Chengdu J-10

The J-10 (Jian-10 meaning Fighter-10) built by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) is the next generation multi-role fighter for China's Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-10 is a capable fighter-bomber, which will be operated alongside China's interceptor fleet of J-11 licensed built Su-27 and the imported Su-30MK Flankers. It will boast China's tactical air-to-ground capability replacing the older J-7 and Q-5 attack aircraft.The aircraft development was launched by No.611 Research Institute in October 1988, following approval the previous month. The Chengdu J-10 started as a development of the IAI Lavi, although little of the original Lavi design remains today. The J-10 features a compound delta-wing design with canards placed higher in front of the main wing and behind the canopy. The light weight airframe is powered by the Russian built AL-31FN engine, which is a modification of the Su-27 and Su-30 AL-31F power plant. The J-10's AL-31FN engine is currently not equipped with thrust vectoring, although this might be included in a future upgrade. According to Russian reports, China ordered 100 AL-31FN engines to support J-10 production in July 2005, having received 54 engines between 2002 and 2004 for the initial production batch. It is also possible that the AL-31FN will be replaced on later production aircraft by the Chinese WS-10A turbofan, which is currently under development. The main engine intake is located on the belly and has a rectangular shape.

Manufacturer : Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation
Designed by : Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute
Maiden flight : 24 March 1998
Introduced : Late 2005
Declassified : 29 December 2006
Status : Operational
Primary users : People's Liberation Army Air Force & Pakistan Air Force (EIS late 2009)
Number built : 89 (July 2007)
Unit cost : $41 million USD (export version, with parts and maintenance)
Developed from : Chengdu J-9
Variants : Chengdu Super-10

F/A-22 Raptor

The F-22 Raptor is an American fighter aircraft that utilizes stealth technology. It is an air superiority fighter, but is equipped for ground attack, electronic warfare and signals intelligence roles as well. The F-22 is a critical component of the US Global Strike Task Force.Faced with a protracted development period, the prototype aircraft was variously designated YF-22 and F/A-22 during the three years before formally entering United States Air Force service in December 2005, as the F-22A. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Along with Lockheed Martin, partner Boeing Integrated Defense Systems provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and all of the pilot and maintenance training systems.Intended to be the leading American advanced tactical fighter in the early part of the 21st century, the Raptor is the world's most expensive fighter to date with an incremental cost of about US$138 million per unit. The number of aircraft to be built has dropped to 183,down from the initial requirement of 750. Part of the reason for the decrease in the requirement is that the F-35 Lightning II uses much of the technology used on the F-22, but at a much more affordable price. To a large extent the cost of these technologies is only lower for the F-35 because they have already been developed for the F-22.


Name: F/A-22 Raptor
Constructor:Lockheed / Boeing
Armament:1 cannon 20 mm, Internal bays, External hardpoints
Length: 18m92
Max Speed: Mach 1.9
Ceiling: 18000 m
height: 5m08
Weight Max: 36228 kg
Range Ferry: 3204 km
Span: 13m56
Crew: 1
Engines: 2

F-35 Lightning II

The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. The F-35 is descended from the X-35 of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is being principally funded by the United States with the United Kingdom and other partner governments providing additional funding.It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems as major partners. Demonstrator aircraft flew in 2000 a production model first took flight on 15 December 2006.The United States Air Force plans to acquire 1,763 aircraft.The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is going to be the mass produced 5th generation aircraft of the 21st century. Until 26 October 2001 there was an ongoing competition between Lockheed Martin (designer of aircraft on the left, the X-35) and Boeing (designer of aircraft on the right, the X-32). The winner of this competition will produce the F-16's replacement. Unlike the F-22, the JSF will be a relatively low cost aircraft. The U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Royal Navy, and the US Marine Corps will use the JSF.Overall the airframes will be alike with a few exceptions; the U.S. Air Force version will be a conventional takeoff multi-role fighter. The U.S. Navy's version of the JSF will be similar to the Air Force version except with a stronger internal structure, landing gear, and arresting hook to allow carrier landings. The U.S. Marine Corps and Britain's Royal Navy version (X-35B) will have a short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capability thus allowing this version of the JSF to land almost anywhere. The JSF will use many of the advanced technologies employed in the F-22 yet still remain a low cost 5th generation fighter. It is scheduled to enter service in around 2012.

Name: X-35A JSF (F-35 Lightning II)
Constructor:Lockheed-Martin
Armament: 20 mm cannon,2 internal weapon bays,5900 kg max payload
Length: 15m41
Max Speed: Mach 1.6
Ceiling: 16700 m
height: 5m28
Weight Max: 22700 kg
Range: 1000 km(Combat radius)
Span: 10m00
Crew: 1
Engines: 1

B-2 Spirit

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is a multi-role stealth heavy bomber, capable of deploying both conventional and nuclear weapons. It is operated exclusively by the United States Air Force. Its development was a milestone in the modernization program of the U.S. Department of Defense. The B-2's second-generation stealth technology is intended to aid the aircraft's penetration role in order to survive extremely dense anti-aircraft defenses otherwise considered impenetrable by combat aircraft.The B-2 started life as a black project known as the High Altitude Penetrating Bomber (HAPB), then became the Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB), and later became the B-2 Spirit. An estimated US$23 billion were secretly spent for research and development on the B-2 in the 1980s. An additional expense was caused by changing its role in 1985 from a high-altitude bomber to a low-altitude bomber, which required a major redesign.The first B-2 was publicly displayed on 22 November 1988, when it was rolled out of its hangar at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it was built. Its first public flight was on 17 July 1989. The B-2 Combined Test Force, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is responsible for flight testing the engineering, manufacturing and development aircraft.The cost of the B-2 program in 1994 dollars was reported at $727 million per plane, however the total cost of the program with development, spares, and facilities averaged over $2.1 billion per plane as of 1997 according to the B-2 program office.

Prime contractor: Northrop Grumman Corporation
Nation of origin: USA
Function: Strategic stealth bomber
Crew: 2/3
Year: 1989
In-service year: Complete delivery by 2000
Engine: Four General Electric F118-GE-110 non-afterburning turbofans, 19,000 lb thrust each
Wing span: 52.43 m
Wing Area: 465.5 m2
Length: 21.03 m
Height: 5.18 m
Weight: 168434 kg
Ceiling: 16765 m
Speed: 1103 km/h
Range: 18,520 km with one air refuel
Armament: Up to 80,000 lb including 16 B61/B83 nuclear bombs, 80 Mk82 1,000 lb bombs or 16 Mk84 2,000 lb bombs, 36 M117 750 lb fire bombs, 36 cluster bombs, or 80 Mk36 1,000 lb sea mines
Unit cost: 800-1300 million USD

Sukhoi Su-47

The Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut, also designated S-32 and S-37 during initial development, is an experimental supersonic jet fighter developed by Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. A distinguishing feature of the aircraft is its forward-swept wing, similar to that of the Grumman X-29. Its NATO reporting name is "Firkin".Although the Berkut has been referred to as the Su-47 since 2002, suggesting that it is a ready-for-production warplane, the sole aircraft produced is an advanced technology demonstrator prototype and manufacture of a planned second flying prototype was cancelled.The Su-47 has extremely high agility at subsonic speeds, enabling the aircraft to alter its angle of attack and its flight path very quickly while retaining maneuverability in supersonic flight. The Su-47 has a maximum speed of Mach 2 at high altitudes and a greater than 9g capability.Maximum turn rates, and the upper and lower limits on airspeed for weapon launch, are important criteria in terms of combat superiority. The Su-47 aircraft has very high levels of maneuverability with maintained stability and controllability at extreme angles of attack. Maximum turn rates are important in close combat and also at medium and long range, when the mission may involve engaging consecutive targets in different sectors of the airspace. A high turn rate of the Su-47 allows the pilot to turn the fighter aircraft quickly towards the next target to initiate the weapon launch.

Name: SU-47 (S-37 Berkut)
Constructor:Sukhoi
Armament:14 hardpoints
Length: 22m60
Max Speed: 2500 km/h
Ceiling: 18000 m
height: 6m40
Weight Max: 34000 kg
Range: 3300 km
Span: 16m70
Crew: 1
Engines: 2

Typhoon EF-2000 Eurofighter

Eurofighter is a single-seat, twin-engine, agile combat aircraft which will be used in the air-to-air, air-to-ground and tactical reconnaissance roles. The design of Eurofighter Typhoon is optimised for air dominance performance with high instantaneous and sustained turn rates, and specific excess power. Special emphasis has been placed on low wing loading, high thrust to weight ratio, excellent all round vision and carefree handling. The use of Stealth technology is incorporated throughout the aircraft’s basic design.In September 1998 the Eurofighter was also designated the Typhoon, though this nomenclature is intended only for use in export markets outside Europe. Eurofighter remains the offical name in Europe, and Typhoon will not automatically be the EF2000s name with the four partner air forces when it enters service in 2002/3.Production contract for the first batch of 148 aircraft were placed by the Eurofighter management agency NETMA (NATO Eurofighter 2000 and Tornado Management Agency) on behalf of the partner nations. Fixed prices were agreed prior to the commitment of each contract. The contracts were signed by NETMA, Eurofighter GmbH and Eurojet GmbH. British Eurofighter aircraft will be assembled at British Aerospace sites in Lancashire from components manufactured by companies in the four partner nations. Rolls Royce will manufacture the engines, mainly in Bristol and Derby. In the other nations the respective partner companies will have their own assembly lines in Munich, Turin and Madrid. Some 200 UK companies, including GEC Marconi, Dowty, Lucas, Martin Baker, Normalair Garrett, Pilkington Thorn Optics, Smiths Industries, Computing Devices and Ultra Electronics, are involved in the development of a range of equipments for Eurofighter, including the radar and defensive aids subsystem. In the UK, over 6000 jobs depend on the Eurofighter development phase and this is expected to rise to some 14000 at the peak of production. The UK intends to procure 232 aircraft to replace the Tornado F3 and the Jaguar. Deliveries to the Royal Air Force are scheduled to begin in June 2002 and run until the year 2014. The current estimated total procurement cost of the programme to the UK is £15.9Bn.

Name: EuroFighter Typhoon
Constructor: Several European countries
Armament:1 cannon 27 mm,6500 kg max payload,15 types of rockets
Length: 15m96
Max Speed: Mach 2.0+
Ceiling: 18290 m
height: 5m28
Weight Max: 23500 kg
Range: 1390 km
Span: 10m95
Crew: 1
Engines: 2