1/17/2024 0 Comments Su 75 stealthRussia has a long and storied history of exaggerating or overtly overstating its military capabilities for the sake of media attention: its ventures into the realm of stealth fighters serve as a textbook example of this approach. #4 Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 Felon The worst of the world’s stealth fighters Here’s hoping we never actually see that happen, but based on publicly available information, here’s how these fighters would likely perform, ranked from worst to first. While all three of those groups may have reason to overstate or even understate capabilities, these figures are generally accepted as accurate by the world at large, which makes them a logical basis for comparison.īut while the following analysis will lean heavily on hard, quantifiable figures as they’re reported, it will also delve into the more qualitative things like how technology and tactics coalesce to create capabilities - and because that sort of discussion is, by its very nature, hypothetical - and by extension - somewhat subjective, your list may look a little different from mine.īecause the old football adage “on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team” holds true in a fight just like it does on the gridiron, the real king of the skies can only be crowned in combat. These numbers are reported by national governments, military branches, and aircraft manufacturers. When comparing stealth fighters, most people tend to focus on the “tale of the tape” just like we would when comparing boxers or cage fighters: hard numbers like top speeds, service ceilings, and thrust-to-weight ratios. In order to qualify for this elite fraternity of fighters, a jet must meet these ( generally accepted) criteria: Included on the list are the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon, and the Sukhoi Su-57 Felon. These jets, collectively known as the 5th generation of fighters, combine low-observable designs with advanced data-fusing avionics to offer incredible new capabilities. Today, some 25 years later, only three other jets anywhere in the world have offered capabilities considered close enough to the Raptor to earn a seat at its generational table. This new jet, dubbed the F-22 Raptor, was such a departure from anything that came before it that it defied classification, serving as the basis for an entirely new generation of fighters to come. Introducing the world to 5th generation (stealth) fighters However, after decades of focus on flying higher and faster to defeat enemy air defenses, it was time for a change. But the F-15’s famously massive radar signature ( said to cover some 25 square meters on a radar screen) had placed its dominance into question. Its astonishing air combat record of 104 wins and zero losses had been enough to make any nation think twice about picking a dogfight with Uncle Sam. It blurred the lines between the unusual stealth aircraft the United States was using for attack and bombing missions and the high-performance fighters America relied on for control of the skies.īefore this new aircraft, the F-15 Eagle had previously ruled the roost of America’s air superiority mission. Its wide, angular body looked like it had been ripped right out of the pages of a science fiction story. Which fighter is truly the top dog in the sky? In September 1997, an unusual-looking aircraft - the world’s first truly stealth fighter - left the runway at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Georgia facility. There are only a few real 5th generation stealth fighters out there and are only made by the USA like the F-35 and F-22, Russia, and China.
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