Strike fighter

Not to be confused with "strike aircraft", an alternative term for an attack aircraft.

In a current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate primarily in the air-to-surface attack role while also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers. Examples of contemporary American strike fighters are the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

Contents

History

Since 1940s, the term "strike fighter" was occasionally used in the navies to refer to fighter aircraft capable of performing air-to-surface strikes, such as the Westland Wyvern[1] and Blackburn Firebrand.[2] It became normally used in the United States Navy[3] at the end of 1970s, being the official[4] description of the new McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. In 1983, the U.S. Navy even renamed each existing Fighter Attack Squadron to Strike Fighter Squadron to emphasize[5] the air-to-surface mission (as the "Fighter Attack" designation was confused with the "Fighter" flying pure air-to-air missions).

This name quickly proliferated to non-maritime use. As the F-15E Strike Eagle came into service, originally called "dual role fighter"[6], it instead quickly became known as "strike fighter".

Joint Strike Fighter

Main article: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

In 1995, the U.S. military's Joint Advanced Strike Technology program changed name to Joint Strike Fighter program.[7] The project consequently resulted in the development of the F-35 Lightning II family of fifth generation multirole fighters to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability.

Popular culture

Strike Fighter is also the name of a Sega arcade game simulating an F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter, this game is a spiritual successor to the earlier After Burner series and its semi-sequel, G-LOC: Air Battle. In fact, Strike Fighter was ported as After Burner III on the Sega Mega-CD. A sequel, Sega Strike Fighter was released for the Sega Naomi arcade board, though this game plays more like the Ace Combat series. In addition, Thirdwire Productions has a series of games titled Strike Fighters.

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Aerospace Engineering, Volume 6." Institute of the Aerospace Sciences, 1947.
  2. ^ The Aeroplane: Volume 75, 1948.
  3. ^ "Inside story of the troubled F/A-18." Popular Science, Volume 223, Issue 4, October 1983. ISSN 0161-73702. Retrieved: 23 December 2011. Quote: ... can fly either as a fighter or an attack plane [...] In Navy parlance, it is a strike fighter.
  4. ^ "The FY 1981 military programs." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Volume 36, Issue 6, June 1980, p. 38. ISSN 0096-3402. Retrieved: 23 December 2011.
  5. ^ Polmar 1997, p. 343.
  6. ^ Defence Update (International), Issues 79-84, p. 43.
  7. ^ "Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)." globalsecurity.org. Retrieved: 2 February 2011.
Bibliography
  • Polmar, Norman. The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1997. ISBN 978-1591146858.
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