MILNET Brief
 
Fighter Aircraft Table

Text table  ||  About Jet Engines

The modern fighter is used either as an air-superiority aircraft, or a surface (ground, anti- ship, or anti-submarine) attack aircraft. In many cases the aircraft will be designed for the anti-submarine or close air support role, or will be a dual role aircraft.

Most surface attack aircraft are sub-sonic, since the need for supersonic speed is reduced for ground targeting. But the dual role aircraft such as the Navy's F/A-18 may also be called upon to dump ordnance and engage the enemy in the air.

Modern air-superiority fighters have max speeds in the Mach 1.8 to 2.3 range, and carry AAMs (infrared or radar guided).

MILNET presents a table summarizing the characteristics of modern (usually active) fighter aircraft of the World's Air Forces.

Attack Fighters            
Desig. Name Country Wing Span Length Weight Eng/Thrust Max Spd Armament
AlphaJet   France 29ft,10.75in 40ft,3.75in 16,535 2@2,976 576mph 1 30mm cannon, and up to 5,511 lbs ordnance load
AMX

Italy 29ft,1.5in 44ft,6.25in 26,455 1@11,030 M .95 1 20mm M61A1, 2 pylons on fuselage for 1,000 lbs ea, inboard wing pylons at 2000 lbs each, outboard wing pylons at 1,000 (plumbed for 100 gal tanks, wingtip rails for AIM9L or smaller AAM, Max ord. load=8,000lbs
A-5D Fantan China           Laser Designator, presumed will carry LGBs
Harrier    UK 30ft,4in 46ft,4in 29,750 1@21,500 M.91 2 25mm gun, 30 mm cannon;7,000 lb VTO limit;17,000 STO limit
AV-8B Harrier II USA 30ft,4in 46ft,4in 29,750 1@21,500 M.91 USA:1 25mm gun;UK:2 30 mm cannon;7,000 lb VTO limit;17,000 STO limit
A-10A Thunderbolt USA 57ft,6in 53ft, 4in 24,959 2@9,065ea 439mph 1 30mm GAU-8A gun, 16K pounds of ordnance, or up to eight AGM-65D Maverick, AIM-9 Sidewinder, jammer pods, chaff, etc.
B.2B/K.2   UK 111ft 105ft,6in 250,000 4@20,000 645mph 21 std. 1,000lb bombs or 20mm Vulcan cannon; various AAM or HARM or ECM
F3
Tornado
UK
Italy
Germany
46 ft (13.9m)
55 ft(16.7m)
61,620lbs
2@15,800 1452mph
Air-Launched Anti-Radar Missile, Paveway laser-guided bombs, Sidewinder missiles, twin internal 27mm cannons
F-4J Phantom II 3rd Wrld 38ft,7.5in 63ft,0.0in 61,795 2@17,900ea M2 20mm M61A1 gun, AIM-7E, AGM-45A, AGM-88A HARM AIM-9 Sidewinder
F/J-7MG Fishbed (based on MIG-21) China 23ft, 5in 51ft, 8.5in 20,723lbs 13,200lbs M2.1 1800 kb max load
F-8IIM Finback
China  30 ft
 70 ft, 10 in
 31,500  2@14,815  800 2 23mm Cannon (J-8 only; not found on J-8II), 1 underfuselage hardpoint, 6 underwing hardpoints for fuel, bombs, rockets, or missiles, or 4 PL-2 or PL-7 and 800 L drop tank (680 nm), or 2 PL-2 or PL-7 and 2 480 L drop tank and 1 800 L drop tank (741nm) 
F-15E Eagle USA 42ft, 10in. 63ft, 9in.    2@25,000  790kts 21,100 lbs ordnance
F-16 Fighting
Falcon
USA 32ft,9.75in 49ft,4in 42,300 1@27,600 M2+ 20mm M61A1 gun,AIM-7 on wings, and 7 external stores for other missiles, bombs, or fuel
F/A-18A Hornet USA 40ft,4.75in 56ft 49,200 2@16,000ea M1.8 1 20mm M61A1 gun, up to 6 AIM-9 Sidewinder or AIM-7 Sparrow AAMs or over 17,000 lbs of various weapons, sensors, etc.
F-35

Joint Strike
Fighter
USA
36 ft
45 ft.
-
-
M1.0+
16,000 lbs
F-104S Starfighter Germany 21ft,11in. 54ft,9in 31,000 1@17,900 M2.2 1 20mm M61 gun;centerline, most other NATO AAMs;rack @2,000lbs and 2 under wing pylons @1,000lbs ea.
F-111A/E Aardvark USA 63ft,0in. 31ft,11.4in 100,000 2@18,500ea M2.5 4 nuclear bombs on wing and two in internal bay or up to 25,000 lbs external ordnance
F-117A Nighthawk USA 43ft,4in. 65ft,11in 42,000 2@11,000ea M.9 Ground attack weapons including a number of different laser guided, GPS, or free fall bombs carried internally
FC-1 Super 7 China     12,700 kg   M 1.7 Total of 3900 kg
PL-9 SRAAM, and PL-11 MRAAM AAM
FRS.1 Sea Harrier UK 25ft, 3in 47ft,7in 25,000 1@21,500 M.972 3 racks for 2,000 lbs each, outside racks for 650lbs ea, wingtips at 220lbs each, normal load=5,300lbs, Max load=8,000lbs. Can carry Sea Eagle, Harpoon or Sidewinder
GR.1 Jaguar Germ/UK 45ft,7.25in 54ft,9.5in 60,000 2@15,800 M2.2 2 27mm cannon; 7 pylons for up to 18,000lbs ordnance
GR.1 Jaguar UK/France 28ft,6in 50ft,11in 34,612 2@8,040 M1.1 2 30mm Aden guns;5 pylons for total of 10,500 lbs ordnance
GR.3 Harrier UK 25ft, 3in 47ft,2in 12,200 1@21,500 M.972 3 racks for 2,000 lbs each, outside racks for 650lbs ea, wingtips at 220lbs each, normal load=5,300lbs, Max load=8,000lbs
JH-7 Flounder (Super Leopard) China     60,500 kg 2@20,200lbs M1.7 Max load 6500 kb
20 250KG fre ball bombs or 
JK-8 ASM
M-III Mirage III France 27ft 49ft,3.5in 29,760 1@13,760 M1.14 2 30mm cannon;3 ext pylons @ 1,000lbs
M-IVA Mirage France 38ft,10.5in 77ft,1in. 73,800 2@15,432 M1.9 1 60kiloton nuclear bomb or 16,000lbs conventional
M-2000 Mirage France 29ft,6 in 47ft,1in 36,375 1@15,873 M2.0 2 30mm cannon;5 4,500lb pylons on centerline, 2 Matra Super 530 and 2 Matra 550 AAM.Ground attack version will carry up to 13,225lbs of ordnance
MiG-27 Flogger  Russia 46ft, 9in 52ft, 6in. 44,315 1@27,550 M2.35 8 pylons for up to 8,960 lbs ordinance
P.1182T.1 Rafale  UK 30ft, 10in 39ft,2.5in 16,260 1@5,340 630mph 1 centerline pod with 30mm; 3-5 hardpoints@1,000 lbs each, or gun replaced with 2 AIM-9L Sidewinder
S.2B   UK 44ft. 63ft,5in 62,000 2@11,030 690mph 4 1,000lb bombs or multi-sensor recon pack, or 440 gal tank, 4 wing pylons for 3000 lbs each, total ordnance load=16,000lbs
S-3B Viking USA 68ft, 8in 53ft, 4in 42,500 2@9275ea 518mph 4 Torpedoes, depth bombs mines, or bombs in internal split weapons bay, plus 2 wing mounted hardpoints for mines, bombs, rockets, flares or Harpoon
Su-22M4   Russia 34ft, 9in. 63ft.     695knt Four 32X57mm folding fin rockets or As-7l, AS-9 AGM
Su-25   Russia 50ft, 10in. 47ft, 8in.     475knt 8,105 lbs of ordnance
Su-30 Flanker China (Purch. from Russia)           16,000 lbs max load R77 or R129 AAM ASM missiles  (TV guided missiles: Kh-29T,  anti-ship missiles: Kh-31A, anti-radiation missiles: Kh-31P,  TV guided bombs  - KAB-500KR) Capable of engaging two tragets at once.)
Super E  Etendard France 31ft,5.75in 46ft,11.5in 25,350 1@11,265lbs M1 2 30mm cannon;5 pylons for bombs or AAMS, or combo of left wing tank and right Exocet anti-ship missile.
Air Superiority Fighter          
Desig
Name
Country
WingSpan
Length
Weight
Eng./Thrust
Speed
Armament
EFA Eurofighter
Typhoon
Europe 34ft, 5in 47ft, 8in.     M1.8 4xMed rng AAM, 4 shrt rng AAMs, 1 27mm cannon
F-14D Tomcat USA 64ft,1.5in 62ft,8in 74,349 2@20,900ea M2.34 20mm M61A1 gun, AIM9 and 4 AIM-7,or 4 AIM-54 Phoenix, 2 AIM-9 and 2 AIM-7 combo, or 4 AIM-54 Phoenix and 4 AIM-9 Sidewinders, or 6 AIM-54 and 2 AIM-9 or, 6 AIM-7 Sparrow and 2 AIM-9 or up to 14,500 lbs various of other missiles.
F-15 Eagle USA 42ft, 10in. 63ft, 9in. 68,000 2@25,000 M2.5 21,100 lbs ordinance including 4 Med rng AAMs and 4 short rng IR homing, or 8 AIM-120 AMRAAM, one 6 barrel 20mm vulcan
F-16 Falcon USA 32ft,9.75in 49ft,4in 42,300 1@27,600 M2+ 20mm M61A1, AIM-7 on wings, and 7 external stores for other missiles, bombs, or fuel.
F-22 *1 Rapier USA 43ft 64ft, 2in. 60,000 2@35,000 M1.6+ 8 AIM-9 or AIM-120, carried in 3 int. bays, one 6 barrel 20mm vulcan
F1.C/E   France 27ft,6.75in 49ft,2.5in 32,850 1@15,873 M2.0 2 30mm cannon;5 4,500lb

Tornado UK
Italy
Germany
45ft,7.25in 59ft,3in. 47,500 2@16,000 M2.27 1 27mm cannon;4 Sky Flash (later AMRAAM) and 2 AIM 9 Sidewinders
F-5E/F Tiger  NATO 6ft,8in 51ft,7in 20,576 2@5,000 M1.53 1 or 2 M39A2 guns;2 AIM- 9 AAM on wing tip rails; upto 7,000 lbs ordnance (US Export similar to T-38 trainer)
F.6 Lightning UK 34ft, 10in. 53ft, 3in 50,000 2@15,680 M2+ 2 Red Top or Firestreak AAM 2 30mm Aden cannon or up to 6000lbs of ordnance
F/J-7D Fishbed (based on MIG-21) China 23ft, 5in 51ft, 8.5in 20,723lbs 14,550lbs M2.1 2 PL Series (PL-8)  IR AAM Missile
F/J-7E Fishbed(based on MIG-21) China 23ft, 5in 51ft, 8.5in 20,723lbs 14,550lbs M2.1 2 PL-5 IR AAM or 2 PL-8
J-8B Finback China           PL-8 IR AAM or PL-11 SARH AAM
J-10 ? China           Possibly Pl-11 SRAAM IR, Pl-12 MRAAM SARH and C-701 ASM
J-11 Flanker (based on Russian SU-27) China           Up to 10 AA-10 (IR or SAR variants) or AA-11 (IR)
J35F   Sweden 30ft,10in 40ft,4in 18,180 1@17,110 M2.0 1 30mm Aden gun;2 RB27 (Rad) and 2 RB28(IR) Falcon AAM;9 pylons @ 1,000lbs
J39   Sweden 26ft, 3in. 46ft, 3in.     M1.8 2 IR AAM plus 5 short or med rng AAM, 1 27mm Mauser cannon
MiG-21 Fishbed-D Russia 23ft, 6in. 49ft, 6in. 42,000(app) 1@8,378 M2.15 1 23mm cannon plus 4 Aphid AAM
MiG-25 Foxbat Russia 45ftm 9in. 78ft, 2in. 79,000(app) 2@27,000 M3.2 4 AA-6 Acrid AAM
MiG-29 Fulcrum Russia 37ft, 9in. 56ft, 5in. 40,740(app) 2@18,300 M2.3 23mm cannon, plus 4 to 6 AAM on underwing pylons
MiG-31 Foxhound Russia 44ft, 2in 74ft, 5in. 101,850 2@34,170 M2.83 4 recessed hardpoints AAM, 23mm (GSH-6-23), 260 rnds
 M5  Mirage 5 France 27ft 51ft 29760 1@13,760 M2.2 2 30mm cannon;7 ext pylons @ 1,000lbs, total=9,260 lbs 2,800lb inners, 2 1,110lb outers, 2 280lb wingtips for AAM or ECM or recon packs.
M-2000 Mirage France 29ft,6 in 47ft,1 in 36,375 1@15,873 M2.0 2 30mm cannon;5 4,500lb pylons on centerline, 2 Matra Super 530 and 2 Matra 550 AAM.
S37 Viggen Sweden 34ft, 9in. 53ft, 10in.     M1.2 2 Sky Flash AAM, 6 AIM-9, plus 30mm KCA (oerlikon) cannon
T.5 Lightning UK 34ft, 10in. 53ft, 3in 50,000 2@15,680 M2+ 2 Red Top or Firestreak AAM 2 30mm Aden cannon or up to 6000lbs of ordnance

 


Information from various sources in the MILNET Bibliography, including Air Force Magazine, and The Directory of the World's Weapons.


Note *1: According to The Encyclopedia of Modern Warplanes, page 167, the YF-22A #2 prototype flew on October 1991, with P&WA F-119 engines and demonstrated Mach 1.5 super cruise (non-afterburning cruise speed), and a Mach 1.7 max speed. Obviously with afterburners the aircraft is very likely to be much faster at full afterburner. Production aircraft are assumed to be using P&WA F-119-PW-P100 engines.



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