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46-570: The FTC-2000 started as a GAIEC private venture to develop an inexpensive trainer for fourth generation aircraft . The trainer was revealed at the 2001 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition . The aircraft are reported to be produced at a GAIC assembly line in Anshun , Guizhou . The FTC-2000, as the JL-9, competed with the Hongdu JL-10 to meet the advanced trainer requirements of

92-507: A 5th-gen fighter , has much more significant stealth than other 4th gen fighters. The term 4.5 generation is often used to refer to new or enhanced fighters, which appeared beginning in the 1990s, and incorporated some features regarded as fifth generation , but lacked others. The 4.5-generation fighters are therefore generally less expensive, less complex, and have a shorter development time than true fifth-generation aircraft, while maintaining capabilities significantly in advance of those of

138-427: A diverterless supersonic inlet , while India's HAL Tejas uses carbon-fiber composite in manufacturing. The IAI Lavi used an S-duct air intake to prevent radar waves from reflecting off the engine compressor blades, an important aspect of fifth-generation fighter aircraft to reduce frontal RCS. These are a few of the preferred methods employed in some fifth-generation fighters to reduce RCS. KAI KF-21 Boramae

184-424: A certain attitude , and will, when disturbed in pitch or roll, continue to pitch or roll in the direction of the disturbance at an ever-increasing rate. This can be contrasted with the behaviour of an aircraft with positive stability, which can be trimmed to fly at a certain attitude, which it will continue to maintain in the absence of control input, and, if perturbed, will oscillate in simple harmonic motion on

230-450: A decreasing scale around, and eventually return to, the trimmed attitude. A positively stable aircraft will also resist any bank movement. A Cessna 152 is an example of a stable aircraft. Similarly, an aircraft with neutral stability will not return to its original attitude without control input, but will continue to roll or pitch at a steady (neither increasing nor decreasing) rate. Early attempts at heavier-than-air flight were marked by

276-588: A differing concept of stability from that used today. Most aeronautical investigators regarded flight as if it were not so different from surface locomotion, except the surface was elevated. They thought of changing direction in terms of a ship's rudder , so the flying machine would remain essentially level in the air, as did an automobile or a ship at the surface. The idea of deliberately leaning, or rolling, to one side either seemed undesirable or did not enter their thinking. Some of these early investigators, including Langley , Chanute , and later Santos-Dumont and

322-487: A faster response to control inputs. This is highly sought after in fighter aircraft design. A less stable aircraft requires smaller control deflections to initiate maneuvering; consequently, drag and control surface imposed stresses will be reduced and aircraft responsiveness will be enhanced. Since these characteristics will typically make control by the pilot difficult or impossible, artificial stability will typically be imposed using computers, servos, and sensors as parts of

368-443: A fundamental requirement as legacy analog computer systems began to be replaced by digital flight-control systems in the latter half of the 1980s. The further advance of microcomputers in the 1980s and 1990s permitted rapid upgrades to the avionics over the lifetimes of these fighters, incorporating system upgrades such as active electronically scanned array (AESA), digital avionics buses, and infra-red search and track . Due to

414-518: A great deal of energy management to maintain speed and altitude under rapidly changing flight conditions. Fly-by-wire is a term used to describe the computerized automation of flight control surfaces. Early fourth-generation fighters like the F-15 Eagle and F-14 Tomcat retained electromechanical flight hydraulics. Later fourth-generation fighters would make extensive use of fly-by-wire technology. The General Dynamics YF-16, eventually developed into

460-482: A pilot can maintain control of lateral roll and it was a good way for a flying machine to turn—to " bank " or "lean" into the turn just like a bird or just like a person riding a bicycle. Equally important, this method would enable recovery when the wind tilted the machine to one side. Although used in 1903, it would not become widely known in Europe until August 1908, when Wilbur Wright demonstrated to European aviators

506-410: A pilot to control the aircraft roll —they could control only the elevator and rudder. The unpredicted effect of this was that it was very hard to turn the aircraft without rolling. They were also strongly affected by side gusts and side winds upon landing. The Wright brothers designed their 1903 first powered Flyer with anhedral (drooping) wings, which are inherently unstable. They showed that

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552-802: A response to advancing missile and radar technology (see stealth technology ). Inherent airframe design features exist and include masking of turbine blades and application of advanced sometimes radar-absorbent materials , but not the distinctive low-observable configurations of the latest aircraft, referred to as fifth-generation fighters or aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor . The United States defines 4.5-generation fighter aircraft as fourth-generation jet fighters that have been upgraded with AESA radar, high-capacity data-link, enhanced avionics, and "the ability to deploy current and reasonably foreseeable advanced armaments". Contemporary examples of 4.5-generation fighters are

598-543: Is a joint South Korean-Indonesian fighter program, the functionality of the Block 1 model (the first flight test prototype) has been described as ‘4.5th generation’. Relaxed static stability In aviation , an aircraft is said to have relaxed stability if it has low or negative stability . An aircraft with negative stability will have a tendency to change its pitch and bank angles spontaneously. An aircraft with negative stability cannot be trimmed to maintain

644-628: Is radar. The U.S. fielded its first modified F-15Cs equipped with AN/APG-63(V)2 AESA radars, which have no moving parts and are capable of projecting a much tighter beam and quicker scans. Later on, it was introduced to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the block 60 (export) F-16 also, and will be used for future American fighters. France introduced its first indigenous AESA radar, the RBE2 -AESA built by Thales in February 2012 for use on

690-415: Is the datalink. All modern European and American aircraft are capable of sharing targeting data with allied fighters and AWACS planes (see JTIDS ). The Russian MiG-31 interceptor also has some datalink capability. The sharing of targeting and sensor data allows pilots to put radiating, highly visible sensors further from enemy forces, while using those data to vector silent fighters toward the enemy. While

736-749: The Chengdu J-7 ; the Chengdu J-7 is a Chinese variant of the MiG-21 . The FTC-2000 uses a new wing, a forward fuselage with side air intakes, and a glass cockpit ; the engine, empennage , and mechanical controls of the JJ-7/FT-7 are retained. In 2014, the PLANAF had a regiment of JL-9s. However, it was not until October 18, 2015, that the PLAAF started using the JL-9 for training purposes. In April 2023,

782-497: The F-16 Fighting Falcon , was the world's first aircraft intentionally designed to be slightly aerodynamically unstable. This technique, called relaxed static stability (RSS), was incorporated to further enhance the aircraft's performance. Most aircraft are designed with positive static stability, which induces an aircraft to return to its original attitude following a disturbance. However, positive static stability,

828-735: The F-22 , have nozzles that vector in one direction. The technology has been fitted to the Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut and later derivatives. The U.S. explored fitting the technology to the F-16 and the F-15 , but did not introduce it until the fifth generation arrived. Supercruise is the ability of a jet aircraft to cruise at supersonic speeds without using an afterburner . Maintaining supersonic speed without afterburner use saves large quantities of fuel, greatly increasing range and endurance, but

874-588: The F-4 and MiG-23 ) were designed as interceptors with only a secondary emphasis on maneuverability, 4th generation aircraft try to reach an equilibrium, with most designs, such as the F-14 and the F-15 , being able to execute BVR interceptions while remaining highly maneuverable in case the platform and the pilot find themselves in a close range dogfight . While the trade-offs involved in combat aircraft design are again shifting towards beyond visual range (BVR) engagement,

920-594: The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II gave rise to the popularity of multirole combat aircraft in parallel with the advances marking the so-called fourth generation. During this period, maneuverability was enhanced by relaxed static stability , made possible by introduction of the fly-by-wire (FBW) flight-control system , which in turn was possible due to advances in digital computers and system-integration techniques. Replacement of analog avionics, required to enable FBW operations, became

966-621: The Rapid Support Forces of Sudan launched an attack on Merowe Air Base , destroying one Sudanese FTC-2000 while capturing the base. Satellite imagery has revealed that three more FTC-2000s were present at the base at the time. On January 16, 2024, a Myanmar Air Force FTC-2000G was shot down by a Kachin Independence Army FN-6 missile in Shan State. Both pilots were killed. Data from Jane's All

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1012-548: The Sukhoi Su-30SM / Su-34 / Su-35 , Shenyang J-15B / J-16 , Chengdu J-10C , Mikoyan MiG-35 , Eurofighter Typhoon , Dassault Rafale , Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen , Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet , Lockheed Martin F-16E/F/V Block 70/72 , McDonnell Douglas F-15E/EX Strike Eagle/Eagle II , HAL Tejas MK1A , CAC/PAC JF-17 Block 3 , and Mitsubishi F-2 . Whereas the premier third-generation jet fighters (e.g.,

1058-474: The Voisin brothers , sought the ideal of "inherent stability" in a very strong sense, believing a flying machine should be built to automatically roll to a horizontal ( lateral ) position after any disturbance. They achieved this with the help of Hargrave cellular wings (wings with a box kite structure, including the vertical panels) and strongly dihedral wings. In most cases they did not include any means for

1104-478: The FTC-2000G variant. On 28 September, it was reported that the first mass-produced FTC-2000G performed its maiden flight. In April 2020, China reported that an unnamed South-East Asian country had placed an order for the FTC-2000G, with deliveries expected between 2021 and 2023. Later it was confirmed that Myanmar had ordered those jets. The FTC-2000 is developed from the JJ-7/FT-7, the two seat trainer version of

1150-469: The MD-11's rather short horizontal stabilizer and ensure that the aircraft would remain stable. However, there have been incidents in which the MD-11's relaxed stability caused an "inflight upset". Many modern fighter aircraft often employ design elements that reduce stability to increase maneuverability . Greater stability leads to lesser control surface authority; therefore, a less stable design will have

1196-646: The PIRATE-IRST, which was also retrofitted to earlier production models. The Super Hornet was also fitted with IRST although not integrated but rather as a pod that needs to attached on one of the hardpoints. As advances in stealthy materials and design methods enabled smoother airframes, such technologies began to be retrospectively applied to existing fighter aircraft. Many 4.5 generation fighters incorporate some low-observable features. Low-observable radar technology emerged as an important development. The Pakistani / Chinese JF-17 and China's Chengdu J-10B/C use

1242-588: The PLAAF and PLANAF. The JL-10 is more technologically advanced, but also more expensive, than the JL-9. In 2013, both had entered production. A carrier-landing trainer variant was revealed by Chinese state media in 2011. Designated the JL-9G, it has strengthened undercarriage, enlarged wing and diverterless supersonic inlets, but has proved to be unsuitable for arrested landings and is limited to land-based operations. On 5 September 2018, Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that GAIC had begun mass production of

1288-595: The Rafale. The RBE2-AESA can also be retrofitted on the Mirage 2000. A European consortium GTDAR is developing an AESA Euroradar CAPTOR radar for future use on the Typhoon. For the next-generation F-22 and F-35, the U.S. will use low probability of intercept capacity. This will spread the energy of a radar pulse over several frequencies, so as not to trip the radar warning receivers that all aircraft carry. In response to

1334-456: The World's Aircraft 2010-11 General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era [REDACTED] Media related to Guizhou JL-9 at Wikimedia Commons Fourth-generation jet fighter The fourth-generation fighter is a class of jet fighters in service from around 1980 to

1380-538: The basic principles of shaping aircraft to avoid radar detection were known since the 1960s, the advent of radar-absorbent materials allowed aircraft of drastically reduced radar cross-section to become practicable. During the 1970s, early stealth technology led to the faceted airframe of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk ground-attack aircraft. The faceting reflected radar beams highly directionally, leading to brief "twinkles", which detector systems of

1426-525: The day typically registered as noise, but even with digital FBW stability and control enhancement, the aerodynamic performance penalties were severe and the F-117 found use principally in the night ground-attack role. Stealth technologies also seek to decrease the infrared signature , visual signature, and acoustic signature of the aircraft. In the modern-day, the KF-21 Boramae , though not considered

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1472-466: The dramatic enhancement of capabilities in these upgraded fighters and in new designs of the 1990s that reflected these new capabilities, they have come to be known as 4.5 generation. This is intended to reflect a class of fighters that are evolutionary upgrades of the fourth generation incorporating integrated avionics suites, advanced weapons efforts to make the (mostly) conventionally designed aircraft nonetheless less easily detectable and trackable as

1518-546: The early types, such as the F-15SA Strike Eagle for Saudi Arabia, have included upgrading to FBW. Thrust vectoring was originally introduced in the Hawker Siddeley Harrier for vertical takeoff and landing, and pilots soon developed the technique of "viffing", or vectoring in forward flight, to enhance manoeuvrability. The first fixed-wing type to display enhanced manoeuvrability in this way

1564-562: The engine power available is limited and drag rises sharply in the transonic region, so drag-creating equipment such as external stores and their attachment points must be minimised, preferably with the use of internal storage. The Eurofighter Typhoon can cruise around Mach 1.2 without afterburner, with the maximum level speed without reheat is Mach 1.5. An EF T1 DA (Development Aircraft trainer version) demonstrated supercruise (1.21 M) with 2 SRAAM, 4 MRAAM and drop tank (plus 1-tonne flight-test equipment, plus 700 kg more weight for

1610-417: The flat facets of the design reduce its stability to the point where a computerized fly-by-wire system is required for it to fly. Relaxed stability designs are not limited to military jets. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 has a neutral stability design which was implemented to save fuel. To ensure stability for safe flight, an LSAS (Longitudinal Stability Augmentation System ) was introduced to compensate for

1656-405: The horizontal plane) and can be deflected ±15° in the vertical plane. This produces a corkscrew effect, further enhancing the turning capability of the aircraft. The MiG-35 with its RD-33OVT engines with the vectored thrust nozzles allows it to be the first twin-engined aircraft with vectoring nozzles that can move in two directions (that is, 3D TVC). Other existing thrust-vectoring aircraft, like

1702-469: The images captured. To offset this, IRST systems can incorporate a laser rangefinder in order to provide full fire-control solutions for cannon fire or for launching missiles. Using this method, German MiG-29 using helmet-displayed IRST systems were able to acquire a missile lock with greater efficiency than USAF F-16 in wargame exercises. IRST sensors have now become standard on Russian aircraft. A computing feature of significant tactical importance

1748-543: The importance of the coordinated use of elevator, rudder and roll control for making effective turns. The vertical positioning of the wing changes the roll stability of an aircraft. Modern military aircraft, particularly low observable (" stealth ") designs, often exhibit instability as a result of their shape. The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, for instance, employs a highly non-traditional fuselage and wing shape in order to reduce its radar cross section and enable it to penetrate air defenses with relative impunity. However,

1794-560: The increasing American emphasis on radar-evading stealth designs, Russia turned to alternate sensors, with emphasis on Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensors, first introduced on the American F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger fighters in the 1960s, for detection and tracking of airborne targets. These measure IR radiation from targets. As a passive sensor, it has limited range, and contains no inherent data about position and direction of targets—these must be inferred from

1840-574: The management of the advancing environment of numerous information flows in the modern battlespace, and low-observability, arguably at the expense of maneuvering ability in close combat, the application of thrust vectoring provides a way to maintain it, especially at low speed. Key advances contributing to enhanced maneuverability in the fourth generation include high engine thrust, powerful control surfaces, and relaxed static stability (RSS), this last enabled via "fly-by-wire" computer-controlled stability augmentation. Air combat manoeuvring also involves

1886-474: The original fourth generation. Such capabilities may include advanced sensor integration, AESA radar, supercruise capability, supermaneuverability , broad multi-role capability, and reduced radar cross-section. The 4.5-generation fighters have introduced integrated IRST systems, such as the Dassault Rafale featuring the optronique secteur frontal integrated IRST. The Eurofighter Typhoon introduced

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1932-542: The present, and represents design concepts of the 1970s. Fourth-generation designs are heavily influenced by lessons learned from the previous generation of combat aircraft. Third-generation fighters were often designed primarily as interceptors , being built around speed and air-to-air missiles . While exceptionally fast in a straight line, many third-generation fighters severely lacked in maneuverability, as doctrine held that traditional dogfighting would be impossible at supersonic speeds. In practice, air-to-air missiles of

1978-447: The tendency to remain in its current attitude, opposes the pilot's efforts to maneuver. An aircraft with negative static stability, though, in the absence of control input, will readily deviate from level and controlled flight. An unstable aircraft can therefore be made more maneuverable. Such a 4th generation aircraft requires a computerized FBW flight control system (FLCS) to maintain its desired flight path. Some late derivatives of

2024-429: The time, despite being responsible for the vast majority of air-to-air victories, were relatively unreliable, and combat would quickly become subsonic and close-range. This would leave third-generation fighters vulnerable and ill-equipped, renewing an interest in manoeuvrability for the fourth generation of fighters. Meanwhile, the growing costs of military aircraft in general and the demonstrated success of aircraft such as

2070-573: The trainer version) during the Singapore evaluation. Avionics can often be swapped out as new technologies become available; they are often upgraded over the lifetime of an aircraft. For example, the F-15C Eagle, first produced in 1978, has received upgrades in 2007 such as AESA radar and joint helmet-mounted cueing system , and is scheduled to receive a 2040C upgrade to keep it in service until 2040. The primary sensor for all modern fighters

2116-538: Was the Sukhoi Su-27 , the first aircraft to publicly display thrust vectoring in pitch. Combined with a thrust-to-weight ratio above unity, this enabled it to maintain near-zero airspeed at high angles of attack without stalling, and perform novel aerobatics such as Pugachev's Cobra . The three-dimensional TVC nozzles of the Sukhoi Su-30MKI are mounted 32° outward to the longitudinal engine axis (i.e. in

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