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WWII: 1945-1953 1954-1960 1960-1970 1970-1990 1990-Present Future

F4 PHANTOM

Developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas for the United States Navy.   The Phantom is a long range
two seat supersonic fighter bomber, and has all-weather capability.    During the Viet nam war, the F-4 was the
primary air superiority fighter used by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marines.   Shortly after its introduction the
Phantom set numerous world records, including top speed (1606 mph) and altitude (98,557 feet).    The biggest
advantage the Phantom had in combat was sheer thrust, allowing it to engage and disengage almost at will.
The biggest disadvantage was arguably the lack of a cannon, until finally being added to the fuselage in the F4-E
model.  

Armament:   1 x 20 mm M61 Vulcan Cannon
                    4 x AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, 4 x AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.
                    Up to 18,60lbs of bombs and pods on hard points.  
Engines:       2 x Genteral Electric J79 turbojet.
Speed:         1472 mph (2,370 km/h)
Ceiling:        60,000 feet

F-4 Phantom
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F5 FREEDOM FIGHTER  (tiger II)

The F5 was developed and built by Northrop beginning in the 1960's.   The A/B variants were named Freedom
Fighter, while the newer E/F variants were named Tiger II.   The aircraft evolved from the need for a relatively
inexpensive fighter plane for export to less developed nations.    The Tiger has seen more time as a trainer than
a frontline fighter, but has proven to be an excellent platform for agressor school training like Top Gun etc..   

Armament:   2 × 20 mm Pontiac M39A2 cannon.  Up to 7000 lbs of missiles / bombs including:
                     AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, AIM-7 Sparrow, AGM-65 Maverick, AIM-120 AMRAAM.
                     MK82 500 lb bomb, MK84 2000lb bomb, cluster munitions.  
Engines:       2 x General Electric J85 turbojet.
Speed:         1060 mph (1,700 km/h).
Ceiling:        51,800 feet

F-5 Tiger / Freedom Fighter)

 
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F111 AARDVARK

The F-111 was manufactured by General Dynamics as a medium range strategic bomber, reconnaisance and tactical strike aircraft.    All models in U.S. service have been retired since 1996, however the Royal Australian Air Force continues to have F-111's in active service.    The plane has a two man crew seated side by side.     The Aardvark has a swing wing design, and is capable of bringing a large variety of weapons payloads to bear on the enemy.

Armament:   1 x 20 mm cannon. (on some versions)  Various freefall nuclear weapons,
                     AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, General purpose, Laser Guided, Cluster and Runway cratering bombs.  
Engines:        2 x Pratt & Whitney TF-30 Turbofans.
Speed:          1,650 mph (2,655 km/h).
Ceiling:         56,650 feet

F-111 Aardvark

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HAWKER HARRIER

Originally designed and manufactured by Hawker Siddeley, the harrier has been the standalone success story for V/STOL (Vertical / Short take off and landing) aircraft.    It will eventually be replaced by the F35 Lightning.    Ther original versions of the harrier are the GR1 / GR3 / AV8A.    Extensive redesign led to the GR7 / GR9 / AV8B.     The Harriers saw major combat operations during the war for the Falklands islands.    The Royal Navy lost 3 Harriers to enemy ground fire and 3 to operational incidents.   The Harriers were responsible for downing 23 Argentinian aircraft.     

Armament:   2 x 30 mm ADEN cannon pods.  a variety of bombs, AIM-9 missiles on hardpoints.  
Engines:        Rolls Royce Pegasus Turbofan.
Speed:          735 mph (985 km/h).
Ceiling:         49,200 feet

Hawker Harrier

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MIG 23

The MIG 23 was designed to overcome some of the operational shortcoming of the MIG-21, specifically poor radar, limited weapons load and short range, all of which were considerably upgraded in the 23.      The official NATO designation for the MI23 is "FLOGGER", it remains in limited service in some countries to this day.

Armament:   1 x 20mm cannon with 200 round capacity.
                     6 wing and fuselage hardpoints for carrying various configurations of the following missiles:
                     R-23/24 (AA7-Apex)
                     R-60 (AA-8-Aphid)
                     R-27 (AA-10-Alamo)
                     R-73 (AA-11 Archer)
                     R-77 )AA-12 Adder)   
Engines:        1× Khatchaturov R-35-300 afterburning turbojet.
Speed:          Mach 2.35, 2,500 km/h at altitude.
Ceiling:         60,695 feet.

Mig 23

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MIG 25

Designed and built as a Reconnaissance/Bomber and High Speed interceptor, the MIG-25 entered service in 1970.   The MIG-25 was assigned NATO codename "FOXBAT", it was a result of ongoing cold war escalation, the race to MACH 3, and widely believed intended to intercept the SR-71 blackbird which was making regular flights over soviet airspace at the time.  

Armament:   2 x radar-guided R-40R (AA-6 'Acrid') air-to-air missiles.
                     2 x infrared-guided R-40T missiles.   
Engines:        2 x  Tumansky R-15B-300 afterburning turbojets.
Speed:          2,112 mph at 13,000 m (3,255Km/h)
Ceiling:         68,000 feet with missiles. 

Mig 25

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SUKHOI SU-25

The Sukhoi SU-25 is a battlefield close air support and attack aircraft.  Nato codenamed "Frogfoot", the russian built plane is comparable to the A-10 Thunderbolt II in capability and mission.   The SU-25 saw significant combat duty during Russia's conflict in Afghanistan in the 1980's, where 22 were lost.   The frogfoot has a 1 man crew and is capable of carrying an impressive 9,700 lbs (4,400kg) of ordinance to the fight, it remains operation in many countries to present day.   

Armament:   1 x Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2 30mm cannon with 250 rds.
                     Vast array of ground attack ordinance, rockets, cluster munitions, air-to-surface missiles on 11 hardpoints.
Engines:         2 x  Tumansky R-195 turbojets.
Speed:           606mph at 13,000 m (975km/h)
Ceiling:          22,200 feet.

Sukhoi SU-25

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DASSAULT MIRAGE F1

Designed and built by Dassault Aviation of France.   Single seat air superiority fighter, with over 700 produced.
   

Armament:   1 x Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2 30mm cannon with 250 rds.
                     Vast array of ground attack ordinance, rockets, cluster munitions, air-to-surface missiles on 11 hardpoints.
Engines:        2 x  Tumansky R-195 turbojets.
Speed:          606mph at 13,000 m (975km/h)
Ceiling:         22,200 feet.

Dassault Mirage

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