TOP 10 MODERN FIGHTER AIRCRAFTS

10- J-10

The J-10 adopts a “tailless delta-canard” aerodynamic layout, which was originally developed for the cancelled J-9 fighter. The aircraft has the horizontal control surfaces moved forward to become a canard in front of the wing. When the aircraft pitches up, instead of forcing the tail down decreasing overall lift, the canard lifts the nose, increasing the overall lift. Because the canard is picking up the fresh air stream instead of the wake behind the main wing, the aircraft can achieve better control authority with a smaller-size control surface, thus resulting in less drag and less weight.

Crew: One (J-10); Two (J-10S)

Powerplant: 1X Russian Salyut AL-31FN turbofan

Thrust (dry): 76.2kN (7,770kg, 17,130 lb)

Thrust (afterburning): 122.55kN (12,500kg, 27,557 lb)

In-flight refuelling: Yes

Weapon: 23mm single-barrel cannon

External Hardpoints: 11 (five under the fuselage centerline; six under the wings)

9- Mig-35

Based on the MiG-29M OTV, MiG-35 (Nato reporting name Fulcrum F), is equipped with advanced avionic suite comprising of a modern glass cockpit designed with three 6x8 inch flat-panel LCDs and full HOTAS controls, digital map, helmet-mounted sight. The latest Zhuk-AE active electronically scanning array (AESA) radar is mounted on this aircraft. This radar was developed with modular approach, enabling upgrading existing Zhuk ME/MSE radars, into the phased array equipped MFE/MSFE standard, deployed in MiG-29/Su-27 platforms.

MiG-35 uses an integral aerial refuelling probe, which is required as 'must have' for the Indian MRCA program.The MiG-35 is fitted with western standard Mil-1553 bus and advanced Russian made weaponry. Reliability and serviceability have been improved, reducing operating cost and improving serviceability by 2.5 times (compared to older MiG-29s). MiG-35 is The MiG-35 has a 'glass cockpit' based on Russian avionics or western systems (mostly French).equipped with an optronic target tracker, identical to the system used on the Su-30MKI. For precision air-to-ground attack missions, the aircraft can be equipped with a conformal electro-optical targeting module, installed under the right air intake. The aircraft is equipped with radar warning, electro-optical missile launch warning and laser warning sensors, and integral active self protection (jamming, chaff and flare) as part of the integral self-defense system. The aircraft has four additional hardpoints and can haul an external payload in excess of six tons.

8- Typhoon

The cockpit (available in single- or twin-seat configurations) is situated forward in the fuselage design, aft of the radar-housing nose cone assembly. The pilot(s) sit (s) under a two-piece canopy offering up excellent views from within the cockpit. The canopy consists of the forward fixed windscreen and the main component which, itself, is hinged at the rear. The contoured fuselage sports small side-mounted strakes near the cockpit and all-moving canard foreplanes. The strakes serve to move stagnant air generated by the canard foreplanes. As the Typhoon is an inherently unstable platform (her center of gravity is located aft of center itself), the canards play a crucial role in various aerodynamic aspects of the aircrafts flight envelope including pitch control. Canard foreplanes allow for improved turning and can improved total drag/lift during landing and take-off while providing greater agility at speed. Their forward position in the design also allows them to be of reduced drag as opposed to rear-mounted tail planes found in traditional fighter designs.

The main wing assemblies are of a delta wing design featuring extensive sweep along the leading edge and little to no sweep along the straight trailing edge. Construction includes carbon-fiber composite rib and spars with metal only used along the weapon hardpoints. Up to 70% of the Typhoon's construction revolves around use of carbon-fiber composites, titanium and aluminum-lithium. Control surfaces are fitted to both the leading and trailing edges. Control is aided by trailing edge flaperons which accomplish the combined tasks of conventional flaps, elevators and ailerons and are further aided by the canard foreplanes. An airbrake is fitted to the ventral side while leading-edge flaps help in landing. The delta wing design approach also allows for multiple external underwing and underfuselage hardpoints and number thirteen in the Typhoon. Jammer pods are ingeniously contained at the clipped wingtips so no ordnance is used at those areas. The Typhoon makes use of basic stealth design features including implementation of a small radar cross section. Some areas of the aircraft are coated over in special materials to absorb incoming radar waves. The radar system itself diffuses its own signals to an extent.

7 - Gripen NG

The JAS 39 Gripen is a fourth-generation fighter manufactured by Swedish company Saab. Designed as a swing-role type capable of performing multiple missions, the Gripen entered service with the Swedish air force in 1995, replacing its Saab Drakens and Viggens.

Powered by a single Volvo Aero RM12 afterburning turbofan based on the General Electric F404, the Gripen is capable of speeds of up to Mach 2 and has a maximum range of 2,800km (1,510nm).

Weapon options include a 27mm Mauser internal cannon, Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles and Raytheon Paveway II laser-guided bombs. The aircraft is also being used to support the development of MBDA's Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile.

To date 236 Gripens have been ordered, with the Swedish air force to receive the vast majority, at 204 aircraft. Export customers are the Czech Republic (14), Hungary (14), South Africa (26) and Thailand (12), with some of their aircraft being remanufactured Swedish JAS 39s. The UK’s Empire Test Pilots' School also uses the Gripen for undergraduate training under an arrangement with Saab.

6- Rafale

Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance, and high-accuracy strike or nuclear strike deterrence.

The aircraft has been developed for the French Air Force and Navy. 61 aircraft were ordered (36 for the air force and 25 for the navy).

The Rafale M entered service in 2001, and ten aircraft are operational on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

Rafale B and C entered service with the French Air Force in June 2006, when the first squadron was established. The second air force squadron was set up in 2008.

Navy Rafale F1 standard fighters have air-to-air capability. Deliveries to the navy of the F2 standard, with air-to-ground missiles, began in May 2006 and 17 were delivered in May 2008. F1 aircraft are to be upgraded.

A €3.1bn ($3.89bn) contract to develop the fully capable F3 standard aircraft was awarded to Dassault Aviation (€1.5bn), Snecma (€600mn), Thales (€500mn) and other French defence contractors by French Ministry of Defence in February 2004. An order for 59 F3 aircraft, 47 for the air force (11 two-seat and 36 single-seat) and 12 (single-seat) for the navy, was placed in December 2004. The Rafale F3 was certified in July 2008 and will be delivered from 2009. The first squadron of 20 aircraft will be in service by the end of 2009. The contract also includes the upgrade of Rafale F2 aircraft.

5- F-18

The F/A-18 is in service with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the air forces of Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Finland, Switzerland, and Malaysia. As of May 1999 Hornet pilots had accumulated more than 3.7 million flight hours and, in the process, are establishing new records daily in safety, reliability, maintainability and mission performance.

A key aspect of the Hornet's popularity with pilots is the ease with which the aircraft can be converted from fighter to strike mode and back again; it's as easy as flipping a switch. During Operation Desert Storm, F/A-18s routinely performed fighter and strike missions on the same sortie. Fulfilling a variety of roles-air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close air support, and day and night strike missions-the F/A-18 has proven to be the most versatile combat aircraft in service.

4- Su-30 /35

The Sukhoi Su-30M is a multi-role two-seater fighter, broadly comparable to the American F-15E. The Su-30MK is the export version of the aircraft. The fighter is a development of the Su-27 (Flanker) family, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau of Moscow and is manufactured by the Irkut Corporation.

The aircraft is equipped with similar avionics and thrust vectoring as the Su-37, for superior combat agility and manoeuvrability. The aircraft is armed with precision anti-surface missiles and has a stand-off launch range of 120km.

The Indian Air Force ordered 40 aircraft in 1996 and an additional ten aircraft in 1998. 18 Su-30K have been delivered which will be upgraded to MKI standard, starting in 2006.

"The Sukhoi Su-30M is a multi-role two-seater fighter, broadly comparable to the American

F-15E."

3- F-35

The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter integrates advanced very low observable stealth into a supersonic, highly agile 5th generation fighter that provides the pilot with unprecedented situational awareness and unmatched lethality and survivability. With its host of next-generation technologies and unprecedented capabilities, the F-35 is the world’s most advanced multirole fighter.

*Performs as a first-day-of-the-war fighter

*Dominates all adversaries in the air or on the surface

*Has the ability to survive and prosecute the most formidable threats expected to emerge beyond 2020

*Conducts air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions simultaneously

*Incorporates the most powerful and comprehensive sensor and mission avionics package ever to fly in a fighter

2 -T-50

Development of Russia's LFI (logkiy frontovoi istrebitel) lightweight tactical fighter has been dramatically accelerated after the Russian Air Force decided its priorities for the next 10 years. Revealed here exclusively as the I-2000 (Istrebitel {fighter} 2000) project, the aircraft is due to become operational in 2005 as Russia's basic front-line fighter. It is also likely to become the leading export product of the Russian aircraft industry. Available information on the I-2000 indicates that it will be closely comparable to the US Joint Strike Fighter, operating in both the air-to-air and air-to-surface roles.

The aircraft comes from a long line of Mikoyan lightweight fighters, such as the MiG-15 and MiG-21. It is about the same size as the MiG-21 (shorter by 1.3m but wider by 4.5m), but noticeably smaller than its immediate predecessor, the MiG-29. Take-off weight is estimated at around 12 tonnes; maximum take-off weight at about 16 tonnes.

1 -F-22

The F-22A Raptor advanced tactical fighter entered service with the US Air Force in December 2005. The USAF requirement is for a fighter to replace the F-15, with emphasis on agility, stealth and range.

Developed at Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the F-22A Raptor is a supersonic, dual-engine fighter jet, which has won the 2006 Robert J Collier Trophy from the American National Aeronautic Association (NAA).

In April 2009, production of the F-22 fighter jet was officially terminated when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Pentagon would end the Lockheed-run F-22 programme and increase the production of the joint strike fighter. The availability of the cheaper and more-versatile F-35 fighter aircraft has resulted in production ceasing on the F-22 fighter jet