Questions tagged [fighter]
A fighter is an aircraft designed primarily for aerial combat.
254
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Why do modern fighter aircraft still use transparent canopies instead of cameras feeding imagery to screens?
The F-35 loves to boast about the HUD letting pilots see 'through' the aircraft, but I was wondering why they even have a transparent canopy instead of embedding the pilot deep in the fuselage like ...
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0answers
31 views
What are the typical max speeds & g loads at which internal weapon bay(IWB) door can be opened for weapon deployment?
What are the typical numbers for popular aircraft like the F-22 & F-35 which have IWB?
6
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1answer
8k views
Why is this missile positioned in this odd position? How can it be launched correctly?
How this missile is positioned here in this odd position? How this can be launched right from this jet?
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2answers
153 views
Why is there such a low level of automation in the aerospace industry (compared to other industries such as automobile)?
I have been watching some episodes of the documentaries made by National Geographic lately and I have noticed something that I can't find an explanation for.
In this episode of Megafactories - ...
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1answer
199 views
Is moving payload masses during flight to restore mass centering, or to avoid having to trim, a useful approach?
Note: Title was previously "Movable big missiles/bombs/tanks under fighter jets: conceivable?"
Example: lateral weight distribution in fighters
Fighter-bombers jets are small and lightweight in ...
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1answer
73 views
How is the impact force on the landing gear distributed in fighters?
Upon landing, what percentage of weight is distributed on the main and the nose landing gears of fighters?
Upon landing of a fighter aircraft, what would be the approximate time of transfer of the ...
26
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5answers
7k views
Why don't combat aircraft have rear-facing *laser* weapons?
This question is similar, but only talks about guns. I don't mean a laser that is going to destroy the plane, but why aren't rear-mounted, rear-firing lasers that can blind a pilot a thing? Most of ...
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2answers
20k views
Can you identify this fighter aircraft?
If someone can identify this aircraft, please tell me which aircraft this is?
0
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1answer
261 views
Why is the nose cone of SU-34 white?
The title says it all.
Can be clearly seen for example in this image:
(image source: Wikimedia)
The rest of the jet seems to have a camouflage.
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1answer
224 views
How do weapon pylons attach to a fighter's wings?
How do weapon pylons attach to a fighter's wings? I'm particularly interested in the inner structure.
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4answers
11k views
Why do military jets sometimes have elevators in a depressed position when parked?
Why do they have elevators in such a position as if the joystick is pushed forward, even though there's nobody inside the cockpit?
0
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0answers
79 views
How does the maneuverability of the FJ-2 Fury and F-86 compare?
The North American FJ-2 Fury was the US Navy version of the F-86 Sabre jet.
I want to know if G maneuver limits were in favor of the F-86 or the FJ-2 Fury.
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10answers
10k views
How could “aggressor” pilots fly foreign aircraft without speaking the language?
Context
I watched a couple documentaries recently and found one where they were mentioning the training of American forces against Mi-24 that were captured and brought back to the US to test fly them....
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4answers
2k views
What is the first fighter jet which was built with twin engine and tail configuration?
What is the very first fighter jet that pioneers the twin engine and twin vertical stabilizers over the engine just before the exhaust (like the F-14, F-15, F-22, Su-35, etc)?
5
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1answer
153 views
What happened with the YF-16 prototypes?
What happened with the original two prototypes of the YF-16 that were ordered during the Lightweight Fighter Program? Were they converted into combat-capable F-16's?
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2answers
145 views
Does the AOA and G-Force increase if a fighter uses the afterburner during a max G level turn?
My understanding is that if you apply power (increase the thrust) for a jet in level flight, it will momentarily pitch up, and then gain some speed.
So, if a fighter pilot lights their afterburner ...
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1answer
176 views
The F16's maneuver envelope is better under 15000 feets but usually they will go much higher altitudes. Why?
The F-16's maneuver envelope is better under 15K feet, but they go much higher. Why do they put in that compromise position?
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1answer
155 views
Can a delta wing fighter engage an arrestor net without its main landing gear?
A delta wing fighter aircraft with underwing drop tanks while landing loses its main landing gear, but the nose wheel is extended. Is it an option for the pilot to engage the barrier net of type EP-15 ...
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4answers
7k views
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2answers
173 views
What exactly do fighter jets and its pilots do during their peace time sorties?
I am located very near to a base with a Sukhoi 30 squadron in India. The Indian Air Force jets keep doing these sorties every day and night. I have always wondered what exactly do these jets do during ...
6
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1answer
3k views
What are these protruding elements from SU-27's tail?
I recently saw in person SU-27 belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force. I spotted some protruding elements from its tail and I'm wondering what are they called and what do they do?
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3answers
482 views
Why do fighter pilots use night vision goggles rather than normal light inside the cockpit?
I've seen military personnel using night vision goggles (NVGs). With their flight altitude, I don't think the enemy can notice them. I thought it may be due to eye strain, but other units use red ...
3
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1answer
227 views
What do those writings mean that are on the landing gear doors?
I've been watching carrier videos a lot these days and I notice these writings. What do these writings means? I didn't upload all of them, most of the time there are location names and sometimes ...
8
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1answer
512 views
What is this hole on the F-22 Raptor?
I noticed this little hole that is right in front of the cockpit window of the F-22 Raptor. In some photos, it seems to be closed, while in other photos, it's open.
Does anyone know (or think they ...
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1answer
185 views
What are these on the F/A-18F's wingtips?
At 5:34, former TOPGUN instructor Cdr E. Vincent Aiello (the narrator) says
Looks like you've got [I can't decipher] Xes.
What words was he speaking?
Is he identifying the missile-looking object ...
15
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1answer
3k views
How do internally carried IR missiles acquire a lock?
On aircraft that carry their IR missiles on external stores, like the F/A-18, an IR-missile acquires a lock by having its seeker being directed to the target heat source by whatever means and the ...
6
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2answers
1k views
The Mig 21 and the Mirage III have been criticized for lack of range, is this a limitation of the wing configuration?
Mig 21
Range: 1,470 km (910 mi; 790 nmi) at 10,000 m (32,800 ft) with 2 × K-13A missiles and 800 l (180 imp gal; 210 US gal)
(Wikipeda)
J-7
Combat radius: 850 km (459 nmi, 528 mi) (air superiority, ...
6
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2answers
741 views
Is it true the F-16 has never lost a dogfight?
(Source)
I have heard the F-16 has never lost an air-to-air dogfight - is this true?
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1answer
144 views
What was the decrease in approach speed of the KFIR over the Mirage 5 due to the canards?
The Mirage III approached at 170 knots according to the Dassault. The Mirage NG and the KFIR C2 as well as the Swiss Mirage 5s added canards to the design, what was the decrease in approach speed due ...
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2answers
103 views
Surface deflection if loss of hydraulics on combat jet
In a typical combat jet from the 1970ties, at loss of hydraulic pressure, how does the deflection surfaces behave?
If it happens on the runway, will the weight of the surfaces make them deflect ...
16
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2answers
1k views
Why does the F-15 have a swept-back trailing edge at its wing tips?
The F-15's wing has an curious feature: a swept-back trailing edge near the wingtips, along with an unswept inboard portion of the wing.
(Modified from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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2answers
354 views
What is the relation between clouds and radar effectiveness?
Recently, India's prime minister Narendra Modi commented on how cloudy weather can help a fighter jet escape from radar. Is there any technical reasoning to back these comments?
Here is the quote ...
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0answers
80 views
Does a jet fighter intercept cost the airline money? [duplicate]
Last April a TUI flight from Frankfurt (Germany) to Hurghada (Egypt) was intercepted above Montenegro by Italian Air Force ordered by NATO. The order was given because the airline had lost ...
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4answers
374 views
What are the advantages/disadvantages of in-fuselage engines (eg most fighter jets) vs wing/fuselage mounted engines?
Most modern jet fighter designs incorporate their engine(s) within the fuselage, while most other medium/large aircraft mount them either under the wings or on the rear fuselage.
What are the ...
15
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1answer
4k views
What are the unusually-enlarged wing sections on this P-38 Lightning?
Halfway through this video of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, there's an unusual-looking example. Notice the enlarged wing sections outboard of the engine bodies, and also how the cockpit fairing ...
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3answers
872 views
Can a civilian purchase a new (Not Retired) fighter jet? [duplicate]
Let's take a jet like the F22 for example. Strip all the classified systems/weaponry out of it (civilian wouldn't need that), and just leave the basic aircraft itself.
Could a civilian technically ...
0
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1answer
179 views
Does the US export the Mark 77 aerial bomb? [closed]
The Mark 77 bomb used by US fighter aircraft detonates with an impressive array of inferno when dropped in a cluster which is often done at airshows.
Questions
Is the Mark 77 bomb solely used by ...
4
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1answer
495 views
Does the P&W F100 turbofan engine of the F-16 really produce this much power?
I've been trying to calculate the power a P&W F100 engine on a F-16 is producing using some of the available data on thrust and velocity and I ended up with a number that I want to confirm. Here's ...
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1answer
179 views
If the Meteor BVRAAM is the best AAM, and the APG-81 is the best radar for detecting aircraft, then why don't all fighter aircraft simply use these? [closed]
Why are some missiles incompatible with some aircraft?
If fighter A has better radar and missiles than fighter B, then why isn't it possible to simply integrate the better radar and missiles into ...
2
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1answer
787 views
How fast do the F-35 weapons bay doors open/close during combat ops?
(YouTube)
I came across the following Norwegian F-35 video launching a live missile from its right bay door. Of course, opening the door and launching the missile drastically increases RCS, but it ...
21
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4answers
8k views
Why are special aircraft used for the carriers in the United States Navy?
Why are aircraft such as the legacy F-14 and now the F/A-18 used by the US Navy carriers?
It seems to me that developing a new aircraft from the ground up is very expensive. Is it not possible to ...
2
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1answer
2k views
Which military aircraft does this seem to be? [F-16 vs MiG-21]
Can someone identify the aircraft based on the components, riveting style, or other technical details visible in these crash pictures?
a) Based on publicly available details, the chief suspects are ...
6
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2answers
268 views
Do fly-by-wire fighter aircraft automatically reverse the direction of control surface deflections during a tailslide?
During a tailslide (a flight regime where the relative airflow over the aircraft is from the tail towards the nose; i.e., an attack angle between 90º and 270º; i.e., the airplane is moving tail-first),...
3
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1answer
278 views
Since when had fighter jet designer stopped caring about Whitcomb's Area Rule?
According to this source, designers of military fighter jets seemed to have stopped centering their design on Whitcomb's Area Rule for quite a while. Yet even the twin series fighters struggle to ...
1
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1answer
272 views
What phraseology does ATC use with jet fighter pilots? [closed]
What do they usually say or ask when the fighter pilot wants to take off, when it's in the air, and what is the reply from the fighter pilot?
3
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3answers
1k views
Are modern fighter jets bulletproof and armored?
Are modern fighter jets bulletproof and armored? One would not be wrong given part of their operations is being on the receiving end of enemy ammunition shooting at them.
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1answer
233 views
Why is the detcord on canopies wavy?
We know that the wavy lines on the canopy are detcord, to shatter the glass in case of ejection.
Why are they wavy?
4
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1answer
428 views
Why is YF22 designed with conventional rudders while YF23 with all-moving rudders?
Are all-moving rudders more stealthy? If so, how come YF22 which is just as fixated with rear body stealthiness as the YF23 comes with conventional ones?
Also, all-moving rudders have fixed camber, ...
13
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3answers
963 views
Do fighter jets have deicing in their wings?
If there is such thing as deicing for fighters? If so, is bleed air or electric heating preferred? I could not imagine that a $50MLN fighter jet would not be able to get the ice off its wings.
4
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1answer
751 views
