Fictional military aircraft
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Fictional military aircraft are imagined aircraft which are used in fiction, in its various media, but do not exist in the real world. These aircraft may be conjectured variants of real-world aircraft or they may be completely fabricated by the author.
[edit] Fictional fighters
[edit] F-19 Stealth
In the 1980s, a gap appeared in the designation system for US military aircraft, between the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-20 Tigershark. This unseen F-19 was speculated to be a top-secret stealth fighter in US service. Various depictions of F-19s have since appeared in fictional works, as well as in the usually accurate Jane's All the World's Aircraft publication (as the Lockheed RF-19 and XST).
American model airplane manufacturers Testors and Monogram have both released hypothetical model kits of the F-19, the former quickly becoming the best-selling model airplane kit ever. Ironically, the Testors F-19 model bore no resemblance to the F-117, having a sweeping, streamlined appearance as opposed to the sharp, angular design of the Nighthawk.
There are many theories as to why no publicly-known aircraft has been designated F-19. One theory claims that Northrop requested to skip the number for their F-20 Tigershark in order to avoid confusion with the MiG-19 on the export market. Although there may be an actual F-19 aircraft still unknown to the general public, the designation may very well be an obsolete designation for the F-117 Nighthawk.
The F-117 designation was a ruse in itself. In 1962, the Defense Department under Secretary Robert McNamara standardized the designation of arms across all US armed services. The designation format selected for fighter aircraft was a combination of the Air Force's "F-" prefix and the Navy's low numeric indicator. An effect of this was a "reset" of the high numeric indicators into which the Air Force's designations had climbed by then - exemplified by the Century Series fighters ranging from the F-100 Super Sabre to the F-111. The first new type entered into Air Force service under the new designation scheme was the F-15 Eagle. However, high F-numbers, higher than F-111, continued to be used. They were allocated to foreign (Soviet, Israeli, Pakistani and Chinese) fighter types which the United States flew in secret from Nellis AFB in Nevada for evaluation purposes. The designations were intentionally convoluted to further obfuscate the details of what was a highly classified, though publicly known (if unacknowledged) program. For example, the Soviet MiG-23MS air-superiority fighter (allegedly obtained from Egypt when that nation switched from using Soviet to Western military aircraft) was given the designation YF-113E, while the earlier, much less capable and completely unrelated MiG-17 was the YF-113A (the YF- prefix denoting a type under operational evaluation). The (Y)F-117 designation was, thus, used to mask the aircraft's identity as another "Russian" fighter under evaluation. The F-117 force being based at Nellis, just like the officially-unacknowledged foreign fighters, added to the plausibility of the deception. When the Stealth Fighter was officially confirmed in 1988, the designation was retained.
The F-19A Ghostrider, which shares the same physical characteristics as the Revell model kit, appears in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising, where an entire chapter is devoted to its exploits ('The Frisbees of Dreamland'). The stealth attack fighters, nicknamed 'Frisbees' by their pilots in reference to their smooth, curved shape, use AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles to shoot down Russian IL-76 Mainstay airborne early warning aircraft, thus allowing NATO fighters to penetrate Russian-controlled areas of Germany and bomb the Soviet forces massing there. To further facilitate the attack, the F-19s use nose-mounted lasers to illuminate targets for other fighters and bombers dropping laser-guided bombs.
[edit] XFA-24A Apalis
The XFA-24A Apalis is a single-seat, twin-engine, canard-delta winged strike fighter in the video game Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception. Its engines allow it to accelerate straight up, and it is capable of toting large loads into combat. Its official "popular name" is a genus of songbirds. In an air to air configuration it carries AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, it is also compatible with the Mark 82 bomb and Maverick missile
[edit] F/A-37 Talon
The F/A-37 Talon is a fictional fighter aircraft of the U.S. Navy in the 2005 film Stealth. The Talon is capable of hypersonic flight with combined Pulse Detonation/Scramjet engines. As the movie's title suggests, the Talon has stealth capability, along with switchblade wings, dual cannons for close range attacks, and an internal rotary launcher with a wide variety of ordnance, including AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, AGM-130C air-to-surface missiles (called "Blue Ferret" in the movie), and Truncheon implosion bombs.
It has a Common Integrated Processor (CIP), a central "brain" capable of making damage assessments, not just on enemy forces, but on collateral and civilian casualties as well. The CIP can make complex calculations, like estimating nuclear fallout, or projecting odds of survival.
The Talon is capable of precise attacks with minimal destruction. Only three Talons existed and flew as a trio. Each pilot has a view-screen for each wingman. Controls are streamlined; the computer communicates through voice and projection displays. The Talons had transponders that directly linked with the pilots homebase or a carrier's advanced flight center. The Talon has a self-destruct system in case of system failure.
There are several aircraft that seem to have influenced the design of the Talon. One is the Russian Sukhoi Su-47 prototype fighter, which also features forward swept, though fixed, wings. Another plane the Talon resembles is the fictional X-02 Wyvern, from the Ace Combat video game series. Both have switchblade wings, stealth characteristics and similar overall shapes. Yet another plane sharing design characteristics with the Talon is the Northrop Switchblade technology demonstrator.
Technically, the F/A-37 should be called "Talon II", as the name "Talon" has already been assigned to the T-38 trainer aircraft.
The game Empire Earth features a fighter called the Talon in the "Digital Age Epoch". It is almost identical to the F/A-37, although it is a white land-based fighter instead of a black carrier-based one.
Specifications
- Crew: 1 pilot
- Powerplant: 2 × Pulse Detonation/Scramjet engines
- range: 4,000 NM
- Max Speed: Mach 5+
More information on the source of the provided picture above can be found here: http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/a37.asp
[edit] UCAV EDI
The UCAV EDI (Extreme Deep Invader) is a joint program in relation to the F/A-37 Talon. EDI is smaller than the Talon and has a downward canted delta platform. Despite its designation as an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), it retains a cockpit for maintenance and emergencies. Among the new features are V/STOL capability, a Cermet (metal ceramic) composite exoskeleton, and aeroelastic wings. The engine is described as a Pulse Detonation Engine with twin Hybrid Scramjet Turbos fueled by catalyzed A1 methane.
EDI's computer is more powerful than a standard Talon's at 10 tera-bits/second. It also has an Artificial Intelligence system with Quantum processing achieved by a neural net. EDI is capable of identifying a target 5 miles (8.0 km) away or by using a satellite uplink. EDI can identify a human target by fingerprints, voice analysis, or by face recognition. The most striking feature of the A.I. was its ability to learn at an exponential rate, and its ability to develop emotional feelings. EDI is similar in some ways to Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
[edit] Metyor Mt-179
The Metyor Mt-179 is an advanced fighter-bomber version of the Fiskious Fi-170 found in Dale Brown's novel Night of the Hawk. The aircraft is designed with a forward swept wing and an extremely thin fuselage section.
The aircraft uses an internal bomb bay to carry laser-guided bombs and R-27 missiles. It houses four R-60 missiles in the leading edge of the wings; however, these are omitted due to corrosion of the wing. The crew of two consists of a pilot and a weapons operator.
Bought by oil broker Pavel Kazakov, the aircraft is used to influence his East European neighbors, almost starting a number of conflicts. The aircraft finally turned in on USAF forces in Turkey. Fortunately, the chief designer sent the aircraft's heat signature to the USAF in Turkey allowing Patrick McLanahan and his team of EB-1C Vampire II to destroy it.
The aircraft resembles an advanced version of the Sukhoi Su-47.
[edit] Messerschmitt Me 263 (fictional)
The Messerschmitt Me 263 is a fictional jet fighter aircraft in the movie Aces: Iron Eagle III, supposedly developed by the Germans towards the end of World War II and flown by the drug-dealing ex-Nazi villain. It is in fact a Scaled Composites ARES, repainted in German Luftwaffe colors.
[edit] MiG-28
Fictional aircraft codenamed MiG-28 (МиГ-28 in Cyrillic script) have appeared in several different works. It is interesting to note that these works are completely unrelated and the aircraft themselves share nothing in common but a name, although it has also often even been given the NATO reporting name, Finback, although in reality this codename is assigned to the Shenyang J-8, an indigenous, fast Chinese interceptor-fighter.
The first instance of a "MiG-28" was in the 1978 book The Sinkiang Executive written by Elleston Trevor. Referred to in the work as the MiG-28D, it was an aircraft that resembled a somewhat modified MiG-25, but with sharper air intakes and swept wings.
In the 1986 movie Top Gun, Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) squared off against MiG-28s with no NATO reporting name and of unspecified nationality. These were nothing more than American Northrop F-5s, which at the time were being used as aggressor aircraft for dissimilar air combat training at the real TOPGUN seminar (now known as the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School). The F-5s "acting" as MiG-28s were painted flat black to indicate their villainous status, and retained those paint jobs after production closed.[1] The nation flying these MiG-28s is not specified whatsoever in the movie but assumed to be the Soviet Union or another Communist state; audio commentary on the movie's Special-Edition DVD release states that they were originally intended to be North Korean. In video games licensed from the movies, the enemy planes are replaced with real Soviet aircraft, the MiG-29 "Fulcrum".
The final version of the MiG-28 is seen in the 1988 ABC television series Supercarrier. This MiG-28 was a fictional Soviet stealth fighter.
It should be noted that the designation "MiG-28" is inconsistent with RAC MiG's practice of giving fighter designs odd numbers, which represents either oversight or an attempt to avoid contradicting real aircraft.
[edit] Mikoyan MiG-31 (fictional)
The MiG-31 (МиГ-31 in Cyrillic script), NATO reporting name "Firefox", is a fictional aircraft appearing in Craig Thomas' novels Firefox and Firefox Down, as well as the movie based on the former.
The Firefox is an interceptor aircraft with stealth capabilities, to the point that it is invisible to radar. It is powered by two incredibly powerful Tumansky ramjet engines that permit flight at hypersonic speeds, but their exhaust gives the Firefox a prominent infrared signature. The Firefox's most famous feature is its Thought-Controlled Weapons System, which uses signals from the pilot's brain to target enemies and fire weapons; however, it only responds to commands thought in Russian. The Firefox's weapons consist of up to four AA-6 Acrid air-to-air missiles (modified for thought guidance), two 23 mm cannons, and four Rear Defense Pods, which fire an explosive charge at a pursuing aircraft or missile.
Other capabilities of the Firefox include a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) range and a flight ceiling over 120,000 feet (37,000 m). To give the pilot full situational awareness the aircraft also includes a camera system that allows the pilot to see images ahead of, below, and directly behind the aircraft on his console. Mitchel Gant uses this system several times during his flight to keep track of missiles, and other aircraft pursuing him.
Two production prototypes were built before it was to be deployed into active service for the Soviet Air Force. The first prototype was stolen by Mitchell Gant operating on behalf of the Western intelligence community. The second prototype intercepted Gant and the two aircraft entered into combat with Gant destroying his adversary.
In Firefox Down, it is revealed the remaining prototype's fuel lines were ruptured in the dogfight that concluded the previous novel and the aircraft crash-lands in Finland. One of the plot lines of Firefox Down is the race between the Soviets and Western Intelligence to recover the aircraft submerged in a frozen Finnish lake.
The Firefox's appearance differs between the first novel and film. The version in the novel resembles a MiG-25 Foxbat, much like the real MiG-31 Foxhound. In the film, its appearance (see above picture) is more like a twin-tailed XF-108 Rapier than any Mikoyan fighter.
[edit] MiG-37
The Mikoyan MiG-37 (fictional NATO reporting name Ferret E) is a fictional stealth aircraft produced in kit form by Italian model manufacturer Italeri, in co-operation with American model company Testors. The kit was a follow-up to Testors' highly successful (and fictional)"F-19 Stealth" model kit.
The MiG-37 is a stealth fighter designed using advances in technology from the Soviet Union's space and aviation programs as a reaction to the American F-19 stealth project.
[edit] MiG-242
The Mikoyan MiG-242 appears in the pilot episode of the Gerry Anderson production of Joe 90. It is a 21st century Russian air superiority fighter, and the most advanced of its time. The MiG-242 could be launched from a special zero-zero launch ramp. This ramp could be deployed on Russian air bases and would elevate 45 degrees and catapult the aircraft via the use of an electromagnetic rail catapult, while the fighter engaged full afterburners. The aircraft was discovered to be variable geometry and when swept, the wings met up with the tail to form a delta. This offered the MiG-242 both excellent low speed maneuverability and high Mach speed. Maximum speed was 3,600 kph (Mach 3) at 11,500 metres and was powered by two variable-cycle turbine/ram jet engines. These operated as jet turbines up to Mach 2.5, and as ramjets from Mach 2.1 and up.
The key to its versatility was the weapons system, two pods mounted ventrally under the fuselage. These pods could be configured with a variety of weapons, from air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles plus sensor equipment, free-fall bombs and other ordinance. These could be quickly removed and replaced to give the MiG-242 exceptional turn-around times. In the nose were mounted two 30 mm cannon for close range fighting and two ECM pods were mounted in the twin tails.
[edit] XF-15F Cheetah
The XF-15F Cheetah is a fictional aircraft from the Dale Brown novel Day of the Cheetah. It is a heavily-modified F-15E Strike Eagle, bearing a distinct resemblance to the F-15S/MTD.
[edit] XF-34A DreamStar
The XF-34A DreamStar is a fictional aircraft from the Dale Brown novel Day of the Cheetah. It is a single-engine forward-swept wing fighter similar to the Grumman X-29; however, it is completely thought-controlled by its pilot through a semi-artificially-intelligent computer called the Advanced Neural Transfer And Response System, or ANTAReS. It was stolen by its pilot, who had been a Soviet mole planted into the US Air Force years earlier; his handlers wished to reverse-engineer the plane and redesignate it the MiG-39 Zavtra (Russian for "tomorrow.")
[edit] Conquest X-30
The Conquest X-30 is a fictional aircraft from the G.I. Joe line of toys, comic books and cartoon series. It is a single-seat, twin-engined forward swept wing air superiority fighter, and is used by the fictional U.S. Air Force of that universe. The Conquest is designed solely for air combat and carries no air to ground weaponry (although its "Light Sparrow" missiles can be fired against ground targets, as seen in the cartoon series). It is armed with four "AIM-12 Light Sparrow" missiles, carries "11k" (presumably 11,000 pounds) internal fuel and two 350 gal. external fuel tanks. Its gun armament consists of two 25 mm revolver cannon.[2] Despite its higher series number, it is succeeded by the Phantom X-19 (see below). It uses square jet engine nozzles that, curiously, do not appear to be thrust-vectoring.
[edit] Phantom X-19
The Phantom X-19 is a fictional aircraft from the G.I. Joe line of toys, comic books and cartoon series. It is a twin-seat, twin-engine stealth strike fighter aircraft, and is used by the fictional U.S. Air Force of that universe. The Phantom's purpose is to use strike and destroy Cobra targets of interest. It is the preferred aircraft of the G.I. Joe pilot known as "Ghostrider". The Phantom is armed with twin Sparrow missiles, laser-guided bombs, and twin machine guns. Despite its lower series number, it is a successor to the Conquest X-30. See Curtiss-Wright X-19 for the real X-19.
[edit] Savoia S.21
The Savoia S.21 is a fictional seaplane fighter that appears in the anime film Porco Rosso, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
While the plane depicted in the movie never existed, Savoia was an actual Italian aircraft maker which produced a considerable number of flying boats in the 1920s, during which the movie is set. An actual Savoia S.21 even existed, though the fictional one does not closely resemble it — the Cant.Z 501 " Seagull " is probably the closest real-life match.
The S.21 was a custom-built fighter seaplane with a single parasol wing, above which was mounted a single engine nacelle. It had a flying-boat hull and outrigger floats, and carried two machine guns in the nose. In the film, there are two versions of the S.21. The initial version was powered by an Isotta-Fraschini Asso liquid-cooled V-12 engine; the later version mounted a Fiat A.S.2 "Folgore" V-12 with a modified radiator configuration. In addition to the engine, the new version had a tiny forward cockpit.
In The Age of the Flying Boat, the book on which the movie is based, the modified version takes a Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine. The aircraft was painted bright red with Italian tricolor stripes on the wings and tail.
Specifications
- Crew: initial version, 1 pilot; second version, additional 1 passenger
- Length: 7.92 m
- Wingspan: 10 m
- Powerplant: Template:Convert/HP
- Maximum Speed: 330 km/h
- Armament: 2 × 7.92 mm Spandau machine-guns
[edit] YF-19 Alpha One
In Japanese anime Macross Plus. YF-19 Alpha One is an advanced variable fighter prototype developed by Shinsei Industries as part of Project Super Nova. It lead to the development of the VF-19 Excalibur. The aircraft features a turreted anti-air laser cannon, internal missile launchers, hardpoints, gun pod, sensor baffling active-stealth system, virtual-environment cockpit, pin-point barrier system, vectored maneuvering thrusters, swing-wing design, and is able to reach escape velocity from an Earth-sized planet. It is also one of the few variable fighters developed to use the Hyperspace Fold FAST Packs.
[edit] YF-21 Omega One
In Japanese anime Macross Plus. YF-19 Omega One is an advanced variable fighter prototype developed by General Galaxy as part of Project Super Nova. It lead to the development of the VF-22 Sturmvogel II. The aircraft features laser cannons, internal missile launchers, hardpoints, gun pod, sensor baffling active-stealth system, brain control system, pin-point barrier system, vectored maneuvering thrusters, Intelligent Flight Control System, and is able to reach escape velocity from an Earth-sized planet. It is also one of the few variable fighters developed to use the Hyperspace Fold FAST Packs.
[edit] F/A-40
In the game Frontlines: Fuel of War which released in Spring 2008, the fictional F/A-40 representing the main combat aircraft of the Western Coalition, and in fact it appears to be a modified F/A-22 Raptor in actual environment.
[edit] King Raptor
The King Raptor is an upgraded version of the F/A-22 Raptor, featured in Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour. When playing as the USA and using the Air Force General, the King Raptor automatically replaces the Raptor in the build menu. This fighter carries 6 air-to-air/air-to-ground missiles and uses a Point Defense Laser to destroy hostile missiles. Its upgraded radar enables it to detect stealth units.
[edit] MIG - China
A Chinese MIG-type aircraft appears in the PC game Command & Conquer: Generals. The MIG carries two incendiary missiles and a squadron of four MIGs can create a firestorm. The missiles can also target aerial enemies. The MIG Armor(25% health increase) and Black Napalm(25% more flame damage) upgrades empower this fighter even more, and the Zero Hour Tactical Nuke upgrade gives it a small nuclear weapon. It is based on the design of the real life MiG 1.44
[edit] Fictional bombers
[edit] B-3
The B-3 is a fictional advanced stealth bomber modelled after the B-2 Spirit in the movie Broken Arrow. It is more streamlined than the B-2 Spirit and has supersonic capability.
A B-3 is also implemented in the game Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour. If one looks closely at an awkward angle at the plane's model in the World Builder tool, "B-3" is clearly visible.
The B3 is also humorously referred to repeatedly in the film Wag the Dog, when the President of the United States fakes a war to get re-elected.
[edit] EB-1C Vampire
First appearing in Dale Brown's novel Battle Born, the EB-1C is an advanced variant of the B-1 Lancer. Originally named after the Megafortress, it was renamed the Vampire in Air Battle Force. It differs from the real B-1 in that it's wings are always swept all the way back, the tail is smaller and lacks the horizontal stabilizer, and it utilizes new "Mission Adaptive Skin" that works off of micro-hydraulics to affect the shape of the Vampire's wings in-flight. This allows to create lift and drag much more smoothly than harder control flaps.
Unlike the Megafortress, the Vampire can be run via remote control, from pilots and engineers on the ground. These are referred to as Virtual Aircraft Commanders and Mission Commanders. However, both real and virtual pilots, both on the ground and in the cockpit, can run the plane at the same time. Virtual pilots can take off, land, even refuel from their virtual consoles. The Vampire is also used as a 'mothership' for the Flighthawk drones. The drones can be both launched and recovered by the Vampire, and even refuel and reload while inside the weapons bay.
[edit] EB-52 Megafortress
Dale Brown has used various modified variants of the B-52 Stratofortress, which in reality is used by the US Air Force as their heavy strategic bomber. These variants are usually referred to as the B-52 Megafortress. The Megafortress first appears in Dale Brown's Flight of the Old Dog and is expanded and upgraded in all his later books. It has all the latest technology (such as an advanced on-board computer and detailed HUD) and carries all the latest weapons, such as the AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, along with various anti-ship missiles, anti-tank guided missiles and even more fanciful weapons such as plasma-yield warheads. It also uses an advanced layout, having a long SST nose and twin V-type tails. In later books, the eight engines of the B-52A-H are replaced by four larger and more powerful turbofans. Coincidentally, this is an upgrade that has been considered for the real-world B-52H fleet.
In Flight of the Old Dog, the first book in the series, the aircraft is designated the B-52I Megafortress. B-52M Megafortress Plus is later introduced Day of the Cheetah and the EB-52 designation is first used in Sky Masters. In reality, the EB-52H (or B-52J) was a planned upgrade to the USAF's current fleet of Stratofortresses, allowing them to act as "stand-off jammers", with jamming pods replacing the B-52's wing-mounted external fuel tanks.
One final version, the AL-52 Dragon, was introduced in Wings of Fire. The Dragon is an airborne laser platform; the actual laser is a chemical system (a COIL, or chlorine-oxygen-iodine laser). One prototype, however, is refitted with a plasma-pumped solid-state laser (the technology is based on the plasma-yield warheads mentioned above). Both Dragon variants are devastating against aerial targets; however, the plasma-pumped laser's sheer power makes it effective against surface targets as well.
[edit] B-7A Silhouette
The B-7A Silhouette is a fictional prototype US Air Force fighter-bomber in the book Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. It is said to be powered by a plutonium core. The plutonium core powers its stealth mechanism. The Silhouette is able to become invisible not only to radar, but to the human eye. The stealth mechanism on the Silhouette is said to work by distorting the air around the aircraft. All other features of the Silhouette run on normal jet fuel.
The Silhouette also has VTOL capability thanks to retro-firing jets on its underside, as well as multiple-launch BVR air-to-air and air-to-ground missile capability, with a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km). In the book a code was needed to open the door to get inside the aircraft.
As well as missiles the Silhouette has wing-mounted machine-guns controlled by the gunner for armament. The plane has a two-person cockpit - the pilot, who sits in a seat forward and to the right of the cockpit, and the gunner/radar operator, who sits above and to the left of the pilot. In the book, people entering the plane are required to open the main door using a code and step inside the missile bay, before going forward into the cockpit.
It is said to have been built in 1979, and was apparently the losing competitor in the B-2 stealth bomber project.
[edit] Fiskious Fi-170
The Fiskious Fi-170 Tuman is a fictional Russian Stealth bomber prototype in military thriller author Dale Brown's book Night of the Hawk. The Fi-170 is the Russian eqivualant to the EB-52 Megafortress, developed by captured and brainwashed American engineer Dave Luger. The aircraft is notable in having a super-critical wing and Russian equivalents to American weapons such as the AIM-120 and Stinger missiles.
The Fi-170 is developed at the Fiskious institute in Lithuania and is stolen by a team of commandos lead by pilot-hero Patrick McLanahan who also rescue Dave Luger the same night. The Fi-170 is flown to an undisclosed location in Scotland after destroying multiple enemy targets in Belarus. The Fi-170 is analyzed and dismantled in Scotland having been found a no better than a Russian copy of the EB-52.
The Fi-170 appears in the book Warrior Class as the Metyor Mt-179 with a forward-swept wing and more advanced avionics, making it comparable to the Sukhoi Su-47.
[edit] Spriggan
The Spriggan is a massive super-bomber appearing in the game Aerofighters Assault. It is armed with nuclear weapons, as well as heavy anti-air cannons. It is also capable of launching fighters such as the F/A-22.
[edit] Vindicator
- The Vindicator is a supersonic strategic bomber featured in both the novel Fail-Safe and the 1964 film Fail-Safe.
- The Villiers Vindicator is a fictional V bomber from the James Bond novel Thunderball by Ian Fleming. It is hijacked by SPECTRE in order to steal two tactical nuclear weapons and hold NATO governments to ransom. A play on the real-life Vickers Valiant, its part in the EON film adaptation was taken by the RAF Avro Vulcan.
[edit] Archeopterix
The Archeopterix is a massive super-weapon bomber appearing in the Naval Ops: Warship Gunner series of games on the Playstation 2 console. It is armed with massive bombs, as well as large battleship cannons, however it is vulnerable due to its slow speed.
[edit] Aurora
The Aurora is a supersonic bomber aircraft in the PC game Command and Conquer: Generals. The Aurora uses a supersonic dash when attacking, making it immune to ground fire and missiles. Immediately after attacking, the Aurora loses 50% of its speed and is vulnerable to attack. The Aurora carries one very strong bomb, and the Aurora Alpha upgrade in the expansion pack Zero Hour loads the bomber with fuel air explosives instead. The third-party New Tech Mod for Zero Hour equips the Aurora Alpha with tactical nukes.
[edit] Fictional helicopters
[edit] AH-73M Thunderhawk
The playable attack helicopter in the eponymous futuristic video game released by Core design in 1991. The AH-73M seems to be based on the AH-64 Apache, but with more weapons and more advanced technology. A typical loadout for the AH-73 in the game is 16 Hellfire-like missiles, 76 unguided rockets, 8 Stinger-like air-to-air missiles and a cannon with unlimited ammunition.
[edit] Airwolf
Airwolf is the star of a 1984 TV series of the same name. It is capable of supersonic flight and carries multiple anti-aircraft cannons and missiles in retractable weapons pods. The helicopter used in the series is a modified Bell 222.
[edit] Blue Thunder
A fictional police helicopter from the film and TV series of the same name. The helicopter is armed with a powerful head-tracked gatling gun in the nose, a stealth mode which makes it quiet and surveillance equipment like sensitive microphones (capable of recording a conversation inside a building with the helicopter hovering outside) and an infrared camera. The helicopter used in the movie is a Aérospatiale Gazelle with a new nose section and faux canopy and wings bolted on. In the film it has a 2-man crew, but can still be effectively operated by a lone pilot. The helicopter was ultimately destroyed after its' pilot succeeded in uncovering a conspiracy within the Los Angeles Police Department.
[edit] Scorpion Attack Helicopter
The Scorpion Attack Helicopter is a fictional attack helicopter of unspecified origin that appears in the 1990 movie Fire Birds. At least one of the type was shown being used by a South American drug cartel and piloted by highly skilled mercenaries, along with a pair of Saab Draken fighters. The Scorpion has superior agility and speed compared to most other helicopters, notably the AH-1 Cobra and the UH-60 Black Hawk, easily destroying the aforementioned helicopters. Armed with unguided rockets and machine guns, it is roughly equal in air combat capabilities to the AH-64 Apache.
The real helicopter used for the film was a Hughes H-6 derivative, probably a Boeing MD500 Defender. It was fitted with weapon pods and a nose mounted scope.
[edit] Strike Super Apache
The Super Apache is a fictional attack helicopter derived from the AH-64 Apache, and first appears in the Strike series of video games by Electronic Arts, specifically Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike. Designed for special operations, the Super Apache serves as the player's primary vehicle.
The Super Apache looks identical to its real-world counterpart apart from the tail, which looks like it was based on the RAH-66 Comanche although the Super Apache has a tail in Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike (this is slightly strange due to the fact that the RAH-66 was built in 1995, three years after Desert Strike). It is a sophisticated two-seat attack helicopter armed with advanced electronics and air-ground weapons. However, to aid gameplay, there are some notable enhancements:
- Self-repairing "smart armor" that repairs and re-aligns damaged portions of the helicopter.
- A passenger compartment capable of carrying up to six people. It is also accessible from the cockpit. In order to have room for the passengers the Super Apache must be significantly larger than the real-world Apache, since it looks identical externally. This makes the Super Apache similar to the real Mil Mi-28 Havoc, which has a small cargo compartment, intended to be used for rescue.
- A cargo winch to load passengers, fuel, and ammunition. The Super Apache also has significant load-carrying abilities, capable of carrying loads as heavy as multiple ICBMs- a feat far beyond any modern aircraft, even the C-17.
- Unlike the "normal" AH-64, the Super Apache does not need a separate gunner. It only requires one pilot to operate and engage the enemy effectively. The second crew member seems to simply be a co-pilot.
Remarkably, the Super Apache appears to lack the fire control Radar seen on the AH-64D Longbow. Instead, it relies on sophisticated communications systems (called Strike-Net) and unseen assets such as AWACS and Satellite imagery.
There is also a navalized variant called the Sea Apache, capable of carrying naval mines. It can be deployed from Sea Shadow-type warships.
[edit] AH74
A helicopter developed by Eidos and Core's Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix game. It has weapons similar to that of the Apache, yet looks more in appearance to an RAH66 Commanche. The helicopter has fire control radar to distinguish friend from foe, and also gets data fed to it via AWACS. It is armed with a 30 mm cannon, missiles based on the Hellfire that allow it to attack both ground and air targets, and rockets.
[edit] Kamov Ka-58 Black Ghost
In the computer game Act of War: High Treason, the Consortium faction operates this dedicated stealth hunter-killer helicopter. Armed with deadly air-to-air missiles, the Ka-58 is used to establish local air superiority by destroying enemy helicopters and even fast-flying jet bombers. The Russian model manufacturer Zvezda also makes a model of the Black Ghost in 1/72 scale.
[edit] Unidentified British Stealth Helicopter
In D.C. Alden's 2006 novel "Invasion" an advanced stealth helicopter (Dark Eagle) is deployed by retreating British forces to rescue the British Prime Minister from a London overrun by an "Arabian" military invasion. The helicopter is virtually invisible at night and to those standing under it the helicopter is almost silent except for nearby objects such as trees effected by the rushing air from the rotor blades.
[edit] Helix
In the PC game Command & Conquer:Generals - Zero Hour, the Helix is a helicopter gunship used by the Chinese faction. The Helix is armed with a light chain-gun, can carry up to five soldiers and can be upgraded with either a Bunker (enables transported soldiers to fire from the Helix), a Propaganda Tower (heals nearby friendly units and increases their firing speed), or a Gattling Cannon (automatically targets air or ground enemies). The Napalm Bomb upgrade can be purchased, enabling the Helix to drop napalm bombs on ground targets, creating a firestorm. When using General Tao, the Nuke General, a tactical nuke replaces the napalm bombs.
[edit] Other fictional aircraft
[edit] UD4L Cheyenne
Found in Aliens, the Cheyenne was the transport vehicle used to ferry the marines and their APC to the planet's surface.
[edit] Ace Combat series
The Ace Combat series of video games, set on an alternate Earth, is well-equipped with modern fighter jets of several nations (fully licensed by their actual manufacturers), as well as several aircraft designed specifically for the game series.
- X-02 Wyvern
- ADF-01 Falken
- ADFX-01 Morgan
- XB-0 Hresvelgr
- Arkbird
- P-1112 Aigaion
[edit] Simoun and Simile-Simoun series
The Simoun and Simile-Simoun series are fictional fighters that appears in the anime-film Simoun.
A Simoun requires two pilots to lift-off and steer in the air and, moreover, both of them must have not yet chosen their permanent sex (refer to background for explanation), since having done so permanently disqualifies a person from further piloting. Because of its sacred status in Simulacrum, only young priestesses of the Tempus Spatium faith are recruited as Simoun pilots and granted the title Simoun Sibyllae (シムーン・シヴュラ Shimūn Shivyura?).
Originally, Simouns were produced by Simuracrum nation's engineers and designers for ceremonial craft pray to Goddess "Temps-Spatium" (of their religion).
But, due to the main lift "Helical Motor", it was envied by other nations and a war broke out to obtain that technology. Thus, Simouns are armed with miniguns and Ri Mājon, and appear as enormous luminous glyphs in the sky, which, once completed, conjure magical effects of tremendous power.
The Similes are scaled-down simple model versions of Simouns, which were mainly used for training. But with the war raging, Simile-Simouns were armed with machine guns or miniguns and had single and dual cockpit configurations. They have similar designs, but with only a single, and somewhat, simpler Helical Motor.
The Simouns and Similes are apparently derived from bumblebees or similar insects.
[edit] X-Men
The Blackbird used by the X-Men is a fictional aircraft, resembling the actual SR-71 Blackbird in shape and speed.
[edit] Stealth F
Fictional reconnaissance aircraft, appears in poet Alen Pol Kobryn's novel Poseidon's Shadow, published by Scribner in 1979, Dell and New English Library in 1980 – amongst the earliest known instances of explicit reference to stealth technology.[3][4]
[edit] Aircraft in Nevil Shute novels
Nevil Shute, an aircraft designer by background, often included fictional aircraft in his novels. These include:
- Rutland Reindeer - an airliner at the center of the plot of No Highway (filmed as No Highway in the Sky. It was a six-engine, low-wing monoplane with a structural weakness in the tail
- Assegai - the first supersonic fighter, also in No Highway
- Plymouth Tramp (British), Cornell Carrier (US) - both high-wing, twin-engine cargo transports appearing in Round the Bend
- DeHavilland Ceres - a luxurious jet transport used to transport the Queen and her family in In the Wet (DeHavilland was a real company, however)
- Rawdon Rabbit, Rat, and Ratcatcher - WW1 fighters in Stephen Morris
[edit] References
- ^ Top Gun (1986) - Trivia
- ^ YOJOE.COM |Conquest X-30 Blueprints
- ^ Washington Post, 10 September 1980, p A12: ‘Stealth Is Already at War – In a Novel,’ by George C Wilson
- ^ Time, 29 September 1980, pp 23-24: ‘Chronicle of a Security Leak’
[edit] External links
F/A-37 Talon
MiG-37
