The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has deployed its J-20 and J-16 heavyweight fighters for short ranged aerial combat exercises. State media outlet CGTN reported that this took place on a large scale with dozens of fighters from each class deployed, with exercises centring on air
Commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran General Hamid Vahedi announced on September 4 that the service is currently considering acquiring Su-35S fighter aircraft from Russia, highlighting that the final decision rested with the Army Command and the Armed Forces General Staff
In December 2005 the United States Air Force became the first service in the world to introduce fifth generation fighter aircraft, with the F-22A Raptor gaining an initial operating capability that month after over 25 years of development and over seven years after its first flight. The new
dPHL-16 – ChinaDKN-25 – North Korea DKN-09 – North KoreaD9A53-S Tornado-S (in testing) DM270 with ER GMLRS (in testing)rockets with extended range of up to 150 km (93 mi).[47] Rockets use a slightly increased rocket motor size, a newly designed hull, and tail-driven guidance, while still containing
Entering service in 1970, the MiG-23 Flogger variable swept wing fighter remained in production in the Soviet Union until 1985, with its derivative built for ground attack roles the MiG-27 being built for nine years longer until 1994 to meet export orders from India. While initially a troubled
The Northrop F-20 Tigershark lightweight fighter was one of six American fourth generation fighter designs developed during the Cold War, and was the lightest and cheapest of all of them which was primarily geared towards the export market. Where the F-15 and even larger F-14 occupied the very high
In 1982 the first of many air battle between Cold War era heavyweight fighter/interceptors marked the beginning of a new era in combat aviation, with the clash having been led up to for two decades by ambitious programs in the United States and Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was the
