4. Electronic Warfare(EW) aircraft
These aircraft carry a host of electrical devices to aid in electronic warfare, that is, activities denying the use of the electromagnetic spectrum(i.e. radar, infrared) for the enemy.
Most of the time these equipment are put to use to help jam enemy radar or detect and analyze new forms of radar or fire-control emissions. Jamming, or MIJIing, of radar disallows the enemy's radar to function, thereby destroying the enemy's ability to detect incoming aircraft, missiles and other units, as well as rendering radar guided missiles and artillery inaccurate and potentially useless.
If the enemy is found to be using a new type of radar or fire-control equipment that depends on electromagnetic emissions, these aircraft can record these emissions for analysis. This enables us to come up with new systems or jamming bandwidths to disable the said electromagnetic equipment.
F-4G Phantom II 'Wild Weasels' were one of the first electronic warfare aircraft used extensively, which use in the Vietnam War diminished the Viet Cong's capability to direct SAM-2 antiair missiles and other radar-guided artillery against US aircraft.
The EA-6B Prowler is one of today's modern EW aircraft.
F-4G 'Wild Weasel'
EA-6B Prowler
5.Airborne Warning And Control (AWACS) aircraft
AWACS aircraft serve as what one would call an airborne radar station. They carry a high-powered radar which can usually detect air, sea, and land units up to a range of a few hundred kilometres, and if needed vector in other units to deal with threats. As these radar equipment are rather heavy, AWACS platforms are usually multi-engined heavy lift aircraft.
These systems come in two major designs: the first and more common type is the 'rotodome' design where the radar dish is mounted on the top of the aircraft. Examples are the US E-3 Sentry and the Russian A-50 Mainstay.
The second type of design is the EL/M-2075 Phalcon phased-array radar system. This system is newer and more advanced than the rotodome system.
E-3 Sentry AWACS
6.Fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are aircraft designed for the purpose of achieving 'air superiority', that is the ability to allow the usage of the sky for one's own aircraft and at the same time deny the enemy usage of it. They were the first aircraft designed to carry weapons into the air, progressing from machine guns and aerial cannon in WW1 and WW2 to radar-guided and infrared seeking missiles and higher-speed aerial cannon(like the Gatling M61 20mm Vulcan) in the 1960s.
These aircraft are generally designed to have high maneuverability, rate of climb, speed and other qualities that help to give it a upper hand in dogfights. Nowadays however, modern fighter designs concentrate more on stealth as most modern air-to-air engagements happen beyond visual range (BVR), apparently rendering the dogfight a rare occasion.
F-22 Raptor Stealth Fighter
Some fighter aircraft are also sometimes relegated the task of bombing enemy targets, hence the appearance of 'fighter-bombers' like the F-105 Thunderchief and modern 'strike fighters' like the F-15E Strike Eagle.
F-15E Strike Eagle
Fighters designed to destroy high-flying, high-speed enemy bombers and missiles are termed 'fighter-interceptors' with the Soviet MiG-21 Fishbed and even more specialised MiG-25 Foxbat and MiG-31 Foxhound as prime examples. However, most interceptor designs sacrifice agility for their speed and rate of climb and consequently would fare worse in a dogfight with pure fighter aircraft.
MiG-21 Fishbed
MiG-31 Foxhound
Some of today's fighter aircraft are multirole aircraft, designed to do both air-to-air combat and ground attack. Then again, this compromise diminishes its capability in pure air combat. Some examples are the F/A-18 Hornet and Malaysia's newest Su-30 MKM.
F/A-18 Hornet
Su-30 MKM
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