Multirole combat aircraft

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The Panavia Tornado is an example of a Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, and was the original bearer of that title (its project name)

A multirole (or multi-role) combat aircraft is an aircraft that can be used as both a fighter aircraft and a ground attack aircraft. They are lighter and less powerful than air superiority fighters.

A multirole fighter is differentiated from a strike fighter in that the multirole fighter was designed to equally perform both air combat and ground attack, while the strike fighter is typically a fighter aircraft that can also employ air-to-ground munitions.

[edit] History of the term

Multi-Role Combat Aircraft was the title of a multinational European project in 1968 that became the Panavia Tornado aircraft. During its development, the project had also been briefly called Multi-Role Aircraft (MRA).

[edit] Examples

Listed below are examples of multirole combat aircraft and the country where they have been developed:

Continent	Country	Aircraft	Notes
Europe and North America (NA)	European Union (EU)	Panavia Tornado	The original aircraft titled "Multi-Role Combat Aircraft" and to have the word "Multi-Role" in its title
		Eurofighter Typhoon	Alternately described as a "swing role tactical fighter" by the manufacturers
	France	Dassault Mirage 2000
		Dassault Rafale	Alternately described as an "omni-role fighter/fighter-bomber" by the manufacturer
	Sweden	SAAB JAS 39 Gripen
	United States (USA)	F-4 Phantom
		F-16 Fighting Falcon	The F-16 is the NATO standard multirole fighter
		F/A-18 Hornet	The 'A' in "F/A" explicitly denotes the joint Attack role of the F/A-18 ('F' = Fighter)
		F-35 Lightning II
Asia	India	HAL Tejas	Currently in development
	People's Republic of China (PRC)	Chengdu J-10
	People's Republic of China (PRC) and  Pakistan	JF-17 Thunder
	Soviet Union (USSR) and  Russia	Mikoyan MiG-29
		Sukhoi Su-30MKI	Used by the Indian Air Force ('I' = Indiski, India)
		Sukhoi Su-30MKK	Used by the PLA Air Force ('K' = Kitayski, China)
		Sukhoi Su-35

[edit] References

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[edit] See also

• Air superiority fighter
• Ground attack aircraft
• Interceptor aircraft
• Strike fighter
• Tactical bomber

[edit] External links

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