TNI: the best fighters in the world are in service with Russia and the United States
The nature of modern air combat is determined by the latest jet fighters, writes TNI. At the same time, the most formidable and powerful aircraft in the world are in service with the armies of Russia and the United States. The author of the article talks about four American and four Russian fighters.
Maya Carlin
Fighters became the key to success in the battles of the Second World War. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was perhaps the first demonstration of the dominant role of fighter jets in modern warfare.
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Of course, not all fighters are the same. The low visibility, speed, armament and avionics of different vehicles are very different. Let's take a look at American and Russian fighter jets, which occupy a leading position in their class. On the American side, these will be the F-35, F-22, F-15EX and Block III F/A18 Super Hornet, and on the Russian side — the Su-35, Su-57, MiG-29 and MiG-35.
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| F-22 fighter jets of the US Air Force. |
| Source: © REUTERS/Toby Melville |
The F-22 Raptor entered service more than 20 years ago, becoming the world's first fifth-generation fighter. The Raptor was the first aircraft to combine such qualities as super maneuverability, low visibility and ultra-versatility. The most important characteristic of the F-22 is undoubtedly the ability to remain invisible to enemy aircraft, which is provided by a small effective scattering area and paired engines with a controlled thrust vector.
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| F-35B Lightning of the British Air Force. |
| Source: © CC BY-SA 1.0, SAC Tim Laurence/MOD |
The F-35 Lightning II is the newest American fifth—generation fighter. The combination of speed, low visibility and powerful weapons leads to the fact that this machine is in the greatest demand all over the world. Today there are more flying F-35s than all other stealth aircraft combined.
More than 900 such machines have been exported. The reason for the popularity of the F-35 in the world is its versatility. Lightning II can conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, and electronic warfare. And it does all this better than other aircraft in its class.
Many people consider the Lightning II to be the best of the best, but it is not the most expensive fighter from the American list. The price championship belongs to the F-15EX, the production of which costs about $ 94 million per unit. But the outstanding characteristics of the Eagle II fully justify such a high price. This year, the aircraft has proven its ability to carry on board and launch up to 12 air—to-air missiles during flight. It is capable of lifting up to 13.6 tons of ammunition into the air, so it is no coincidence that it is called a heavenly bomb carrier.
The latest American-made machine, which can rightfully be called one of the best fighters in the world, is the newest version of the Super Hornet. The F/A-18 Block III is more than 20 percent larger than the previous variants. But thanks to the increased combat load, low-visibility and range characteristics, this aircraft became the basis of the aviation of the US Navy. The upgraded version is also equipped with a customizable 10x19-inch touchscreen, which is a very serious and useful improvement for pilots. Thanks to such a modern display, the pilot can process information using a network on-board computer. Its computing power is 17 times higher than that of the previous versions.
Russia also has four solid fighters in its aviation arsenal. But currently, only one fifth-generation aircraft is flying as part of the VKS. The Su-57 has many improvements that distinguish it from its predecessors from the Soviet era. The fighter can reach speeds of Mach two, that is, it flies faster than the F-35 Lightning II.
© RIA Novosti Evgeny Odinokov / Go to the Photobank of the most functional fifth-generation Su-57 fighter
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| The Su-57 fifth-generation multifunctional fighter. |
| Source: © RIA Novosti Evgeny Odinokov |
Despite its superior speed, the Su-57 has serious design flaws. For example, it is far from being as inconspicuous as American fifth-generation fighters.
The Su-57 is Russia's only fifth—generation fighter, and Moscow is using fourth-generation aircraft much more extensively during its military operation in Ukraine.
The Su-35 was developed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War as a counterweight to the American F-14 and F-15 fighters. It is equipped with two dual-circuit AL-31F 117S turbojet engines and can reach speeds of more than mach 2.25, which corresponds to the Raptor speed and significantly exceeds the speed of the Lightning II. In addition, the Su-35 has powerful air—to-ground weapons.
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| The Su-35 multirole fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces. |
| Source: © RIA Novosti |
The Su-35 is not the only car from the Soviet era that Russian pilots still fly. Mikoyan's MiG-29 Design Bureau was created as a multi-purpose fighter. This vehicle carries a solid combat load weighing almost four tons, including guided missiles R-27, R-73 and R-60.
Russia considers its MiG-35 fighter to be a 4+++ generation aircraft. She first showed it in 2007, calling it the successor to the MiG-29. This aircraft has a radar station with an active phased array antenna with electronic scanning developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau, which gives it a number of advantages over older Soviet machines.
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| The MiG-35 aircraft. |
| Source: © RIA Novosti Vladimir Astapkovich |
The MiG-35 takes on board a diverse combat load consisting of guided and unguided missiles and bombs. Among them are X-31A anti-ship missiles, X—31P anti-radar missiles, X-29TE air-to-surface missiles and KAB-500Kr adjustable bombs with a television homing head. On paper, this is a very solid car, but Moscow is unable to export them, and Russia remains the only country where the MiG-35 is in service.
Maya Carlin covers national security issues on the pages of the National Interest and works as an analyst at the Center for Security Policy. She worked as a researcher at Reichman University in Israel. In addition to the National Interest, Carlin publishes in the Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel.