Most fighters up to this point had one engine, but a number of twin-engine fighters were built however they were found to be outmatched against single-engine fighters and were relegated to other tasks, such as night fighters equipped with primitive radar sets.īy the end of the war, turbojet engines were replacing piston engines as the means of propulsion, further increasing aircraft speed. Between the wars, wood was largely replaced in part or whole by metal tubing, and finally aluminum stressed skin structures (monocoque) began to predominate.īy World War II, most fighters were all-metal monoplanes armed with batteries of machine guns or cannons and some were capable of speeds approaching 400 mph (640 km/h). As control of the airspace over armies became increasingly important, all of the major powers developed fighters to support their military operations. Early fighters were very small and lightly armed by later standards, and most were biplanes built with a wooden frame covered with fabric, and a maximum airspeed of about 100 mph (160 km/h).

įighters continued to be developed throughout World War I, to deny enemy aircraft and dirigibles the ability to gather information by reconnaissance over the battlefield. Since World War I, achieving and maintaining air superiority has been considered essential for victory in conventional warfare. Other fighter designs are highly specialized while still filling the main air superiority role, and these include the interceptor, heavy fighter, and night fighter. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers, are designed from the outset for dual roles. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets.

In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. An F-16 Fighting Falcon (left), P-51D Mustang (bottom), F-86 Sabre (top), and F-22 Raptor (right) fly in a formation representing four generations of American fighters.įighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat.

Instal Fighter Jet Air Strike free