Since man has learned to maximized the use of airplanes in winning war; it has evolved to what it is now: a very mean fighting machines. Super powers are busy out-thinking and out-building each other to come out with a more faster, swifter and top-of-the-line planes. Below is a list of today’s most modern military aircraft based on their overall performance. Take note that is only my own opinion.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The U.S. made F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a Mach 1.8+ combat-proven strike fighter with built-in versatility. It is an advance derivative of the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The aircraft’s dimension is as follows: length: 60.3 (18.5 meters), height: (4.87 meters) and wingspan (13.68 meters). The Super Hornet’s two crews can perform missions such as: day/night strikes with precision-guided weapons, maritime strike, reconnaissance and fighter escort. Its armament include: 1x 20 mm guns, rockets, missiles and bombs.
J-10
The Jian-10 (J-10) from PROC is a Mach 1.85 multi-purpose fighter aircraft built for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It comes in two variant; a two-seater trainer plane and the single crew attack aircraft. The aircraft is 14.57 meters long, a height of 4.78 m and a wingspan of 8.78 m. It is equipped with locally made fire-control radar that has a mechanically planar array antenna. The aircraft has 11 external stores stations for weapon carriage, three under each wing and five under the fuselage. J-10 has in its arsenal a fixed 23 mm. cannon, short-range infrared air-to-air missiles, medium-range radar-guided air-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles among others.
F-16/E Block 60
The latest and the most advanced Fighting Falcons F-16s are the Block 60 versions. These aircrafts have advance features that include: bigger fuel and payload capacity, color cockpit displays with superior pilot/vehicle interfaces and better avionics and sensors. The aircraft is also equipped with various navigation systems that include: tactical air navigation (TACAN), distance measuring equipment (DME) and enhanced instrument landing system. Among its weapons and arsenal include: six barrel 20mm Gatling gun, medium range missiles and during close battles it can deploy AIM-9X, Python 4 and Python 5. These aircrafts are also fitted with the latest APG-80 Active Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar system.
MiG-35
The Russian made Mikoyan MiG-35 is an advanced variant MiG-29K/KUB technology. The aircraft‘s dimension include: Length:19 m, Wingspan:15 m Height: 6 m. This one or two-seater fighter with a Mach 2.4 speed has improved avionics and weapon systems that include: new AESA radar and an enhanced Optical Locator System (OLS). Mig-35 cockpit is equipped with three 6×8 inch flat-panel LCD’s, digital map and helmet-mounted sight. In addition, the aircraft is provided with radar warning and laser warning sensors to beef-up its defense system.
F-15K Slam Eagle
The F-15K Slam Eagle is an upgraded version of the combat-tested F-15E Strike Eagle. It is a good fighter in different combat arena where it can perform air-to-air, air-to-sea and air-to-ground missions. This U.S. made aircraft that could sustain a Mach 2.5 has a 63.8 ft. body length, a height of 18.5 ft. and a wingspan of 42.8 ft. This two-man crew fighter plane is equipped with advanced avionics best for night low-altitude deep-strike mission. It carries in its arsenal: 20mm cannon and missiles (AIM-120, AIM-9, AIM-7, and AGM-130.
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a multi-purpose aircraft designed and built by three companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and Alenia Aeronautica. It is a Mach 2+ delta-wing, close air fighter aircraft ideal for surface attack mission. The aircraft’s dimension include: Length:15.96m, Height:5.28m, Wingspan:10.95m. The cockpit is equipped with a voice throttle and stick system (VTAS). It also has direct voice input allowing its crew to carry out data entry procedures using voice command. Some of its arsenals include: an internally mounted Mauser BK27mm gun and assortment of missiles such as: AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, ASRAAM cruise missiles, 18 Brimstone anti-armor missiles, anti-radar missiles and anti-ship missiles.
J-11B
This Chinese-made multi-purpose aircraft that could sustain a top speed of Mach 2.35 (2,500 km/h, 1,600 mph). J-11B is a single crew fighter plane that is 21.94 m in length, 5.92 m in height and a wingspan of 14.70 m. It has a range of 3,720 km (2,010 nm, 2,310 mi) and a combat radius of 2,000 km (1,240 mi). Among its armaments are: 1x 30 mm guns, unguided rocket launcher, Pl-12 missiles and Free-fall cluster bombs.
Su-30 MKI/MKM
The Russian made Sukhoi Su-30 is an all-whether strike fighter that performs two roles: air-to-air and air-to-surface deep banning missions. It is equipped with a movable in-flight refueling probe to increase range. The Su-27PU has advanced avionic systems to suits its new role as a long-range interceptor. The rear cockpit received a large CRT display is mounted in its rear cockpit to provide its crew with tactical information regarding targets and interceptors. This two-seater fighter plane can attain a Mach 2.0 (2,120 km/h, 1,320 mph) maximum speed. Other specifications include: Length: 21.935 m, Wingspan: 14.7 m, Height: 6.36 m, Range: 3,000 km (1,620 nmi) at altitude, Service ceiling: 17,300 m. This aircraft is equipped with:1 × GSh-30-1 gun (30 mm with 150 rounds, 6 × Kh-31P/Kh-31A anti-radar missiles, 6 × Kh-29T/L laser guided missiles and 6 × KAB 500KR aerial bombs.
Su-35
The Sukhoi Su-35 (formerly Su-27M) is an advanced variant of Su-27 performing multiple roles: a swift strike fighter and a long-range air superiority fighter. The aircraft specifications include: Crew:1, Length: 21.9 m, Wingspan: 15.3 m and Height: 5.90 m. A Mach 2.25 aircraft, it has a range of 3,600 km and 18,000 km service ceiling. The SU-35 armaments include: 1 × 30 mm GSh-30 cannon with 150 rounds, KAB 500L bombs and assortment of missiles (air-to-air and air-to-surface).
F-22 Raptor
The USAF considers the F-22 Raptor as a fourth-generation stealth aircraft. Aside from being a form being an air superiority fighter, the F-22 performs other functions that include electronic warfare, ground attack, and signals intelligence roles. With a Mach 2.25 (1,500 mph, 2,410 km/h) at altitude, this aircraft is highly maneuverable both at supersonic and subsonic speeds. Other specification of this aircraft include: Crew, 1, Length: 18.90 m, Wingspan: 13.56 m, Height: 5.08 m, Range: 1,600 nmi (1,840 mi, 2,960 km), Combat radius: 410 nmi (471 mi, 759 km) and service ceiling: 19,812 m. It is equipped with 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A2 Vulcan gatling gun, 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder and 8× 250 lb (110 kg) GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs among others.
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