Strike fighter

File:F-15E gbu-28 release.jpg

A USAF F-15E Strike Eagle dropping a GBU-28 precision guided bomb.

In current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multirole combat aircraft designed to operate both as an attack aircraft and as an air superiority fighter. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers, and is closely related to the concept of interdictor aircraft, although it puts more emphasis on aerial combat capabilities.

Examples of notable contemporary strike fighters are the American McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed F-35 Lightning II, the Russian Sukhoi Su-34, and the Chinese Shenyang J-16.

History

Beginning in the 1940s, the term "strike fighter" was occasionally used in navies to refer to fighter aircraft capable of performing air-to-surface strikes, such as the Westland Wyvern,<ref>"Aerospace Engineering, Volume 6." Institute of the Aerospace Sciences, 1947.</ref> Blackburn Firebrand<ref>The Aeroplane: Volume 75, 1948.</ref> and Blackburn Firecrest.

The term "light weight tactical strike fighter (LWTSF)" was used to describe the aircraft to meet the December 1953 NATO specification NBMR-1.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Amongst the designs submitted to the competition were the Aerfer Sagittario 2, Breguet Br.1001 Taon, Dassault Étendard VI, Fiat G.91 and Sud-Est Baroudeur.

File:Westland Wyvern S Mk.4.jpg

The Westland Wyvern

The term entered normal use in the United States Navy<ref name=popular1983>"Inside story of the troubled F/A-18." Popular Science, Volume 223, Issue 4, October 1983. Template:ISSN. Retrieved: 23 December 2011. Quote: ... can fly either as a fighter or an attack plane [...] In Navy parlance, it is a strike fighter.</ref> by the end of the 1970s, becoming the official<ref>"The FY 1981 military programs." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Volume 36, Issue 6, June 1980, p. 38. Template:ISSN. Retrieved: 23 December 2011.</ref> description of the new McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. In 1983, the U.S. Navy even renamed each existing Fighter Attack Squadron to Strike Fighter Squadron to emphasize<ref name=polmar>Polmar 1997, p. 343.</ref> the air-to-surface mission (as the "Fighter Attack" designation was confused with the "Fighter" designation, which flew pure air-to-air missions).

This name quickly spread to non-maritime use. When the F-15E Strike Eagle came into service, it was originally called a "dual role fighter",<ref>Defence Update (International), Issues 79–84, p. 43.</ref> but it instead quickly became known as a "strike fighter".

Joint Strike Fighter

Template:Main In 1995, the U.S. military's Joint Advanced Strike Technology program changed its name to the Joint Strike Fighter program.<ref>"Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)." globalsecurity.org. Retrieved: 2 February 2011.</ref> The project consequently resulted in the development of the F-35 Lightning II family of fifth generation multirole fighters to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability.

Modern strike fighters

• Template:Flagicon Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
• Template:Flagicon Boeing F-15EX Eagle II
• Template:Flagicon McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
• Template:Flagicon Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
• Template:Flagicon Sukhoi Su-34
• Template:Flagicon Shenyang J-16

See also

• Interdictor aircraft
• Interceptor aircraft
• Fighter-bomber
• Attack aircraft
• Multirole combat aircraft

References

Bibliography

• Polmar, Norman. The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1997. Template:ISBN.