Military Aircraft Classes (4 of 4)

The last part of this very long post:

9.Maritime Patrol aircraft
These aircraft are used in long overwater patrols searching for hostile vessel and submarines. They are usually large multi-engined airplanes similar to that of cargo or AWACS aircraft. A multitude of sensors are also carried like radar and infrared devices that aid in detection.
One example of such aircraft is the Lockheed P-3 Orion.


P-3 Orion

10.Trainer aircraft
Trainer aircraft aid at training new pilots in flying. They usually have two seats, one for the trainer and one for the trainee. They also make good airshow performers.
A good example of a 1950s propeller-driven trainer is the US T-6 Texan or SNJ in the Navy. Malaysia's BAe Hawk is also a jet trainer.


BAe Hawk


T-6 Texan/SNJ-5

11.Anti-submarine(ASW) aircraft
ASW aircraft aid in detecting and hunting down hostile submarines. They carry a host of sensors like sonar, magnetic anomaly detectors and others. Among their payload are sonobouys, depth charges and air-dropped torpedoes. One example of fixed-wing aircraft is the S-3 Viking, and an example a ASW helicopter is the SH-60 Seahawk.


S-3 Viking


SH-60 Seahawk

There are other, more intricate aircraft classes but the above post(s) should cover the main ones.

Military Aircraft Classes (3 of 4)

Again this is a continuation of the previous post:

7.Helicopters/Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft
The name says it all. Helicopters and VTOL aircraft are aircraft that have the capability to take off and land in the vertical.
Such abilities hold great use. These aircrafts' virtually nil takeoff and landing distance enable them to operate from almost any terrain, provided that it's flat enough, of course. Besides that, these aircraft can hover in position whereas normal aircraft have to constantly keep moving to generate lift to fly.
In civilian roles, helicopters have uses from search and rescue to transport to even news reporting platforms. However in the military helicopters have three main uses: cargo transport, ground attack and naval antisubmarine/antisurface warfare.
In the ground attack role, helicopters are useful as they can easily overtake any ground vehicle (and definitely people) having a perfect bird's eye view, and being able to stay on the battlefield longer. Soviet Mil-24 Hind gunships wreaked havoc in Afghanistan despite suffering casualties until the Mujaheddin became adept at sending Stinger missiles up their tailpipes. A modern example of helicopter gunships is the AH-64 Apache.


Mil-24 Hind


AH-64 Apache

Helicopters also find good use on naval platforms where they can operate in the ASW role and sometimes the antiship role. Modern warships starting from the corvette class and larger usually provide facilities for helicopters.


Dauphin naval helicopter

Some jets also have VTOL capability, the first of which is the infamous BAe Harrier. These were the first British jets to operate from Britain's carriers and served well in the Falklands conflict.
One of the newest aircraft designs, the US F-35 JSF, also has VTOL capability.


BAe Harrier


F-35 JSF (Lightning II)

8.Reconnaissance aircraft
Recon aircraft were the first military aircraft used. WW1 saw them gathering vital information about enemy troop positions and serving as artillery directors. One example is the Royal Aircraft Factory Be.2 biplane.
From then till now mainly modified fighters have served in the recon role, and satellites in the space age. But there are some aircraft that specialises in this role: Among them is the U.S. U-2 high-altitude spyplane and Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird, used to gather information on the USSR during the Cold War. The Soviets however, mainly used modified bombers in this mission.


U-2


SR-71 Blackbird

Military Aircraft Classes (2 of 4)

This is a continuation of the previous post:

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

Military Aircraft Classes (1 of 4)

Over the years the aircraft family has grown to encompass many types of aircraft, from the first reconnaissance airplanes in WW1, to fighters, bombers, and more. Below is a post about modern aircraft(military) classification:

Aircraft can be classified according to their use:

1. Attack aircraft
Attack aircraft are essentially aircraft designed with the objective of ground attack, to provide friendly troops with close-air-support(CAS), i.e. helping to destroy 'problematic' units like armored vehicles or dug-in troop concentrations which would give a hard time to friendly troops. These aircraft are characterized with having a long endurance and loiter time over the battlefield to give the quickest response to help troops under fire. A good example of such aircraft is the US A-10 Thunderbolt II (nickname Warthog). It has an awesome gun (the GAU-8 Avenger Gatling gun) which can chew tanks to pieces and hardpoints carrying various types of weapons for its mission. It also has two turbofan engines which give it an excellent loiter time, and is robust and tough enough to absorb battle damage. Without proper antiair, no ground commander can feel safe with one of these flying around.


A-10 Thunderbolt II

2. Bomber aircraft
Bomber aircraft can be divided into two kinds of aircraft:
i)Tactical Bomber (Fighter-Bomber)
ii)Strategic Bomber
Tactical fighter-bombers are mainly used to destroy the enemy's warfighting infrastructure on the battlefield. An example of this is the US F-105 Thunderchief used in the Vietnam War and the F-111 Aardvark. The Russian Tu-22M Backfire may also be considered as an example.
Strategic bombers are used to destroy the enemy's infrastructure behind the battlefield. The well-known B-52 Stratofortress is a good example. Newer strategic bombers are the B-1B Lancer, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the Russian Tu-160 Blackjack.
These bombers can be characterized by having a long range and for some, cruising at high altitude. They are also usually not as agile as fighters due to their heavy bombload and weight. As such, without proper planning and support they can be sitting ducks for AAA (Anti-Aircraft Artillery) or enemy fighters.


F-111 Aardvark


B-52 Stratofortress

3. Cargo aircraft
Cargo aircraft... carry cargo. They are used to help transport supplies over terrain which would be hard for normal ground transports to traverse, i.e. mountains, desert, etc. Cargo aircraft can also ferry the cargo quicker than by ground or sea.
They can sometimes serve an offensive purpose as well, by airdropping paratroopers or, in the case of the C-130 Hercules, drop the largest conventional bomb in the world, the GBU-43/B MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or Mother Of All Bombs).
Cargo aircraft, like bombers, usually have high payload capacity and is of similar layout and shape with normal large passenger commercial aircraft. Some, like the C-5 Galaxy, have a massive lift capacity, with one C-5 being able to transport 2 MBTs(Main Battle Tanks). Others focus more on versatility, with the C-17 Globemaster III as a good example, being able to operate from unimproved front-line airstrips only 1 km long.
In today's wars, logistics play a vital role in deciding the outcome of a military action. Cargo aircraft serve such a purpose, for a commander who can quickly supply his army with the necessary equipment and supplies has the advantage.


C-17 Globemaster III


C-130 Hercules

This is a long article, so this post will be continued. Right now, pls enjoy first.