFTLopposi thetall,butthe CCV forceis small powerunits,highlyreliableand board EDP (electronic data Imulti-edundantfightcontrol processing) ableto use much more systems (typically with two poirs fight information at much higher ofhydraullcpowersystemsand speed. TheCCV fighter not only floctricsignallingsothatany fault hus potentially more rapid power iscounteredbya3-over-Tor2-0_ofanoeuvrebuteanbemade majorityjandeneworderofon- smaller lightorand mare AFTIPitch Modes ye wl, Ls * oh 2 ie ¥ a San LTE ==, aera ? Benefits of Side Force Control sh * which some manufact Duttingthe magicinitials CGV into {heirbrochures even when their aircraft are wholly conventional, and fitted with fight-control CCV design modify anexisting Aghterintoa CCV machine, such estbedsas ‘MAW'sF-204CCV being pure ‘esearch tools incapableof fiving ‘valid military missions. ‘Butone thingthat canbe doneto ‘existing ightersis to equip thom ithadditional light coatrol which because of their Tocation and thrust axis ean impart «devo forces normal tothe light path. Atpreseat this is impossible, Alero, spoil ‘unison} cannot do more than rotate the aircraft about one of it Istherotation whieh, overa Shortcomings ofcoaventional fighters are clearly seen \orground feingrun. The lines upon the tar hocause of inaccuracy or ‘rosswind, finds hoi off to lettrightor aboverbelow. He haste Use is very imperfect control system to geton the correct. lignment. Toriswafow motres ho pullsbackon thestickand then has to push forward again, knowing fromexperiencehow much foree ordisplacement toapply. Lelvight motion iseven more dificult. Ho hae Bis to rollin the desired direction and then after travelling what he thinks rom experience ought tobeabout the Fight lateral displacement, he has torollbackagaintogeton the right trajectory. “Today the penny hasat as Aropped. Some ofthe frstaircrat with DLC (droct ifteontrol) were Civil airliners suchas TriStar, Which can get on thealidepath by peningorelosingtheie slightly ‘opened spoilers in unison torise or falljustthe required amount, withoutmoving the elevators or alteringthe atitudef the fuselage, Fighters now haveboth DLCandThe Technology of Air Combat FBW Flight-control System Integrated plex sr: sctustrs: Fagorons Ruder Abave: All tomorrow's OCV Above: Anotherimportantand flying with almost a complete fighters must havean FBW (ly by very challenging OCV programme wire}lightcontrolsystem, giving isheingrunby the German MBB Instantaneous responses. These company. uses an F-1046 4,654lb (750k3) ofballastinthe aresome ofthe mai Starfighter whichhasbeen pro- (ai. This work will assist, rida probe ‘conventional F-16. ‘ressivelymodifed andisnow — TKF.9OACA ighterstudies. ‘even more valuableDSFC (direct tumtothorighthocandeflectthe capability. By opening thefourleft therieedtobank. Inthe F-16AFTI Side force control. leftwallsofthese pylons outwards, sidesof the pylons as well as theetfectis gained y combining Severalresearchaircraftare _likesmallairbakes, while moving puttingon leftrudderthe lreraft _rudderwith the diagonal ventral testing various ideas, buta theruddertotheright;thisswings experiences asudden a anards under thetnlet Inelther ‘modified Alphajetshowsone _—thedircraftonanewheadingwhile sustained sidewaysthrusttothe case the pil cam start the aircraft. method. tthasfourlarge wing _Keepiagthe wings level. Fight.moving tbodily sideways. movingany desiced distance Storespylonswhicharemorethan More useful is SFC (actually diagonally,asitrotains sidewaysinstantly without any itsforward motion}, again wi ‘need tobank or makea normal turn theyscem. Ifthe pllotwiahesto—directtranslational ma Left: Elementsoftheflightcontrol Above and below: The AFTIF-16 systemoftheTornado. Thesystem hasalready demonstrated ican isofthetriplex FBW type.Primary dathings other aircraft find AVG Swing-wing Flight Control System Fudet surfaces (blue) arerudder and impossible Itraisesthe question tailerons, with oll assist by ‘of whether 1,000F-16s could be spoilersatsmallsweep angles. _thusmodifid. Spoiters Flaps: Sits (GSAS (commana ‘sity Kruger tap Engine power and ‘wing sweep controlStructure Uitte: anozataiaiumana ltsalloys was used for vitally 100 percent ofthe Betram of al fighters. few aberrations outside the ‘mainstream offightar development ‘sed mainly stool (MiG-23) oF Uianium (SK71), while the development of very strongand Stiff yet lightweight Mbres of carbonigraphiteor boron has increasingly led to the use of FRC (fbre-einforced composites) in ‘components where GRD (iass- reinforced plastics) might be equally strongbutinsuficiently SIE Unlike typical metalsin practical polyerystalline bulk the ‘ew composite materials exhibit Unidirectional stfless. In other ‘words shee,forexample.can be made lexible in one direction and txtremely rigid in another. By Choosing the directions of Above: Europe's mostimportant ‘combat aircraf programme ‘Tornado, nearly 1,00 of which are being built with assembly lines inthree countries. Thisisthe MBB Tine in Germany. create structures unlike any that ‘were previously possible, ableto bend im exactly the way th designer wishes. ‘Nobody is benefiting more fom thisthan the designers of fighter aircraft, Previously winghad to bbemade sti, beeause imatight tum ordivepall-outitbent texcossvely the changed angleof Incidenceof the outer sections could enuse whatiscalled feroelaste divergence. The bending would turn the wing oa ‘greater angle tothe airflow, and iddenly increased air load could then bend the wing stil farther, and oon until thewing ipped off, the whole process occupying nal fraction ofa second. Iwas forthisreason that the FSW {forward-swept wing) could never betuted, eventhough twas recognised as earlyas 1944 a¢ better than the swoptback wingin Countries. This is General Dynamicsin Texas. Sustained Rate of Turn e200) 8 Above: These are four ofthebasic ‘sets ofcurves that canbe drawn, forall aeroplanes, including Ti Moths and 747s. These curves are forthe McDonnell Douglas F-AE Phantom, and they show its level: fightsusiained turn capability withthe two 79-17 engines at ‘maximum aRerburning thrust. All these curves have been plotted for faflying weight of 42,777lb (19.403Ks) which is forthe clean, aircraft with ll internal fuel and justthe four AIM-7 Sparrow ‘missles. Such curves am home thebasicfacts about aircombet Forexample its posible to open thethrttlesand et speed build up toabout Mach 0.8 and still make tightturns. But ifthe speed is allowed to build up beyond Mach high altitudes— even the Phantom hastofly instraight lines. The flight envelopeemphasizes how narrow isthe height band over which such high speeds can be reached. The curves of turn radius ‘how that at low level turning ability vanishes completely a ‘Mach numbers only ust above 1. ‘The plotofloadfactoris cutoff at thelow-speed end by inadequat ‘winglif (broken tines and at the {opby the limitingstrength of the structure.hnology of Air Combat "Wonca tee rose ni fa ice |e Fete \ { cas ge . | & ¢ L. LV ‘Above: The operational ight ‘envelope here i plotted f llaicraft.Theseapplytothe AV-8B Harrier I, lying without AV-8B Harrieril,andshowboth external stores ataweightof thereat gains achieved by taking 17,348ID(7,060ks). Tho unique ‘ashortrun instead of i featurehere's thal the Vin curve . . ‘Vertically, anditheadvancemade goes tozero, Thus, no aifildis Cae 8H Haier needed. almost every respect, compositestructures. These can ‘TheFSWolferslowerdragat mado sostffusingskine almost all Mach aurmbers reinforced with graphite Bbres laid therefore afightercan ha Inappropriate directions thatthe mallerengineburninglessfuel, previously impossible FSW can be ‘which in tra reduoes gross own upto supersonic speeds and Wweight.sothewingcanbesmaller, pulled ito tight ture without the andsooninefavorableciscleof spectroof sudden divergence interactingeffects, The FSW offers pullingthe wings off frester manoeuvrability atal Grumman has designed the frst Speeds betterhandlingat low FSW alrera,theX-29A, tofly Speods,andlowerstallingspeed February 1964, Ithasa powered {Under good contro and thas hinged trailing edgeto give feducodrunveay requirements. variable camber and aclose The FSW fightercanbe made aupled foreplane fr use asa Virtually spinproof,and certainly primary light control and One ofthe first ofthe Below:PoweredbyanF404more canbesmallerandcheaperthan _providethenecessiry nose-p ts (as distinct fromGerman- powerfulthantheversionused in. any alternative sh Inthe supersonic regime by an 1944) FSW proposals wasthis the mach Thisisreally anaorodynamic upward fore, instoad ofby a suggestionforaneven more agile F-16,the Grumman X-204 is argument,butitiscaveredhere downward force ass required by F-16(FSWhererendored as SFW), tedtoautmanoeuvreall because therealization of the FSW rcraft with trimming surfaces Twas not bill. = hasbeen entirely dueto new thereatHiMAT variations aireraftfor future fighters isthe Rockwell HIMAT (highly rmanocuvrableairralt technology). RPV, powered by the samne]85 afterburming turbojat as usod in the {win engined FE. is wingat largocanards re aeoelastic tailored sothat, sthey deflect spwardsin tight manocuvres, the angle incidence doosnot Increase but decrease. Thisis done bby making the main structural partsof these surfaces outof fraphite composite shoots withthe plies orientod at carefully chosen. angles, mainly diagonal, to control thechange ofthe airfoil shape ‘under sevore loads. Again, HIMAT hhas mechanical eamberchange along eadingand tailing edges. Forstructiral aswell ae ‘aerodynamic reasons previous Fightercanards have been used ‘only asatrimming device orto ‘enhance takeoff and landingand fow-speed handling, Many, such asthoveof the Kfirand Mirege 2000, are mere fixed surfaces. On ‘the HIMAT. tro of which are which also has swept canard flying. thecanardshavoclevators surfaces. Thiscould prove even andareused in conjunction with _moreagile than HiMAT. Below: Yet another of Rockwell's bidsto gt backinthe fighter business isthis F5W mock-up, ‘Aoroolastc surtaces Above: The shaded areas in this HiMAT are hose in which the primary structure (the main box of the wingand canard) is aeroelastically tailored to flex in the most advantageous way, as ‘explained in the diagram onthe and itsalloys;9 per centstel and right. Only 25 pr cent ofthe ‘4per cont slassibre; a mix of HIMAT airframe ismade of ‘materials accountingforthe sluminium anditsalloys;another remaining 18 per cen. Thiskind 25per cent is graphitelepoxy ‘ofmaterialsbreakdown will ‘composie19 percentistitanium becomemore common, r Below: More than 90 percent of ‘some ofthe planned variations thesurface ofthe HIMAT was, ‘aroundit. These alternative originally black, theeolour of forms canbe produced by sraphiteepoxy composite ‘auick-change component ‘material. This will become more changes. ‘common than shiny metal. Aeroelastic Tailoring Benswst Mectanial Soranet Camber enange onieading dain Aerodynamic ‘fficency M=090 ‘Maen Above: HIMATsthefirst aircraft controlled ways. The wing has inwhich the unidirectional ‘arlable camber (aconcopt taken stiffness properties of advanced furthest in test wings added toa Aibre-reinforced composite NASA-111A) and ts graphite! materialshasbeen puttodirect_ _epoxypliesreduce incidence as, Uselomakethestructurebendin the wingMlexes upward under,The Technology of Air Combat HiMAT Turn Radius the arieble-cambermain wingto enhance agility throughout the e. entieflightenvelope which ‘extends to Mach 1.6, HIMAT has no fragile plot andits postive, ° limit isabonecrushing +12, though the normal manoeuvring Timitisasustained tum at ag Mach 0.9.1 30,0008 (9,441), Only 25 per cont ofthe present structures ightalloy. other percentages boing: graphite Composite 25, titanium 19, steel, slass-fibre4,alothormatorials 18 ‘Another feature common to ny modern fighters is amixof dynamic and struct ‘advantages called the blended oot. thas longheen known that, HAT Foor | insome circumstances, dragis (ae Saou er ‘Teming rads ‘edge root to form a large fillet. By ; eee eee re Serene er Seance ieee eee ere eae ene eee, withslated wing,arogularF-16A.shapeofthe Model 38Draken, Sorvall thicker, dragcould be reduced, aS eras er eee ae ei eee eens | eee peas ae ee Seca cane = eres ESE EEE ees oteeecet went some way inthis direction 30 years ago withthe thick super-long-chord inboard wingof tieDraken, McDonnell ‘went the whole hog with thet “original Fx design before finally Consonmal ting tig be building the F19 withan almost m3 Matippeesuriace whit ‘ea F-19) ae pe celfectively removed one half of the Contomatearage Y blending. The process is seen well recessed party Inthe F-16,and toalessordogreein inside ara, i the Mirage 2000. Ofcourse the Ponooted by F-14, Soeeethe te, designerhas tobe careful notte let thestructural ned formore wing ‘dopth overcome the ‘arodynamicist's wish for les dlopth inorder to keep down sipersonte wave drag, Above: Three waystohangalarge Below:In many ways potentially ‘AAMforminimalacrodynamic” themast formidable ighter yet 4drag:top, conventional high-drag built, theF-16XL-cancarry centre, F-15 Eagle (pa ‘colossal loads of weapons cutaway);bottom, conformal (roughly double the eight tons of ‘arriage(partutaway)asonthe earlier models) Here the rst FAGXL. ‘caries AIM-120 Amraame,Propulsion _Aitestalinaera aha are powered by augmented ‘urbotans, theterm augmented ‘meaning that they have additional fuel bummed inthe air from thefan, and inthe hot gs from thecorein thesame way that an afterburner boosts the thrist fa turbojet, Some alrcraftstil use turbojots, {hough these end toheve telatvely high uel consumption texeeptat high supersonicMach numbers. The turbojet still competitive inthe very fw aircraft {or which subsonic performance relatively Unimportat (such asthe SR-71 ‘and MiG-25). Ths is because at found Mach the propulsion ‘System depends tos largeextenton thebehaviour ofthe gant white hoteonidi (convergent and then divergent) nozzle, considerably Tangerin diameter than the rest of theengine, and onthelargefully ‘arable inet syst which in fact provides about 70 per centof the thrust The fact thatthe inlotand nozzle happen tohevean engine Somewhere between then is Above: Largest and most powerful powerplants in current use on fighter aircraf the Tumanskit ‘engines ofthe latest service ‘version of MIG-25 (so-called Foxbat-k) havea maximum thrust ‘30,86a1b(14tonnes)-This Foxbat-Eis seen with theengines atmaximum power, accelerating {rom akeof At Mach’ almost all thethrust is generated by variable {inlets and nozzles. Above: Thisisa more ‘conventional afterburning turbojetsimilar to that used to power Mach 2-plus fighters ‘designed in he 1950s. Airis ‘drawninatthelell,compressed snd passed through the ‘combustion chamber to thethres- Stage turbine driving the ‘compressor. The hot gas then passes through the large berburner and variable nozzle. slmosta drawback: it would befar betterifthis encumbrance could be 4 removed, leavingahighlyelfiient Formos fightors Mach isa dream world, and oven arcreft Such asthe Mirage 2000spend proximately 98.9 percentof thee flying feat Mach numbers ‘much les than the maximum of ‘hich they arecapable.Itis Strangethereforetonotethat the Mss engincof the Mirage 2000 designed chiefly forthe Mach plus regime, where performs Wwell,ather than forthe other 9.9 percent ofthe aircraft's fe Most engine designers are more reallsticandaim fora good overall result, which means turbofan ‘witha mutch higher pressure ratio. than the maximum 93 achiovod bytheM53,andalsoamuch higher bypass ratio bypass ratio isthe ratioof thecoolsrflow discharged from thefan through the surrounding bypass duct tothe airflow which passes through the ore, comprisingthe high-pressure ‘compressor, combustor and turbine). Left: representation, based on an original drawingby Rolls-Royce, ‘ofapropulsionsystem fora ‘combat airerall capable of Mach 3 ‘ormore ths variable geometry, ‘with powered valvesin the inlet, ‘head ofthe compressor and Upstream ofthe large afterburner, ‘which ishereshown in operation. Bolow:Takeoffby an early ‘engines ofthis aircraft are the use takeoff with anexternal load ‘exceeding 20,0001b(9072k). The ‘unusual features ofthe RB199 size, and the incorporat thrust reverser upstream ofthe varlablenozzle.The Technology of Air Combat Figures published at thetimeof the 1974 USAF lightwoight fightor ‘competition underlined the Importance of getting theengine right. When the General Dynamics 401, the predecessor of tho was being designed calcul Showed that with two of the neat Title Y}101efterburningturbojets the mission woight would be 21,4701b (9,739Kg), whereas with oneof the large F100 augmented turbofans (already in production forthetwin-enginedF-15)the weight would bean exciting 17,0801b (7,734ha} Ibe vo alrcrat were adjusted to have ‘qual weight, forexampleby putting more fuel into the Foo powered fdter, tholatter would fRaveamission radiusnoless than 71 percent greater! Ofthis, 45 por cant was duoto the lighter propulsion installation, 40 per ‘ent to reduced fuel flow, 11 per ‘centto lower airframe weight and 4 perconttalowordrag. ‘ator, Coneral Electric turned the ¥]101 turbojet into the F408 turbofan forthe F/A-18A Hornet, 1,600 (65,1600) _ F-15 Propulsion System Interchangeable ae twnPrats Wraney Frooeranes f low speeds, when the airraft ies very nose-high. Like all Mach 2 plusengines themaximum Above:IntheF-15 wo engines are used with nospace between them. The inlets are unustal in that each canbe pivoted a the top toimprove ingestion efficiency at F100 augmented turbofan bears a ccrushingburden of responsibility. redesign efforts, bulby 1983 the Unfortunately, as in the case ofits had agreat background of predecessor, the TF30,itsearly Below: An F100 running a fll power, which means maximum ‘erburner,onaPRWA test ta at West Palm Beach, Noengine in history has ever been subjectt0 ‘more gruelling est programmes. thenozzle would be opened and divergentPropulsion Above: With minimum, sovernment funding Rolls-Royce has developed the Peyasus, the world sfirat successful ett STOVLengine,toa very high degree of maturity, totheextent that in the world’s worst weather offthe Fafklands in 1982 these Sea Harriers were ready around the lock and missed only 0.2 percent ‘oftheir planned sorties. bbuteventhisatillhasthe modest bypass ratio of0.24 compared with 07 forthebig F100, and for this roason theres ot the slightest ‘doubt that the F-1Gean doa bigger mission jobon say. 5.0015 (2,268) of fuel than can the F/A- 138A. With aneven higher bypass ratio the fuel economy isbetter still; some particularly fuel elicont engines include the ‘Adour (BPR about 0.8) RB.199(2) ‘and Pegasus 1a). The drawback {ends tobe thatthe fanbbocomes Below: Much slimmer than the Pegasus (one of which i soen at extreme left) the Turbo-Union RBI09 isthe most compact engine fits power inthe world, despite Incorporating thrust reverser {the swinginglink doors of which ‘canbe seenon the secondengine at theextreme top ofthe picture). Vertical assembly of engines is common today. large, but the Harrier could hardly heany smallerin diameter and still Accommodate the pilot, avionics and fue. Later we sball see ‘augmented Pegasus engines with PGB (plenum-chamber burning) to boost thrustforsupersonic STOVI (shor takeof, vertical landing) Sccessorstothe Harrier which ‘willbe the only future combat aircraft othr than holicoptrs) abletofly afternuclea attack has ‘wiped outall the fixed arbases. Today's Harrier family are Fighter| Above: Fightr jt engines ins 4, Alison J35-35 01951 Specific fuel consumption 2.0; Tength 195.5n, dry weight 2,8501b):2, General Electric }70-17 ‘unique in that their engine sof the so-called four postertype.Thefan ‘and jtpipe each discharge through lefuright pairs of nozzles, allfour nozzles being rotatable in unison toprovide if thrustor. ‘combination ofliftand reverse theust for rapid inflight decleration. The tremendous tlfectivenese ofthis arrangement is pporhaps best appreciated bythe pilotsand ground troops of ‘Argentina, but it isnot ideal for future supersonic STOVLs. Engine Development Se 1965 (afterburning thrust 17,8201b withsfeof1.97: length 208.7, dry weight3,84710):3, Turbo-Uinion RBY99 OF1975 max thrust 16,0001b with fe of1.5; length 127in, dry weight 1,080). ‘Thefanait inevitably hasto come out from two ateral nozzles, ‘which will incomporate PCB to give frvally increased thrustinjust the Same way thetan afterburner boostsa turbojet. But itis possible todischargethecorejetthrougha single pipe and stil provide or aftesbumingandforvectoring or STOVL aircraft Tho simplost way todothisistoincorporateashort length of rotating pipe with slanted ends (typically with the mating {aces inlined at 2242) this} The Technology of Air Combat Above: What the vertical gas column directly under ‘usually cannotseeisthat, though thebelly ofthe aircraft which f thefourjetsfrom the Rolls Royee trapped by suitablestrakes and Pegasus are angled slighty dams (ason the AV-88 Harrier 1) outwardsinthevertical-lit mode, canenhancelif they giverisetoarapidly ising Aboveandhelow:Thedemandsof shorterbuthandles vastly greater Above: All members ofthe! front nozzles, but for tomorrow's | sreatereycleefficiency and higher airflow. AtGeneral Electric the ‘the oly true STOVL supersonic STOVL airerat'a | Dropulsivecfficiency have Tamed79(beiow),used inthe combataircraftinthe world,usea__three-poster arrangements more Feplacedtheslim aflerburning _F-103,F-4and Kf, hasbeen four-poster propulsion system. likely tobe used. This makesit turbojetofthe 1850sby today's _overtakenby newerengines such Thiscanbeboosted by PCB nary 10 use a rear ‘augmented turbofan, whichis the F101 (above) (plenum-chamber burning)inthe afterburner. ctionsrotated through remarkable that most ight 180" the jot nozzle ie vectored such primitive installat downthrough 90°,forvertical lit. solitte variable goomoty. veadvantages ofthis Variablo-eres and variable-profile arrangement, which iscalledthe inlets camein withthe second three posterortripod,arethat "generation of supersonicareraftin alrcraltdrageanbereducedand, the mid-1950s, but the discovery ‘more importantly. the core that supersonic flight was in aftrburnerismuchmorecfficiont practice very rarelod tothe atsupersonicspeods with its Aecision to use plain xed inlets in Cinobstructedstraightthrough most modern fighters including the flow. F-16,F/A-18, Sab-39 Gripen JAS) Sinco ot engines havebeen andiAlLavi. Inthe B-1 supersonic around foralmostOyears itis bomberthe variable inlets of thePropulsion Current and Possible Future Inlets prototypesaretobereplacedby _powerfulturning moment. Plain fixed infetson B18 Consdera fighter whos single Productionairraft Soclover__tallnoale wasbultiike the sting {nlotsikethossonibe -1Sarein ofa waspvabltotilt nan general being priced outof Slirection: Wacould tones fxistenceby Inflation. The F-19's _ Femove theta from thisoircaft inlets notonivbavevarableaea sndreplacethe forces pre leinterally btalso cen and ited downwardsto gulp lyatloveaiapoods ith alta about 18° AOA anal : ey. ofaitacky preferably with larg ltoral “Thingrareeven worseatthe _spacingas inthe ta, wecould other end. More than 9.99 per les Gat ofaljetghtors havens use the upldown Plainnozales which givethrust _jetthrustforrollcontoalso. Alongafixedaxis Alleestthe Therelsaoevident advantagein Haiorcanvectorits thrust butintyingtoeliminate conventional thisalcraftthefourpostoribrast contol surfaces but theres very isearfulydsposadovenly ‘oasonforunngthe vectored main aroundthecenteot gravity sothat enginethrastfor control as will {heareatsactoduponbodiy formers propuision bnutaotroted Therisnoreason Oneal the Bstaierafto explore tho possibilities maybe the HiMAT, which beesude ofits = Inthiscase aneadily Medetlecedthrustwouldnotonly test diferent wings. tallsand rdragbutalsoavery engines. Even itenginels Above: Today itisrareforan possible inlet arrangements which he two-dimensional ‘here the inlet swallows the ircraftdesignteamtomakea would reducethesignatureonwedgeinletoftheF-15Eagleis__correctamountofairathigh AOA moss ofthoinlet design, biutthere enemy radars. The best veryunusualinthatthewhole and, among other advantages, inletsareoften marredby poor _forwardinletstructureis pivoted avoids he high drag and possible aerodynamic efficiency. atthebottomandcanberotated. light-control difficulties caused F-4(top) especially in fight at high AOA as by tho need tospll large airflows ‘Tornado.Ontherightarefour _incombat,The Technology of Air Combat ‘ modular, withtheafterburner _andintheform planned for that you cannot use vectored housed inthotallofthe fuselage -HIMAT th ots on the left and right at tho tallforliftunloss itis whichisremovable.Itis planned ofthe cenreline could be vectored balanced by upthrustat the nose tofitaZD (two-dimensional) upordown independently Thisis theclean gross weight ForSTOVL aircraft, which ina nozzlo,2Dmeaningthatitscross- tobe used both forbasic lit ridiculousnottomake this great nuclearageseem the only kind that Sectionisthesamealltheway enhancementand forincreased —_forcelifthe reraftattakeofforon Issurvivable, the best ancwer still ‘cron the alrrafl. General El longitudinalontrolpower-In _landing.Cloverernozzloswill_seomstobethe three-poster or and NASA havesiready testeda2D theory differential vectoringon _bringthis possibility nearer, foursposter with nozzles arranged nozzlowithremoteafterburning, HIMAT could impart rll thoughsimplegeometryshows around the. Above: This Pratt & Whitney Dash-414A isa very strong fan ‘drawingshowsthemainfeatures case(extreme eh tocontainan ofatypicaliighterengineofthe exploding fan. Thisisan engine 1060s, theTF30-4144, whichis at which would benefit really rom, lastgctingoverthe prolonged two-dimensional vectoring rablemsofthe TFSDintheF-14 nazzles, because theleft and right Tomcat.Oneofthefeaturesofthe engines are ar apart. pe USAPF-164, showing he simple fixod-goometry inlet. With fully whichformsthe actual tailend of varlableinletthisaireraft would thefuselag. Incombat the nozzle bbeas fastasaMirage 2000, butthis maybe ceaselessly opening with would be pointless extra cos afterburner) and closing —_: = : Props force ‘ “speed Above: Virtually every jt nay see thetwo-dimensional tusedona production ighterhas vectorablenozzle(2}. Thiscan beoncireularand operated onan generatedownthrust (3) or axis fixed with respect tothe ‘upthrust(4) and lfvright sircraM(es,F-15,1}-Infuturewe differential vectoring gives rolWeapons ustas the advent ofthe turbojet, made many people jump tothe Zonclusion that propellers were ‘obsolete, eodid the advent of the SAM (sutfaceto-sir missile) lead somelmportant people in Britain {othe conclusion thatall manned fighters were obsolete, Another of thesocraslysimplisticbelits ‘stemmed from the invention ofthe ‘AAM (alroalr missle), whichby the late 19505 had convinced many ‘experts that ightor guns were ‘obsolete. There are plenty offat Ireatisos on fighter armament ‘unarmed, 00 Freer 2.000 enna Gong to From scree ‘ane = ad Automatic (air-ground) mode ease Sar (roacing 260°) Atte ssl Gencig 000 Aiso-goundrose trang 100008 ‘oe ch scale ‘Above: A traditional non- holographic HUD isthe McDonnell Douglas Electronics display fited tothe F-15 Eagle Above: F-16 HUD in LCOS (lead- ‘computing optical sight) mode, ‘withradarlocked-onthe target (in ‘mall square). Height 14,8251, ulling3.2gat 370K (C= 3.7) ashaving tomorrow's cockpit today, the immediately striking {eaturebeing thenear-absence of Instruments. Above: Pipper on thetarget, sothe pilotean open fire with the M61 ‘gunand know mostrounds will hit. Now 3.05, upto 14.890f¢but speed downto’. (240kt) which are based on digital Clectronies and quickly ruprogrammableto show different things. The pilotoftheF/A-18A. Hornet, for example, faces hardly any ordinary instrumentsand controls, exceptforsome ona Small "back-up panel” "ght. The seene Is dora theHUD, aUFC (up-frontconte) and throo CRT (cathode ry tubo) Glisplays which look ike small, colour Vs. ‘The UFCis the contro forthe often ovarlooked but vital CN Identification) tis small panel, halfthe sizeof this page, which allowsthe pilottouse eitherhand (and without lookingint the Cockpit) to contol the UHE VHF ‘adios ILS, datalink toa carrier, airfield or AWACS alreraf), Tacan, beacons, ADF, IFF and autopilot Medium Range Missile (air-air)mode Master a "x eae lo (Gintoreegng pa ie — (ara Seeirgere—__ ae Target degra eee sorioracar ‘Stern ot — a rangre sale Indesadainpoad Atte ee Sales ates) ie remain 38 Voc vecor —— SE Tarot at Seon Sores Masi med, ams soe, __Targetn ise MPN ony = F205 tomiste Fg aor ‘oct CDIP (air-ground) mode Below: The Hornet's Ferra ‘Comed 2035 (Combined ‘mapllectronic display) displays ‘dar images and much other {information called up withthe 20 surrounding bttons. Right: The contrailing target is seen in the target box inthe HUD of anF-15 workingin MRM (medium-range missile) mode.On ‘page 200 isseen the MEM actaally fired seconds later.modes. [ts espectally useful in formation fightin bad weather or dluringeatrier circuits atnight or poor visibility, when the CNI ‘workload is high and yet the eyos ‘need tostay ouside the cockpit. “Asfor the three prominent displays theseare generally Jnown as MFDs (multfuncti displays) butin the F/A-18 th tre labelled MED, MMD (master ‘monitor display) and HSD. The MMDisthe primary display for ‘warnings (RWR oe), EW, EOTR Sensors, armament, BIT (built-in test) and scratch-pad display of other items. The HSD isthe usual GRT-genoratod colour navigation picture superimposed on the moving map, tosimplify navigation updates, radar map ‘matching and inputother tactical datasuch as EW threats, electronic tbat (order of battle) and detallsof The Technology of Air Combat chnavigation segment. The MFD ‘The Hotas Arrangement Isthoprimary display forthemala. tym, Reeemnesivesm || vanal radar and also backs up the MMD. sie rangstincage Bach display is surrounded by 2otouch-ewitches whose nctions change depending on what is being displayed. Theresa {quarter-inch steip around each Sensor picture cr othe display telling the pilotthe function ot tach switch. Thusintheexample Mlusrated, in addition tothe unchanging nighvautoldayft, brightness and contrastknobs, the buttons give such choices as wide arnarrow FOV (Reld of view), positive or negative picture format, at, ‘Tho Hotas hands onthrottleand stick] concept has already been ‘mentioned, itisinconceivabe that any fighter will ever again be ‘designed without it By grouping every commonly used contralon NWS/AROISCIMSL stop Rago ranent_ swe ‘antorna ovaton CCamoragun tigger Speedorake | DogohMSL Overtoas ‘on ahandgrip, but ittakes careful research find th best Holas ‘arrangement thatthe pilotean ‘operate instinctively and without needinghugehands. Above: The F-18 affords an ‘excellent example ofthe Hotas (Hands on throttleand stick) philosophy. Any designer could Sticka lot ofswitches and buttons