F-16 or MiG-29: What can fighter planes do?

When you take the turn, you dive into the seat with a force far greater than Earth's gravity. Only the maximum finish and the special pants that extract blood from your feet keep you conscious. You rarely fly less than 900 miles per hour.

“Speeding takes your breath.” That's how former German Air Force pilot Joachim Vergin describes flying a fighter plane.

You may compare it to a rule sleigh, but not really - forces on a plane are often twice as strong. In addition, a host of weapons systems must be handled in combat. Fight, avoid, protect. In an emergency, it is life and death, often at the speed of sound.

A Motor Under High Pressure

Fighter planes were used for the first time at the end of the last major war in Europe: World War II. Thanks to their engine, fighter planes fly much faster than the propeller aircraft used so far.

The function of a shift is done as follows: the air is absorbed and pressed on the front of the engine. The fuel is then injected into the air now very dense and hot. The air is then extracted from the “engine with extreme force”, as explains Robert Kluge, aeronautics expert at the Deutsches Museum. This air then speeds up, results, according to the laws of physics, in a push that makes the plane move forward.

Air Attack by Air

Fighter planes can attack targets both in the air and on the ground. In air fighting, a plane can destroy a target even during flight using air-air missiles. On earth, a plane could attack targets with air-and-earth missiles or issue simple free-falling bombs that drop to the ground almost “according to physics laws”, according to Leonhard Houben, historian and independent contributor to “History”. Berlin-Gatow Military Museum.

The Technical of Compromise

When a fighter plane is built, you should think: Should another aircraft fight in flight? And are these other fighter planes capable of protecting themselves? Or should the plane be able to effectively fight only ground targets?

Such strategic considerations are further reflected in the technique of a fighter plane: for air fighting, the plane is quite easy and maneuverable, and for long ranges the action is equipped with large fuel tanks.

MiG-29, for example, was sent to the air for a very specific purpose: to protect the borders of the Warsaw Treaty countries against NATO aircraft.

So this so - called interceptor, who is engaged in the ministry in 1983, can rise up very quickly and strike his target. Thanks to its design, the MiG-29 is extremely maneuverable in air fighting: it can even stand a short vertical time in the air in its range. At first, however, the plane carried little fuel to save weight, which explained its brief flight range.

F-16: a multiple

Modern fighter planes combine a host of skills. According to Houben, it is more economical to build so-called overall combat aircraft, as they can become large in a product.

F-16 is one of those commercially produced aircraft. It took place in the 1970s in the United States to sell partner countries as a low-cost jet. F-16 is the fighter plane with the largest number of copies in the world and is still in service. The aircraft is still being produced in the United States and is constantly improving.

Howben claims “The F-16s built 20 years ago are equivalent to Russian aircraft built perhaps three or five years ago”. One reason for this is that in Russia the development of fighter technology was delayed in the 1990 ' s, leading to the removal of many talents.

More than a weapon

Besides the technique of an airplane, his armor is essential. Without it, a “aircraft is just an envelope, like a fireman with no scale”, says Robert Cluj of Deutsches Museum. What matters is equipping modern weapons systems.

The planes could then make a decisive contribution to securing someone's airspace. Because, unlike the antiaircraft missiles released by ground-based antiaircraft defence systems, aircraft are very mobile and can thus secure a large area and, with modern air-air missiles, launch missiles in full flight.

Unlike air defence systems, such as Patriot, fighter aircraft are very mobile and can provide vast airspace.

According to Leonhard Houben, fighting as in Hollywood movies among enemy nations' planes is unlikely, however. Nowadays, warplanes usually fight missiles outside the space they can see.

As with battle tanks, the rule is often the first to shoot and strike in the target wins. Modern air-air missiles, as they launch, approach almost without feeling at their target and activate their radar just before they hit. Then it's often too late to avoid it.

Training pilots takes years

However, a fighter plane pilot must also know how to fight closely when all missiles have been fired. It's about having many duties under extreme conditions. That's why pilots don't train overnight: for the German Eurofaster, the practice period lasts five to six years and costs five million euros per pilot. Every pilot often learns to fly with just one kind of fighter jet, training on another plane is expensive. When Vergin was passed by the Phantom fighter plane in the Tornado, the training lasted seven months.

During his first flight with a plane, an engine stopped, says former pilot Joachim Vergin. Although afraid, he knew exactly what to do through “training and practice”, remained calm and lowered the plane safely.

Avian as a Myth

During wartime, however, warplanes are more than the amount of their technical abilities. Robert Cluj describes the plane as a <x0m”, because unlike humans, it can move into the third dimension.

A fighter plane can also be considered a symbol that can boost the morale of its troops. And as an important part of chess in a war strategy: only the fact of its possession may suffice to get enemies to change their minds. / DW