Modern Fighter Aircraft Technology and Tactics: Into Combat With Today's Fighter Pilots

205 Pages·1995·9.52 MB·English

by  Anthony Thornborough

MODERN
FIGHTER
AIRCRAFT
TECHNOLOGY AND TACTICS
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MODERN
FIGHTER
AIRCRAFT
TECHNOLOGY AND TACTICS
Into combat with today's fighter pilots
Anthony Thornborough
Patrick Stephens Limited
© Anthony M. Thornborough 1995
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission in writing from Patrick Stephens Limited.
First published in 1995
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 1 85260 426 3
Library of Congress catalog card No. 95-78112
Patrick Stephens Limited is an imprint of Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, Nr Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ
Typeset by J. H. Haynes & Co. Ltd.
Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frame and London
CONTENTS
Introduction 7
Chapter 1 Modern Technology & Tactics: An Overview 9
Chapter 2 Launch 29
Chapter 3 Air Superiority 53
Chapter 4 Target Ingress 101
Chapter 5 Recovery 169
Chapter 6 Future Technologies 179
Glossary 195
Index 201

INTRODUCTION
Designing, building, maintaining and flying lost in the quagmire of technical and professional
modern fighters has become an incredibly terminology. Much of this book, therefore, is written
complex and expensive business, and one which is in layman's terms for fellow enthusiasts or those
becoming increasingly mind-boggling in its breadth. enquiring into the subject for the first time: everything
This has as much to do with the ancillary technology you wanted to know about modern military aviation,
stuffed into, and strapped onto, modern military but were too afraid (or embarrassed) to ask. In many
aircraft as the inevitable technological growth in instances I myself started from scratch and asked a lot
airframes and propulsion, creating a veritable of seemingly unintelligent, stupid questions until it
minefield of terminology derived from increasingly was possible to piece together what I hope is an
compartmentalized sciences. accurate (albeit simplified in places) representation of
Tactics at the sharp end, too, constantly being the technology, procedures and tactics employed in
reshaped by these new technologies, continue to grow modern air warfare. American leading-edge
at such a pace that only a privileged few are able to technology and tactics dominates, but many
keep up with the multifarious developments around comparative illustrations are offered with competing
the world. And in the aftermath of the Cold War, it is British, French and Russian hardware, which in some
becoming increasingly clear that East and West instances has surpassed massively financed American
created many diverging rather than copy-cat ingenuity or has built upon it.
technological solutions in response to each other's real The initial and closing sections of the book take a
and perceived military developments, further broader view of developments of the recent past and
complicating the issue! Hopefully, the NATO-Russian future developments, respectively, while sandwiched
Partnership for Peace deal signed in June 1994 will be in-between is a series of essays describing the various
the harbinger of an exciting new era in cooperative missions and hardware, beginning with pre-flight
development, however good competition might be at planning and ending, appropriately enough, with
preserving the technical edge. aircraft recovery. Psychological and physiological
This book sets out to unravel some of that aspects of flying modern high-performance fighters,
technology, and how it has evolved since the Vietnam including some of the thrills and spills (ultimately the
War, hopefully in an entertaining fashion. My brief real face of tearing about the sky), are also given
from the publisher was to make this book accessible. thorough scrutiny within the confines of this work.
In attempting to do this, I was astounded by how much Much of this should prove equally fascinating to
has been taken for granted in past works, or simply budding aviators and engineers taking their first
skipped over without adequate explanation and, as a glimpse at modern aerial warfare. It is also hoped that
result, how little (at the outset, at least) I actually knew readers' eyes are not glazed over too much by the
myself given the breadth of the subject matter. Many extensive use of terms and acronyms. These are
past works have been written by engineers for other explained as they crop up and are reproduced in the
engineers, by pilots for other pilots, or by politicians, Glossary. Partly owing to the multi-national flavour of
analysts and planners for other like-minded folk, with this book which requires the use of some generic
plenty of scope for laymen to become all too quickly terminology, and partly because of the current
8 MODERN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY & TACTICS
acronym disease plaguing the Pentagon in such silver bullets is able to replace a much greater
Washington, DC, this ultimately proved unavoidable; number of conventional fighters and their support
there simply was no alternative if the narrative was to entourage.
incorporate analytical perspectives, and there was The third advance is in data-linking and
much of this to be accomplished in the light of the communications, and the fourth, allied to this, is the
Gulf War, and more recent developments. increasing use of space satellites. The explosive effect
Incidentally, many of the arguments reproduced that these latter two are having on a broad range of
within these covers are intended to reflect the often technologies and tactics, from navigation to weapons
differing opinions held by the professionals, some of employment, is best summed up by the slogan of the
whom remain at loggerheads over certain issues. As I recently formed Space Warfare Center at Colorado
am not privy to much of the detailed classified Springs in the western United States: 'In your face
information (nor do I pretend to be) which might assist from outer space'!
me in being unequivocal about these matters, both Had this book been compiled 12 years ago, very
sides of the debate are presented wherever possible, little of these sweeping changes would have been
albeit sometimes isolated. It is then up to the reader to included in the study at all. Quite how much will
choose which camp he or she belongs to on any given change over the next 12 years remains to be seen.
issue. In any event, many of the arguments and case Fathoming out the material for this book was a
studies contained in this book should be of equal value long and rewarding process, but would have been
to professional aviators and analysts too; sometimes, impossible without the generous assistance of many
as the old saying goes, it is all too easy to lose sight of people, too numerous to list in full, who freely helped
the woods for the trees. The inherent simplicity of the with ideas, information and illustrations. I would,
approach taken within these pages, in going back to however, like to give special thanks to Bruce
basics on many occasions, should help provide a Benyshek, Craig Brown, Jim Chamberlain, Peter E.
clearer overall perspective of how technologies and Davies, Dale Donovan, Andy Evans, Douglas S.
tactics are shaping today. And shaping they most McCurrach, Denny Lombard, Lois Lovisolo, Tim
definitely are. Perry, Jim Rotramel, James M. Shaw, and my father
In closing, it can be boldly asserted that there exist Dick Thornborough. Mention must also be made of
four glaringly obvious factors remoulding the nature some of the organizations behind some of these names
of modern air warfare, all of which feature strongly which responded specifically to help tie-up some
throughout the book. The first is the impact of modern loose ends on this project, including Aérospatiale,
microprocessors in everything from engines and flight Dassault-Breguet, GEC-Marconi, Hughes Missiles
control systems, to weapons and defensive systems. and Radar groups, Lockheed Advanced Development
The emerging range of new fighters, and their Company, Martin-Baker, Martin-Marietta, the MoD
upgraded derivatives, are nothing less than computers Photographic Workshop, Northrop Grumman, RAF
with wings on them, including many of the latest Strike Command, Rockwell-Collins, Texas
previously besmirched but otherwise superb fighters Instruments, USAFE 3rd Air Force, Mildenhall, and
of Russian origin. Similarly, it is interesting to reflect the US OASD in Washington, DC. Thanks also to Bob
that most of the Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs) Munro, and my publisher Darryl Reach at Haynes
now being perfected in the West bear unit costs Publishing and his diplomatic editorial assistant
comparable in real terms to early jet fighters, and are Alison Roelich, who patiently put up with numerous
arguably more technologically sophisticated! delays in completing the project.
The second factor is low-observable stealth fighter
technology, and the impact this is having on current Anthony M. Thornborough
force planning. It appears that a small force of Bristol, England, March 1995
Chapter One
MODERN TECHNOLOGY
& TACTICS:
AN OVERVIEW
The lightning air war in the Gulf in the opening lines of what sacked USAF Gen Dugan had
months of 1991 arguably represented the first true indiscreetly outlined to the Press beforehand. When
application of air power as a decisive factor in modern Coalition forces gave the enemy a temporary respite,
warfare. As Gen Merrill A. McPeak, USAF Chief of it was because movements and developments needed
Staff, noted, Operation Desert Storm represented 'the evaluating for the next thrust, not because the political
first time in history that a field army has been defeated or military will to engage had run out of steam. And
by air power'. In the United States, its success such respite could be measured in minutes, so that the
represented the pinnacle of two decades of relatively enemy was kept constantly guessing.
quiet and subdued military re-equipment and pre- The ceaseless, rolling 'gorilla packages' used
paration, which finally exorcized the Vietnam ghost. around the clock in the Gulf- as opposed to piecemeal
The will to succeed in the Gulf, considerably aided strike packages employed on a stop-go basis against
by a multi-national Coalition sanctioned by the United North Vietnam - were honed for maximum mutual
Nations to use force which effectively encircled its protection and quickly established air superiority deep
enemy, was an ingredient sadly all too lacking in the over enemy lines. A significant portion of the
embroilment of the US in the long and troubled civil responsibility for drawing up specific target
war in South-East Asia. The former Soviet Union assignments rested in the hands of the theatre
encountered much the same problems during its commanders, who knew best where and when to
lengthy and internationally condemned incursion into strike. It gave the enemy no leeway. Vital ingredients
Afghanistan which similarly ended in withdrawal with such as surprise and stealth (in the broader sense of the
little net accomplishment. word) thus became bywords for success, as did the
The fighting ground and weather conditions also concept of establishing and maintaining air superiority
favoured success in the Gulf. There were no tropical at the earliest opportunity, which can be accomplished
monsoons to blanket out radar or electro-optic (E-0) with relatively little actual action.
sensors for half the year (Desert Storm was quite In contrast, the air war in Vietnam escalated very
deliberately initiated at the height of a cool, clear gradually, stripping the American forces of any
desert winter). Overall, the clear, open tracts of sand element of surprise. This permitted the North's regime
and rocky terrain, with the Iraqi opposition laid out or to re-equip after every major skirmish, while US air
entrenched in the field (as opposed to being dispersed superiority (a transitory thing) only reached temporary
into thousands of elusive pockets of low-value targets crescendoes in 1967-68 and 1972, before petering out
cloaked by vegetation, many of which were again. Maintaining this tempo over such a long time
underground, as was the case in South-East Asia) also was totally impracticable - and North Vietnam was
played a significant part. prepared to sit it out. In the end, the US lost to hostile
But the overriding factor in the success of Desert fire through August 1973 (discounting personnel and
Storm was the employment of overwhelming air aircraft stricken by operational causes, and
power, ab initio. It was a well-orchestrated aerial helicopters), a staggering 2,475 fixed-wing aircraft1.
ballet which involved up to 3,000 carefully
interwoven sorties each day, following much along the Source: US DoD OASD, dated 17 Oct 1973