F this and F that, what does it mean?

No, better yet, my dog!

Trying to describe the differences between modern fighters would be like trying to explain the differences between modern cars. Fords ,Chevys, Dodges, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Ferraris and Porsches all do basically the same thing, they get you and your stuff where you want it to go. Its just a question of how you want to get there. So as you can see there is no simple and breif explanation.

http://www.fas.org/man/index.html

go to town

Or...go direct to ... http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/index.html

No, each service does not have each of the fighters in its inventory, most are designed to meet the needs of the individual services. For example, the F-14 is a Navy plane and is therefore built with heavy landing gear to handle the stress of landing on aircraft carriers. That makes it heavier than say, the F-15 which is designed for the Air Force. However, the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is supposed to meet the needs of all the services (all be it through different variants of the vehicle for the AirForce, Navy & Marines...the Army doesn't own fighter planes). Hope that answers your questions.

Now to find a bar of soap for that mind of yours...

Since you asked, here's the deal on Fighters:

F-14...USN
F/A-18A, C, D...USN & USMC
F/A-18 Superhornet...USN (maybe USMC in the future)
F-16...USAF & USN (Top Gun boys at Fallon)
F-15A, B, C, D...USAF
F-15E...USAF
F-22...USAF
F-5E, F...USN
F-117...USAF (although it should be an A-117)

That covers the current US fighters in service...I think

OK, I see the picture. Now that is helpful. I am currently reading the John Grisham book about the airforce and he is focusing on F15s and the new F22. My favorite is the F14 and I was trying to figure why he left it out.

And what makes it even more confusing is that as an example, a F-15C doesn't do the same thing an F-15E does. A "C" is for air superiority and an "E" is primarily for ground attack, though it also has air superiority features.

The F-117 is currently going through a testing phase repainted in grey. The AF is trying to see if it can be used as a daytime fighter a/c. Sorta weird seeing a Nighthawk in the grey on grey scheme.

Wade

Two weeks ago, History channel had an hour on the117. They showed the early days when they were first forming, and it looked like they had a 3 color scheme of tan, and greens. Think there might be some stills or diagrams of that?

Attention Wayne Baker!!!

Ask and ye shall recieve.
Check this out. After you clear a couple of ads you'll see what you want!!!

http://www.jpsmodell.de/dc/shemes/f117fsd1_1.jpg

Enjoy,
Randie

LSU

Prefixes also indicate single or dual seat.
F-16C vs F-16D
F-16A vs F-16B
Follow aphabetical order for time evolution.

I'd like to see that 117 in dual gray scheme... the problem I see with it being a fighter is lack of super-sonic speed... although there have been others that haven't and it's stealth so it could sneak up on intruding aircraft... that would be cool. It would make the flyovers with the B-2 and a pair of 117's make more sense!

There are more problems with using the F-117 as a "fighter" than just its speed. the 'F' designation is was a miss direction when the program started.. hence why slabando mendtioned that it should be A-117. The F-117 has no air-to-air capabilities what so ever. It has no radar or targeting systems designed to handle aerial targets and its visability from the cockpit is very poor compared to most fighters. The gray paint scheme would allow it to conduct day time bombing raids, not combat air patrols... that is the job of the F-22 (or at least it will be). THe original pastel color scheme was intended for night flights, and was actually better than black for night camo.

On the topic of daytime stealth, I mentioned on another thread that Aviation Week had an artical a few years ago on using the B-2 in daylight. With a new paint scheme a B-2 was able to slip between a pair of fighters in the middle of the day a few miles appart and they had no idea it was there. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!

nsclcctl, so other reading if your interested would be Tom Clancy's non-fiction series such as "Carrier", "Marine" and "Fighter Wing" I found them to rather interesting.

Wayne Baker, here's some more...






Fade to Black...

If you read some of the information out there, nightfighter pilots from the Luftwaffe, and the USAAC both say that black is actually not a good color for camoflauge in the dark night sky. Whther it be cloud cover, or a clear night, the black actually stood out against eiether back drops. And that's looking skyward. From above it was no different. Whether flying above sand, foilage or water the black stood out. Supposedly a mixture of greys, bluish greys, and greyish greens is best.
All I can tell you is this...our European I paint schemes on my sqaudrons Pavehawks makes them nearly invisible during the day or night over traditional green foilage.

Didn't mean to misspeak... I didn't even think about the complex air-to-air targeting and such... I guess I mis-understood what wroper11 said.

still think black 117s are awesome!

Well, according to Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide, the F-117 can carry sidewinders, giving it limited air-to-air capabilities. Hardly the stuff of a fighter, however.
Yet, if you replaced the flir/dlir combo with a radar, and upped the engines a bit, you'd get a so-so fighter. Better than nothing, I'd say. But, nothing like the F-22 or F-35.

The F-117 was purpose built to do one thing VERY well.
1) Take two precision guided munitions.
2) Carry them to a high value target which would be usually very well defended
3) Use stealth technology to defeat these threats
4) Hit these targets using mostly passive targeting systems, which also serve to defeat threats
5) Safely return to base to do it all over again

Changing this aircraft into a "fighter" instead of a precision attack/interdication aircraft would not make sense.
If the -117 carried Aim-9's, it could not carry any bombs. It only has two internal hardpoints.

"A jack of all trades is usually a specialist at none"

QUOTE: Originally posted by salbando The F-117 was purpose built to do one thing VERY well. 1) Take two precision guided munitions. 2) Carry them to a high value target which would be usually very well defended 3) Use stealth technology to defeat these threats 4) Hit these targets using mostly passive targeting systems, which also serve to defeat threats 5) Safely return to base to do it all over again

That looks like five things, sal!


Fade to Black...