10 best fighters of the twentieth century according to the Military Channel. The most important criterion for evaluation is combat experience. All the fighters presented, except for the 10th place (but there is a good reason for that), took part in the hostilities. Secondly, all cars, without exception, have some kind of clear advantage, most have outstanding performance characteristics.
10th place - F-22 "Raptor"
The only 5th generation fighter in the world built according to the "first saw, first shot, first hit the target" concept. The supersonic "stealth machine", equipped with the latest technology, has become the subject of heated debate about its price, capabilities and relevance. Literally from the words of the American program: “Why spend 66 billion dollars on the F-22 program, if the deep modernization of the F-15 and F-16 can have a comparable effect? Because technologies must develop, progress cannot be stopped …"
Lack of real combat experience negatively affects the Raptor's assessment. The most modern fighter is only 10th.
9th place - Messerschmitt Me.262 "Schwalbe"
The world's first jet-powered combat aircraft. 900 km / h It was a breakthrough. Used as fighter-interceptor, blitz-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.
The airborne weapon system included 4 30 mm cannons with 100 rounds per barrel and 24 unguided missiles, which made it possible to riddle a 4-engine bomber from a single run.
Having received the trophy "Swallows", the allies were impressed by their technical excellence and manufacturability. What was the cost of crystal clear radio communications.
Until the end of the war, the Germans managed to release 1900 "Swallows" of which only three hundred were able to rise into the sky.
8th place - MiG-25
Soviet supersonic high-altitude interceptor that set 29 world records. In this role, the MiG-25 had no competitors, but its combat capabilities remained unclaimed. The only victory came on January 17, 1991, when an Iraqi MiG shot down an F / A-18C Hornet, a USS carrier-based fighter.
His service as a scout turned out to be much more productive. During their combat service in the Arab-Israeli conflict zone, the MiG-25R uncovered the entire fortification system of the Bar-Leva line. The flights took place at a maximum speed and altitude of 17-23 km, which was the only means of protecting an unarmed reconnaissance officer. In this mode, the engines consumed half a ton of fuel every minute, the aircraft became lighter and gradually accelerated to 2.8 M. The MiG's skin heated up to 300 ° C., according to the pilots, even the cockpit lantern was heated so that it was impossible to touch it. Unlike the titanium SR-71 "Black Bird", the thermal barrier became a problem for the MiG-25. The permitted flight time at a speed of more than 2.5M was limited to 8 minutes, which, however, was enough to cross the territory of Israel.
Another remarkable feature of the MiG-25R was its potential ability to "capture" 2 tons of bombs in flight. This particularly tickled the nerves of the Israeli military: an indestructible scout is still tolerable, but an indestructible bomber is really scary.
7th place - British Aerospace Sea Harrier
The first vertical take-off and landing aircraft (the land-based version of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier appeared back in 1967). After a series of upgrades, it still remains in service with the US Marine Corps under the name McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier II. A clumsy-looking aircraft is very photogenic in flight - the sight of a combat vehicle hovering in one place will not leave anyone indifferent.
The main secret of the British designers was the method of creating the lifting thrust. Unlike their Soviet colleagues from the Yakovlev Design Bureau, who used a scheme with 3 independent jet engines, the Harrier uses a single Rolls-Royce Pegasus power unit with a deflected thrust vector. This made it possible to increase the aircraft's combat load to 5000 pounds (about 2.3 tons).
During the Falklands War, the Royal Navy's Harriers operated within 12,000 km from home and achieved excellent results: they shot down 23 Argentine aircraft without a single loss in aerial combat. Not bad for a subsonic aircraft. In total, 20 "Harriers" took part in the hostilities, of which 6 were shot down when attacking ground targets.
According to all experts, without the support of carrier-based aircraft, the Royal Navy would not have been able to defend the Falklands.
6th place - Mitsubishi A6M
Legendary deck-mounted Zero-sen. A mystery plane from Mitsubishi engineers, which combined the incongruous. Excellent maneuverability, powerful armament and a record flight range - 2600 km (!) With a curb weight of 2.5 tons.
"Zero" was the embodiment of the samurai spirit, with all its construction demonstrating contempt for death. The Japanese fighter was completely stripped of armor and protected fuel tanks, the entire payload reserve was spent on fuel and ammunition.
For a whole year, aircraft of this type dominated the skies over the Pacific Ocean, ensuring the victorious offensive of the Imperial Navy. Towards the end of World War II, the Zero played a grim role, becoming one of the main assets of kamikaze pilots.
5th place - F-16 "Fighting Falcon"
The F-16 review is written as a comparison with the MiG-29, I hope this will help answer many of the readers' questions.
The rule of fighter aircraft is that whoever detects his enemy first has the advantage. Therefore, optical visibility in aerial combat is of great importance. Here the "American" has the upper hand. The frontal projection of the F-16 almost matches the MiG-21, which American pilots said it was almost impossible to visually notice at a distance of 3 kilometers. The view from the F-16's cockpit is also better, thanks to the smooth canopy. For the MiG-29, it is disadvantageous that the RD-33 engine creates a dense plume of smoke in some flight modes.
In close maneuvering combat, thanks to the integral layout and the presence of 2 engines, the MiG has outstanding flight characteristics. The F-16 is slightly behind. The turn rate of the MiG-29 reaches, according to Russian data, 22.8 ° / s, while that of the F-16 is 21.5 ° / s. The MiG is gaining altitude at a speed of 334 m / s, the rate of climb of the F-16 is 294 m / s. The difference is not that great and good pilots can make up for it.
The armament of a front-line fighter should include both the air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons category. The F-16 has at its disposal the largest set of weapons, is capable of using guided and unguided bombs and anti-radar missiles. The electronics, located in an additional container, makes it possible to use the weapon precisely. The MiG-29, on the other hand, is forced to limit itself to unguided bombs and NURSs. In terms of carrying capacity, a net loss: for the MiG-29 this figure is 2200 kg, for the F-16 - up to 7.5 tons.
Such a huge difference can be easily explained: the MiG-29 payload reserve "ate" the second engine. According to many experts, the MiG has a largely erroneous layout, 2 engines for a front-line fighter is too much. Best of all, the General Designer of KB MiG Rostislav Belyakov said about this at Farnborough-88: "If we had such a reliable and high-torque engine like Pratt & Whitney, we would have designed a single-engine aircraft without a doubt." The range suffered from such twists and turns: for the MiG-29, it does not exceed 2000 km with a PTB, while for the F-16, the range with a PTB and 2 2000-pound bombs can reach 3000-3500 km.
Both fighters are equally armed with medium-range air-to-air missiles. For example, the Russian P-77 has impressive declared performance characteristics, while the American AIM-120 has repeatedly confirmed its rather modest characteristics in battle. Net parity. But the MiG-29 has a longer firing range from an air cannon and a larger caliber. The six-barreled Vulcan F-16, on the contrary, has a larger ammunition load (511 rounds versus 150 for the MiG).
The most important element is avionics. Radars are difficult to assess as manufacturers hide the exact specifications. But according to some statements of pilots, it can be determined that the MiG-29 radar has the largest viewing angle - 140 degrees. The APG-66 radar for the F-16A and, accordingly, the APG-68 for the F-16C have viewing angles of no more than 120 degrees. A significant advantage of the MiG-29 lies in the fact that the pilot has a helmet with the Shchel-ZUM sight, which gives a decisive superiority in close air combat. But the F-16 again has its important advantage - the flight control system (Fly-by-Wire) and the engine management system HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick), which makes the aircraft extremely comfortable to fly. After pressing a single switch, the Falcon is ready for battle. In contrast, the MiG-29 is manually configured, which takes much longer to engage.
KB MiG and General Dynamics demonstrated completely different approaches to solving the same problem. In both aircraft, interesting design solutions are implemented and, in general, the verdict is as follows: the F-16 is a multifunctional fighter, while the MiG is a pure air fighter, focused primarily on close maneuvering combat. Here he has no equal.
Why did Falcon win while the MiG-29 was not included in the Top 10 rating at all? And again, the answer will be the results of the combat use of these machines. F-16 fought in the skies of Palestine, went through the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. A separate page in Falcon's history was the 1981 raid on the Iraqi nuclear center "Osirak". Having covered 2,800 km, the F-16s of the Israeli Air Force secretly entered Iraqi airspace, destroyed the reactor complex and returned to the Etzion airbase without loss. The total number of F-16 air victories under the control of pilots from NATO countries, Israel, Pakistan and Venezuela is about 50 aircraft. There are no data on the defeat of the F-16 in an air battle, although one aircraft of this type was shot down by an air defense missile system in Yugoslavia.
4th place - MiG-15
A single-seat jet fighter, the name of which has become a household name in the West for all Soviet fighters. It entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1949. The plane that prevented the Third World War.
Literally from the words of the Military Channel: “Western society is of the opinion that Soviet technology is something bulky, heavy and outdated. There was nothing like this in the MiG-15. A fast and agile fighter with clean lines and an elegant shape …”Its appearance in the skies of Korea caused a sensation in the Western press and a headache for the US Air Force command. All plans to deliver a nuclear strike on the territory of the USSR collapsed, henceforth the strategic B-29 bombers had no chance to break through the barrier of jet MiGs.
And one more important point - the MiG-15 became the most massive jet aircraft in history. Was in service with the Air Force of 40 countries of the world.
3rd place - Messerschmitt Bf.109
Favorite fighter of the Luftwaffe aces. Four famous modifications: E ("Emil") - the hero of the battle for England, F ("Frederick") - these fighters "broke the silence at dawn" on June 22, 1941, G ("Gustav") - the hero of the Eastern Front, the most successful modification, K ("Kurfürst") - an overpowered fighter, an attempt to squeeze all the remaining reserves out of the car.
104 German pilots who fought on Messerschmitt were able to bring their score to 100 or more downed vehicles.
A sinister, fast and powerful plane. A real Fighter.
2nd place - MiG-21 vs F-4 "Phantom II"
Two different views of the Gen 2 jet fighter. An 8-ton light front-line fighter and a 20-ton universal fighter-bomber, which became the basis of the fighter fleet of the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
Two irreconcilable opponents. Hot battles in the skies of Vietnam, Palestine, Iraq, India and Pakistan. Hundreds of downed cars on both sides. Vivid combat history. They are still in service with the air forces of many countries.
Soviet designers relied on maneuverability. The Americans are on missiles and electronic equipment. Both views turned out to be erroneous: after the first air battles, it became clear that Phantom had in vain abandoned its cannons. And the creators of the MiG realized that 2 air-to-air missiles were unacceptably small.
1st place - F-15 "Eagle"
Murderer. 104 confirmed aerial victories without a single loss. None of the modern aircraft can boast of such an indicator. The F-15 was created specifically as an air superiority aircraft and for 10 years, before the advent of the Su-27, it was generally out of competition.
The F-15 went into battle for the first time on June 27, 1979, when Israeli Needles shot down 5 Syrian MiG-21s in close maneuvering combat. For more than 30 years of combat service, the F-15 trophies were MiG-21, MiG-23, Mirage F1, Su-22 and MiG-29 (4 in Yugoslavia, 5 in Iraq). No less impressive were the achievements of the Needles in Asia, for example, during the Team Spirit-82 exercise, 24 F-15 fighters based on Okinawa flew 418 combat missions in 9 days, of which 233 were within three days, while the combat readiness of all aircraft was almost continuous at 100%.
The high flight characteristics of the F-15, its ability to operate autonomously when the enemy uses electronic warfare, day and night, in simple and difficult weather conditions, at high and low altitudes, made it possible to create an F-15E "Stike Eagle" (produced 340 cars). By 2015, the troops will receive the "stealth" version of the fighter-bomber based on the F-15 - F-15SE "Silent Eagle".
The combat use of the F-15 is the cause of much controversy. Particularly questioned is the fact that not a single Eagle was lost in battle. According to statements by Syrian and Yugoslav pilots, at least ten F-15s were shot down over Lebanon, Serbia and Syria. But it is not possible to confirm their words, since neither side was able to demonstrate the wreckage. One thing is certain, the participation of the F-15 in hostilities largely determined the course of many military operations (for example, the Lebanon War of 1982).
F-15 "Eagle" is the most formidable and effective combat vehicle, therefore it deservedly takes 1st place.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, many of the outstanding designs remained outside the Top 10 rating. The hero of all air shows, the Su-27, is the best peacetime aircraft, the flight qualities of which make it possible to perform the most complex aerobatics in the rating. The Supermarine Spitfire also did not make it into the rating - just a good plane in all respects. Too many successful designs were created and it was very difficult to choose the best from them.
