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

2023-08-21 23:43:50Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
F-16 or MiG-29: What can fighter jets do?
F-16

Fighter jets like the F-16 or the MiG-29 can change the course of wars. How planes work and why they are so important.

When you take the turn, you sink into the seat with a force many times greater than Earth's gravity. Only maximum fitness and special pants that draw blood from the legs keep you conscious. You rarely fly at less than 900 km/h.

"The acceleration takes your breath away." This is how former German Air Force pilot Joachim Vergin describes the feeling of flying a fighter jet.

You could probably compare it to a roller coaster, but not really: the forces on a plane are often twice as strong. In addition, a multitude of weapon systems must be handled in combat. Fight, dodge, defend. In emergencies, it is a matter of life and death, often at the speed of sound.

A high pressure engine

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

A turbojet works like this: air is sucked in and compressed at the front of the engine. Fuel is then injected into the now highly compressed and heated air. The air is then ejected from the engine "with extreme force," as Robert Kluge, an aeronautics expert at the Deutsches Museum, explains. This air is then accelerated, resulting, according to the laws of physics, in a thrust that makes the aircraft move forward.

Air strike by plane

Fighter jets can attack targets both in the air and on the ground. In air combat, an aircraft can destroy a target even in flight using air-to-air missiles. On the ground, an aircraft can attack targets with air-to-surface missiles or drop simple free-fall bombs that fall to the ground almost "according to the laws of physics," according to Leonhard Houben, historian and freelance contributor to History. Military Museum Berlin-Gatow.

The compromise technique

When building a fighter plane, one must think: Does the plane have to fight other planes in flight? And are these aircraft other fighter jets capable of defending themselves? Or should the aircraft be able to effectively fight only ground targets?

Such strategic considerations are further reflected in the technique of a combat aircraft: for air combat, the aircraft is quite light and maneuverable, and for long range it is equipped with large fuel tanks.

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

Thus, this so-called interceptor, put into service in 1983, can rise very quickly and hit its target. Thanks to its design, the MiG-29 is extremely maneuverable in air combat: it can even stay for a short time vertically in the air in its range. However, at first, the aircraft carried little fuel to save weight, which explained its short range.

F-16: a multitalent

Modern fighter jets combine a multitude of capabilities. According to Houben, it is more economical to build so-called general-purpose fighter jets, since they can be made in large numbers in one production run.

The F-16 is one of those mass-produced general purpose aircraft. It was developed in the 1970s in the United States to be sold to partner countries as a low-cost multi-purpose aircraft. The F-16 is the fighter jet with the largest number of copies in the world and is still in service. The aircraft is still manufactured in the United States and is constantly being improved.

Houben claims that "F-16s built 20 years ago are equivalent to Russian planes built maybe three or five years ago." One of the reasons for this is that in Russia the development of fighter aircraft technology was delayed in the 1990s, which led to the departure of many talents.

More of a weapon system than a weapon

In addition to the technique of an aircraft, its armament is essential. Without it, an airplane "is just an envelope, like a fire truck without a ladder," says Robert Kluge of the Deutsches Museum. What is important is to be equipped with modern weapon systems.

Aircraft can then make a decisive contribution to securing one's airspace. Because, unlike anti-aircraft missiles launched by land-based air defense systems, aircraft are very mobile and thus can secure a large area and, with modern air-to-air missiles, fire missiles in full flight.

Unlike air defense systems, such as the Patriot, fighter jets are highly mobile and can provide large airspace.

According to Leonhard Houben, Hollywood-style fights between planes of enemy nations are unlikely, however. Nowadays, fighter jets usually fight with missiles outside of space where they can be seen.

As with battle tanks, the rule is often: the first to shoot and hit the target wins. Modern air-to-air missiles, after launch, approach their target almost imperceptibly and activate their radar only shortly before impact. Then it is often too late to avoid it.

Pilot training takes years

However, a fighter pilot must also know how to fight in close quarters when all the missiles have been fired. It's about mastering multiple tasks under extreme conditions. This is why pilots are not trained overnight: for the German Eurofighter, the training period lasts five to six years and costs five million euros – per pilot. Each pilot often only learns to fly one type of fighter – retraining in another aircraft is expensive. When Vergin switched from the Phantom fighter to the Tornado, training took seven months.

During his first flight in a plane, an engine stopped, says former pilot Joachim Vergin. Although he was scared, he knew exactly what to do through "training and practice", stayed calm and landed the plane safely.

The plane as a myth

However, in wartime, fighter jets are more than the sum of their technical capabilities. Robert Kluge thus describes the plane as a "myth", because unlike people, it can move in the third dimension.

A fighter jet can also be considered a symbol that can boost the morale of its troops. And like an important piece of chess in the strategy of a war: the mere fact of possessing it can be enough to make enemies change their minds./ DW


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