Ching-Kuo Fighter Plane

The Taiwanese Ching-Kuo Fighter is developed and manufactured by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation based in Taichung. The aircraft is also referred to as the Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF). The Ching-Kuo is an all-weather, multi-role fighter and is built in one-seater and two-seater configurations.

The programme to develop the aircraft, known as the An Hsiang or Safe Flight programme, started in 1982 with identification of the requirements for an air-superiority fighter. The rollout ceremony of the first prototype took place in December 1988, when the aircraft was named after the lat

F/A-18 Hornet

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. The F/A-18 was derived from the YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, since 1986.

Aerospatiale / Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin

The HH-65 Dolphin search and rescue helicopter is solely in service with the United States Coast Guard.

The HH-65 Dolphin replaced the Sikorsky HH-52A Sea Guards then in service with the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The HH-65 is based on the French-made Eurocopter Dauphin (AS 365N) and carries the same - albeit translated - naming designation and primarily serves as a dedicated rescue helicopter noted by its formal classification of Short Range Recovery (SRR) helicopter. Despite its origins in the French-made Aerospatiale/Eurocopter system, the HH-65 Dolphin is produced in the United States by American Eurocopter, Textron Lycoming (turboshaft engines) and Rockwell Collins (electronics). First flight was achieved in 1980 and the system was introduce in whole by 1985. It maintains an active service standing in the USCG with some 102 total Dolphins making up the Coast Guard HH-65 force.

Design-wise, the HH-65 shares many of the same characteristics of her French-sister, the Eurocopter Dauphin. Her design in characterized by her low-set forward cockpit showcasing a smallish pointed nose assembly and a shrouded Fenestron tail section. The undercarriage is fully retractable and is made up of two single-wheeled main landing gears and a double-wheeled nose gear. Engines are mounted hit and above the crew cabin about midway on the design. The body integrates smoothly into a finely contoured empennage that fits a single vertical tail fin (above the Fenestron shroud) and a horizontal tailpane situated.

Power is derived from twin Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG turboshaft engines delivering up to 934 shaft horsepower and driving a corrosion-resistant composite four-bladed main rotor. Maximum speed tops 184 miles per hour with a range of 409 miles and a service ceiling of 15,000 feet. The Dolphin sports an empty weight of approximately 6,333lbs and a maximum take-off weight of up to 9,480lbs. Like the main rotor blades, the fuselage and rotor head are both constructed of corrosion-resistant materials for operations over the salty ocean. In fact, this type of composite construction makes up some 75% of the helicopter design.

Crew accommodations onboard a typical HH-65 model include the pilot, co-pilot, flight mechanic/flight engineer and rescue swimmer. Visibility is rated an excellent thanks to heavy use of glazing in the forward, side and top portions of the cockpit. The flight mechanic is afforded a chair which can slide on rails from one cabin side to the other as needed. The original Dolphin paint design featured a red, white and black scheme but this has since been changed to an overall red (still maintaining the black nose and exhaust sections) for easy visual marking from icebreaker vessels. The change in color has also cut off three days to the overhaul time needed for the aircraft.

The Dolphin maintains a distinct operating capability that allows its autopilot system to bring the aircraft to a hover or fly a designated flight pattern without the need for pilot intervention. This obviously frees up the pilots to other mission matters, particularly when having to visibly scan the surface of the ocean for persons or vessels. Deployment for Dolphins usually originates at land bases but Coast Guard Cutters are designed to take on the type.

The HH-65 has since been spawned into four major versions. The initial production model entered service in 1985 as the HH-65A, fitting twin LTS101-750B-2 series turboshaft engines of 735 shaft horsepower each. This was followed in 2001 by the upgraded HH-65B model with its revised avionics suite, twin global positioning integrated systems and two cockpit-mounted multi-function flat displays. If there was a drawback to the Dolphin system up to now, it lay in her Lycoming-brand engines, forcing the USCG to look through other powerplant options available.

The HH-65C's were essentially A and B production models fitted with twin the French-made Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG turboshaft engines of 934 shaft horsepower each. These powerplants were already proven components of the Eurocopter EC155 series and marked an improvement in both efficiency and reliability over the original set of American-made Lycoming (now Honeywell) LTS101-750B-2 turboshafts. Other changes to this model included new gearboxes for main rotor and tail, an 11-blade Fenestron tail rotor, an increase to its MTOW (Maximum Take-Off Weight) and a lengthened nose of new equipment. The first post-conversion C-models were made available in late 2004. A- and B-model Dolphins were retrofitted with the new Turbomeca Arriel 2C2-CG turboshafts and brought up to C-model standard, taking on the designation of HH-65C as well.

The MH-65C is a derivative of the HH-61C with an improved transmission, digital autopilot, revised avionics, increase fuel capacity, increased MTOW and a new 10-bladed tail rotor featuring noise reduction. The MH-65C has been used by the US Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) "Force from Above" armed helicopters. Based out of Jacksonville and operating with the Department of Homeland Security, these Dolphins are armed aircraft charged with conducting "Airborne Use of Force" sorties in high drug trafficking areas as well as to counter general security threats in American waters. To compliment this new-found role, the MH-65C's utilized by HITRON field a 7.62mm M240B general purpose machine gun and a 12.7mm Barrett M107CQ anti-materiel rifle. HITRON Dolphins are also used to guide their accompanying "Over The Horizon Cutter Boats" (OTHCB) to the scene of a given crime for possible interception and/or apprehension. MH-65C "HITRON" Dolphins began operations in 2008.

Other Dolphin mission parameters include working in conjunction with icebreakers, environmental management and special passenger transport.

As of this writing, the United States Coast Guard is the sole operator of the HH-65 Dolphin series. HH-65's are stationed in Alabama, New Jersey, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Texas, California, Alaska, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, Georgia, Michigan and Florida covering some 17 total cities within these states. The HH-65 Dolphin is one of the few American operational helicopters to make use of the French-designed Fenestron shrouded tail rotors. This shrouded style of tail rotor is proven to provide better stability when encountering crosswinds while using less power when in a hover. On the other hand, Fenestron tail rotors have proven expensive and heavier than traditional open-mounts while at the same time using more fuel.

Due to its high use of composite materials throughout its construction, the HH-65 sometimes takes on the nicknames of "Tupperwolf" or "Plastic Puppy".

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (Stealth Bomber)

Jack Northrops dream of the flying wing was finally realized in the B-2 Spirit.

The B-2 Spirit (generically known as the "Stealth Bomber") was the pinnacle of tail-less flight designs beginning in the mind of Jack Northrop, founder of the Northrop aircraft company. Not only was the B-2 groundbreaking in its sans vertical tail surfaces concept but the aircraft was designed from the outset with stealth capabilities in mind - from a small heat signature and profile to specialized avionics and body-coating materials. In essence, the mission of the B-2 would be to infiltrate enemy airspace, hitting vital targets against an unsuspecting enemy, and then leaving the area undetected - allowing for further waves of non-stealth aircraft to finish the job. This first-strike capability had become an essential facet of warfare in the 21st century and - as shown in the war in Kosovo through Allied Force - the B-2 would not disappoint.

Developed as early as the 1970's the B-2 was not unveiled until 1988. It would be 1989 before the system would see its first flight time and from there on, the Spirit would be tabbed with succeeding the Rockwell B-1B Lancer. Armed with a potent APQ-181 radar, the B-2 Spirit is capable of pin-point strikes on most any hardened target available such as underground bunkers.

From above, the B-2's body design is high prevalent in the use of the double-W shape. Vertical tail surfaces are non-existent and the large delta wing shape provides maximum stability. Maneuverability is made possible by the use of computer-controlled flight characteristics that were hard to come by on Northrop's earlier flying wing attempts. This measure of ability is not to be underscored as the basic flying wing design presents many stability issues that had to be ironed out before the flying wing concept could be realized. To put the importance of this advancement into context, the previous flying wing attempts of Northrop had a deadly tendency to stall and - in one case - killing the crew. The internal systems of the B-2 reportedly do not let the aircraft stall, thus eliminating any piloting mistakes that could lead to a disastrous loss of the aircraft and its sensitive flight technology.

The wind-tunnel friendly profile of the B-2 shows off the low-profile design. Engines are housed in blended nacelles on either side of the equally-blended cockpit. A crew of two personnel can man the machine - a pilot and co-pilot - taking turns at flying the aircraft on longer missions. An in-air lavatory has also been installed just behind the cockpit for such missions. Sleeping for the crew can also be accomplished in a designated area. The large wing area of flying wings serves many beneficial purposes to the overall design. Additional fuel can be stored throughout the design and - more importantly - internal weapons bays allows for munitions to be held inside thus further reducing the radar signature of the Spirit.

With 132 B-2 Spirits initially planned for production, ballooning costs (the B-2 program cost well over $45 billion dollars to fund with a single B-2 costing about $1.2 billion dollars) and the end of the Cold War substantially reduced those figures to just 21. This end production total also included the 6 developmental B-2 aircraft which were later all upgraded to full operational use. Full air groups were formed in 1999, with the last B-2 delivered from the production lines in 1998.

The B-2 saw its first action in the war over Kosovo in 1999 as well as over Afghanistan in 2001 with pinpoint strikes using JDAMs and GPS-guided munitions. Missions were flown from locations within the United States (Missouri is the home state of the B-2 flight group) via inflight refueling. To that end, the B-2 became the realization that Jack Northrop saw with the XB-35 prop-powered flying wing all those years ago. Mr. Northrop himself was able to see the B-2 under development in its still-classified form shortly before his death. Today the B-2 - though limited in operational numbers - provides the United States with a lethal first-strike / first-kill capability unmatched throughout the world.

On February 22, 2008, the first reported accident of a stealth bomber was reported when a B-2 Spirit crashed shortly after takeoff in Guam while on support of western-Pacific operations. Both pilots ejected safely but the incident resulted in the grounding of the other three B-2's present at the airbase. Investigation revealed that humidity had built up on several of the B-2's sensors, distorting pre-flight checks leading to the accident.

Dassault Rafale

The Dassault Rafale had already reached development by the time the Dassault Mirage 2000 reached operational status.

The Dassault Rafale, when released into operational service in the late 1990's, was the pinnacle of French aircraft engineering. The system incorporated the latest in fly-by-wire technology, composite materials and aerodynamic design to compliment the broad array of roles required of any fighter in any military force.

The Dassault Rafale was already on the drawing boards even as the Dassault Mirage 2000 (detailed elsewhere on this site) was being designed and produced. With France initially a part of the Eurofighter Typhoon conglomeration, the Rafale development was put into high gear when France withdrew from the program. The Rafale would become possibly the best Dassault fighter ever produced and step forward as the next generation in French aircraft design.

The twin-engine fighter was fitted with the popular and successful SNECMA turbofan generating a combined thrust of nearly 20,000lbs with afterburn capability. The delta wing design that popularized the early Dassault aircraft was back, this time complimented by the addition of two small forward-mounted canard planes. The addition of these minor surfaces added greatly to the agility of the machine as a whole, coupled with the already impressive lift and drag generated by the overall design.

The Rafale has come in three flavors - a true air defense variant, a two-seat multi-role strike fighter / conversion trainer and a single-seat naval fighter variant with the appropriate designations of "C", "B" and "M" respectively. The M navy variant was selected to replace the past-prime Vought F-8 Crusaders that saw combat action in United States hands as late as the Vietnam Conflict. The two-seat B strike model represents the ultimate in the Rafale series as that particular system adds the power of ground strike capability augmented by the nearly 18,000lbs of stores that the aircraft can handle.

The fuselage material construction is made up of specialized composites to assist the aircraft in maintaining the smallest of radar signatures. In a way, the system represents the first French attempt as stealth technology with this kind of focus. A mixture of carbon and Kevlar components are said to make up the finish throughout the surface of the aircraft. Titanium and aluminum-lithium are also reported to have been used in construction.

As it stands, the Rafale will see service with French forces for years to come. Modernization programs and software system upgrades will no doubt prolong the aircrafts lifespan - considering it now makes up both the frontline fighter of the air force and the navy, the system should do quite well for itself.

McDonnell Douglas EA-18G Growler

The EA-18G Growler is based on the airframe of the F/A-18F Super Hornet carrier strike fighter.

An electronic attack version of the F/A-18F, the EA-18G Growler will replace EA-6B Prowlers in service with the US Navy. An F/A-18F "F-1" was re-fitted with ALQ-99 electronic-warfare system, and successfully completed an initial flight demonstration of the EA-18 Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) concept aircraft flight on 15 November 2001.

Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon / Vanguard

The J-10 fighter program was denied up until early 2007 though the program may have been around as long as the late 1970s.

Sorry, but there are no production history notes available for this entry at this time.