Essay, Research Paper: Recent Advances In Military Aircraft

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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 t
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
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-
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 no 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 ha
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 late
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
buil
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 i
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 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
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 th