Military aviation

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An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift (cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such warfare including the intersection of transport and notionally sexier war craft. The wide variety of military aircraft includes bombers, fighters, fighter bombers, transports, trainers, and reconnaissance aircraft. These varied types of aircraft allow for the completion of a wide variety of objectives. Many automatic devices assist the crews in obtaining results not achievable by human means. Machines can carry out many tasks including locating, tracking, and destroying targets.

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[edit] Origins

Heavier-than-air aircraft were first used in the military in the Italo-Turkish War in the Libyan theater. Those aircraft were used primarily for reconnaissance. Since then, aircraft have been able to take on a wide variety of missions. The last two decades were characterized by incredible advances in electronics, stealth technology, and both offensive and defensive systems. Today, the Air Force is the first line of defense against an attack in high technological warfare. They are also usually the first to engage an enemy.

[edit] Types of military aircraft

Bombers are typically larger, heavier, and less maneuverable than fighter aircraft. They are capable of carrying large payloads of weapons. They are used for attacks on the ground and usually not fast or agile enough to take on enemy fighters. Most require at least two crew members to operate. Some bombers have stealth capabilities that keep them from being detected by enemy radar.

Fighters are fast, highly maneuverable, and capable of destroying enemy aircraft and ground targets. Their main purpose is air-to-air combat, offensive or defensive. Escorting bombers or other non-attack aircraft is also a common task. They are capable of carrying a large number of weapons, including machine guns, cannons, rockets, guided missiles, and bombs, depending on the mission. They can also be used to provide support for friendly ground troops. Some fighters, called fighter-bombers, are able to carry conventional or nuclear weapons far behind enemy lines to strike priority ground targets. Many fighters can attack enemy fighters from a great distance, before the enemy even sees them.

Reconnaissance aircraft are primarily used to gather intelligence. They are equipped with photographic, infrared, radar, and television sensors. These aircraft may be specially designed or may be modified from a basic fighter or bomber type. Some are equipped with special electronic gear for detecting submarines, such as sonar, and others can give early warnings of enemy approach. Reconnaissance aircraft include the fastest aircraft in the military, the SR-71 Blackbird, which is a spy plane made obsolete by satellite imaging.

Transport aircraft are primarily used to transport troops and war supplies. Cargo can be attached to pallets, which are easily loaded, secured for flight, and quickly unloaded for delivery. Cargo also may be discharged from flying aircraft on parachutes, eliminating the need for landing. The aerial tanker can refuel fighters, bombers, and helicopters while in flight. This means that an aircraft can go to any point on the globe without landing even once.

Helicopters may be used to transport troops, attack targets, provide support, deliver supplies, and search and rescue. The maneuverability of helicopters gives them the option to land in areas fixed wing air craft would not be able to access.

Experimental aircraft are designed in order to test advanced aerodynamic, structural, avionic, or propulsion concepts. These are usually well instrumented, with performance data telemetered on radio-frequency data links to ground stations located at the test ranges where they are flown.

Today, aircraft manufacturers tend to design planes with multi-role abilities, with both bomber and fighter qualities, so the distinction is becoming relative or obsolete for new aircraft.

[edit] Air forces

Where they exist, air forces are usually tasked with the air defense of a country, as well as strategic bombing, ground attack and transport functions. A majority of Air Forces consist mainly of fixed-wing aircraft. Air Force operations may also include, where available, space-based operations such as reconnaissance or satellite operations. Militaries may have a branch dedicated to aviation (an air force) or may distribute aviation between other branches such as the army or navy. Even when a country has a dedicated air force, the other branches will generally utilize aviation.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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