Major Shaitan Singh
SENIOR MEMBER
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- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 3,550
- Reaction score
- 43
- Country
- Location
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Carrier-borne fighters are a rare beast, with only the US boasting a sizeable force. Selection for a top ten was easy, as there’s barely ten types in total! The ordering of these types was a lot harder and to some extent subjective, though the winner is certainly an extraordinary aircraft.
10.Lockheed Martin F-35B/C Lightning II
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Strictly speaking the F-35 doesn’t deserve a place on the list as it’s not yet operational, but as training as begun (and we’re short of an aircraft), we have included it. In time the F-35B and C will deserve separate entries. The next new naval fighter after the F-35 may be India’s equally long-delayed Tejas.
9. BAe Sea HarrierFRS.Mk51
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Indian’s aged Sea Harriers are not considered as capable as the FA.2s that Britain’s Royal Navy used to operate and of the thirty delivered only around 11 are still flying. However the Limited Upgrade Sea Harrier (LUSH) upgrade gave aircraft the Elta EL/M-2032 radar and the potential to use the Rafael ‘Derby’ medium-range beyond visual range air-to-air missile.
8. McDonnell Douglas AF-1 (A-4) Skyhawk
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Brazil’s A-4s remain a viable aircraft despite the almost prehistoric airframe design. A host of promised, and in some cases, fulfilled upgrades have kept the beloved Scooter going on the deck of theClemenceau-class aircraft carrier São Paulo.Long-promised weapons-options include the were MAA-1B, Python 4 and Derby AAMS. Maybe one day they could be replaced by Sea Gripens.
7.Boeing AV-8B+ Harrier II/EAV-8B Matador
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A mature platform with AMRAAM capability and a wide range of air-to-ground stores the modern Harrier is a well-equipped fighter-bomber that proved itself in the Close Air Support role in Afghanistan and the recce/attack/CAP roles over Libya. Sadly the Harrier is the most dangerous aircraft in US service with a shocking attrition-rate that is around three times higher than the F/A-18. As well as a high attrition rate the type is considerably slower than most of it peers. The aircraft is operated by the USMC and the Italian and Spanish Navy.
6.Sukhoi Su-33
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The Sukhoi Su-33 was intended to serve on Soviet aircraft carriers, however by the time it entered service the nation it had been developed to protect had disappeared. Only a small number were produced and were considered rather inflexible (with limited weapons options). Now their avionics suite is obsolete and they face the indignity (at least in Sukhoi’s eyes) of being replaced with the smaller MiG-29K.
5. Shenyang J-15
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Though not yet mature, the Chinese navy’s pirate ‘Flanker’s promise to be formidable machines. Utilizing the best of China’s indigenously developed (and highly-respected) weapons and sensors the J-15 will be a sophisticated, highly agile and long-ranged fighter. In terms of all-out performance it will enjoy a significant advantage over the Hornet family in several respects, notably high altitude performance.
4.McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornet
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The plucky ‘Bug’ is now in the twilight of its career. When it arrived on the scene in 1983 it was extremely advanced and trail-blazed many of the features that have since becomede rigueur for fighters, especially in the field of cockpit design and multimode radar. It remains the fighter to beat at low altitude and is still held in awe as a dogfighter (according to pilots it has the edge on its larger brother in a ‘knife fight’). It was always short on ‘legs’ (range) and struggled at the right hand corner of the performance envelope. The F/A-18 will be replaced in US Navy and USMC service by the F-35.