FREE ESSAY ON MILITARY AIRCRAFT

MILITARY AIRCRAFT

Thesis: Military aircraft has become more sophisticated in variety, effectiveness in war
situations, and special maneuvering techniques in recent years. Military aircraft has
become more sophisticated in variety, effectiveness in war situations, and special
maneuvering techniques in recent years. With the advance of stealth technology, many new
and very effective aircraft have been developed. The F-117A was used during Operation
Dessert Storm and every plane came back without a scratch. The very expensive B-2 stealth
bomber has never been used in actual war, but during testing it was a success. The
Advanced Tactical Fighter program was started to make an aircraft that could supercruise,
the ability to cruise at supersonic speeds, and didn't cost very much. The YF-22 and
YF-23 were the first planes to accomplish this. With all the planes we know of, there are
also top secret programs probably going on right now. A new fighter that has never been
heard of before has been spotted. As John Welch, the assistant secretary of Air Force
said, Stealth gives us back that fundamental element of war called surprise (Goodall 9).
After it was found that aircraft could be very useful in war, it was used for large scale
reconnaissance. Then people started to add bombs to aircraft and then airplanes started
to become an essence of war. After World War 2, new bombers were developed with fast
speed, and could travel far distances. They could also carry nuclear bombs and missiles.
The use of the bomber aircraft then led to the fighter, which was equipped with guns and
missiles. Helicopters were also found to be good strike aircraft. They were armed with
cannons, machine guns, rockets, torpedoes, and a variety of missiles. Vertical takeoff
made the helicopter an advantage. The first flight of the F-117A was in June of 1981 in
Groom Lake test facility. The total cost for the development of the F-117A was just under
two billion dollars, but it only cost $43 million to make each plane. It became
operational in October of 1983 and was the first operational stealth aircraft ever built.
The F-117A is a night attack plane powered by two, nonafterburning General Electric
engines. F-117As were designed for first-strike capabilities and to be able to fly into
any countries airspace undetected. The primary task of the F-117A is to break through
enemy airspace, destroy high value targets, and return back unharmed. They were
considered to first be used in several different tasks, but weren't used until Operation
Dessert Storm where they did an excellent job. As Donald Rice, Secretary of the Air
Force, said, Everyone now agrees the F-117 was a real bargain (9). During Operation
Dessert Storm the F-117As were found out to be very successful. The war began on January
16, 1991 when the F-117A fighters entered the Iraqi airspace on their way to downtown
Baghdad. There were 43 of them over the skies of Iraq and not one was lost even though
they went against one of the most modern air-defense systems in the world. Operation
Dessert Storm was the largest aerial bombing attack in war history. It was also the first
time a stealth aircraft was used as a main weapon. On the first day of Dessert Storm the
Lockheed F-117As dropped sixty-two 2,000 pound bombs on Baghdad destroying the most
critical targets of the Iraqi military, including the headquarters of the Iraqi air
force. We've seen that not only does stealth work, but that it puts fewer assets at risk
and saves lives (9), as Donald Rice said. The pilots of those F-117As flew through the
hardest anti-aircraft missiles any pilot has ever flown through. When you think of
stealth, most people probably think of B-2 stealth bomber, but most people don't realize
that it hasn't even been used in a real war situation yet. In November of 1987 the
Pentagon ordered the first four B-2s to be built for $2 billion. Each B-2 cost $437.4
million to build. After the military liked the bomber, they originally ordered 133 of
them, then they cut back to 75 because of the deficit-reduction bill. Then, in 1992, the
House of Representatives voted to buy only twenty, and later only 15 saying that 10 would
be enough. With four General Electric engines with 19,000 pounds of thrust each, the B-2s
were made to carry a lot of weight. The Advanced Technology Bomber, as it was called, was
made so it couldn't be spotted by enemy radar. After testing it was found out that it is
almost impossible to track it constantly using radar. The B-2s were designed to be an
all-flying wing and it is made up of over eighty percent of composite materials. The B-2
is 69 feet long, has a wingspan of 172 feet, and 17 feet in height. They also can carry a
payload of 40,000 pounds and can travel at mach 0.85 (Jones 86). The B- 2 can carry 80
bombs, including nuclear bombs. All fifteen of the B-2s are assigned to Whiteman Air
Force Base in Missouri and await to be used in actual combat. In 1983 the Advanced
Tactical Fighter program office was formed at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The
Air Force wanted to build an aircraft that had the ability to supercruise without the use
of afterburners or running out of fuel in a couple of minutes. It should be able to
cruise at mach 1.4 or 1.5 and be able to take off on runways less then 2,000 feet long.
Since the money was starting to get tight, the Advanced Tactical Fighter should cost
under $40 million each to build. To come up with this aircraft, the Military gave a
contract to both Northrop and Lockheed to each build it with these specifications. The
Air Force wanted an air-superiority fighter to replace the Douglass F-15 Eagle. In 1986
the Air Force gave a contract to Northrop and Lockheed who would each build two Advanced
Tactical Fighter prototypes. The Northrop YF-23 made its first flight in August 1990. It
was powered by a Pratt and Witney F-119-PW engine. The YF-23 can hold four AIM-120
missiles. The YF-22 prototype made its first flight in September of 1990 and became the
first to pass the Air Force's supercruise specification. It could reach mach 1.58 and
faster. The YF-22 has three weapon bays that can each carry two air-to-air missiles. Both
fighters can supercruise at speeds of Mach 1.5 to 1.7. Their top speeds are classified
but they can most likely go over Mach 2. In April of 1991 the Air Force had to decide
which plane they wanted, they chose the Lockheed YF-22 even though the YF-23 was more
stealthy and could go faster. A new swing-wing stealth aircraft has been spotted
undergoing test. In September of 1994 it was seen circling high over Anarillo, Texas.
While it was circling, a radio scanner picked up a military UHF channel with the call
sign Omega. This call sign has never been heard before. The pilot was talking about a
hydraulic malfunction and was saying he was dumping fuel to prepare for an emergency
landing. If there is a new plane like this, it will probably be called the A-17 and will
replace the F-111 which has been in service since 1967. Recently there have been millions
of dollars spent expanding the Cannon Air Force Base and a new plane might be undergoing
testing there. It has also been said that high ranking officials have gathered there to
look at the new aircraft. The Pentagon has announced that the F-111 will be retired by
the end of 1995. The new swing-wing aircraft spotted will most likely replace it.
Swing-wing aircraft add weight and make a plane more complex, but give many advantages.
When the wing is swung forward the plane can travel farther and can land and takeoff on
shorter runways. When swung forward it can reach supersonic speeds. It was noticed that
the new airplane spotted was armed with bombs and self-defense missiles. The A-17 has
many things in common with the YF-23 like the air inlets and the humps on top of the
fuselage that hide its engines. The engines on it are probably General Electric YF-120
turbo fan-turbojet engines which can reach speeds up to Mach 2. One of the best recent
advances has been in the area of flight guidance and control such as the pilotless plane
or drone. The Firebee is a pilotless plane that can be controlled by ground, plane, or by
a computer. It can fly following a preset course and return. Another advance is vertical
takeoff. It is a big advantage when an airplane can land and takeoff almost anywhere. The
British were the first to design it, but we built prototypes right away. With the advance
of stealth technology, radar avoidance has become very important. If the enemy doesn't
know you are coming then they won't even know what hit them if we want to attack them.
When Donald Rice said, Stealth saves lives, money, and does the job better (Goodall 10),
he was right. Operation Dessert Storm showed us that. With the many advances of military
aircraft, it has become a main and effective part of war in recent years.