Modernization Of Air Warfare Essay, Research Paper

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 this. With all the

planes we know of, there are also top secret programs

probably going on right now. A new fighter that has never

been heard of before has been spotted. As John Welch, the

assistant secretary of Air Force said, “Stealth gives us

back that fundamental element of war called surprise”

(Goodall 9).

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 was equipped with guns and missiles.

Helicopters were also found to be good strike aircraft. They

were armed with cannons, machine guns, rockets, torpedoes,

and a variety of missiles. Vertical takeoff made the

helicopter an advantage.

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-117A is a

night attack plane powered by two, nonafterburning General

Electric engines. F-117As were designed for first-strike

capabilities and to be able to fly into any countries

airspace undetected. The primary task of the F-117A is to

break through enemy airspace, destroy high value targets,

and return back unharmed. They were considered to first be

used in several different tasks, but weren’t used until

Operation Dessert Storm where they did an excellent job. As

Donald Rice, Secretary of the Air Force, said, “Everyone now

agrees the F-117 was a real bargain” (9).

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 not one was lost even though they went

against one of the most modern air-defense systems in the

world. Operation Dessert Storm was the largest aerial

bombing attack in war history. It was also the first time a

stealth aircraft was used as a main weapon. On the first day

of Dessert Storm the Lockheed F-117As dropped sixty-two

2,000 pound bombs 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 has

ever flown through.

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 later only 15

saying that 10 would be enough. With four General Electric

engines with 19,000 pounds of thrust each, the B-2s were

made to carry a lot of weight. The Advanced Technology

Bomber, as it was called, was made so it couldn’t be spotted

by enemy radar. After testing it was found out that it is

almost impossible to track it constantly using radar. The

B-2s were designed to be an all-flying wing and it is made

up of over eighty percent of composite materials. The B-2 is

69 feet long, has a wingspan of 172 feet, and 17 feet in

height. They also can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds and

can travel at mach 0.85 (Jones 86). The B-2 can carry 80

bombs, including nuclear bombs. All fifteen of the B-2s are

assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and await to

be used in actual combat.

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 build it with these specifications.

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 in August 1990. It was powered by a

Pratt and Witney F-119-PW engine. The YF-23 can hold four

AIM-120 missiles. The YF-22 prototype made its first flight

in September of 1990 and became the first to pass the Air

Force’s supercruise specification. It could reach mach

1.58 and faster. The YF-22 has three weapon bays that can

each carry two air-to-air missiles. Both fighters can

supercruise at speeds of Mach 1.5 to 1.7. Their top 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 never been heard before. The pilot

was talking about a hydraulic malfunction and 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. It has also been

said that high ranking officials have gathered there to look

at the new aircraft. The Pentagon has announced that the

F-111 will be retired by the end of 1995. The new swing-wing

aircraft spotted will most likely replace it. Swing-wing

aircraft add weight and make a plane more complex, but give

many advantages. When the wing is swung forward the plane

can travel farther and can land and takeoff on shorter

runways. When swung forward it can reach supersonic speeds.

It was noticed that the new airplane spotted was armed with

bombs and self-defense missiles. The A-17 has many things in

common with the YF-23 like the air inlets and the humps on

top of the fuselage that hide its engines. The engines on it

are probably General Electric YF-120 turbo fan-turbojet

engines which can reach speeds up to Mach 2.

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 they won’t even know what hit them if we want to attack

them. When Donald Rice said, “Stealth saves lives, money,

and does the job better” (Goodall 10), he was right.

Operation Dessert Storm showed us that. With the many

advances of military aircraft, it has become a main and

effective part of war in recent years.