The standard of the fourth generation fighter is usually called 4S standard, because the English words of these four standards all start with S, that is,
Super maneuverability
supersonic cruise
sneaky
Advanced avionics for combat awareness and effectiveness.
Translated into Chinese, it means "super maneuverability", "supersonic cruise" (some translations are supersonic cruise without afterburner, which is actually redundant, because the cruising state of fighter planes generally does not need afterburner, and afterburner is generally used for air combat sprint and other tasks), "stealth capability" and "aircraft with advanced campaign awareness and efficiency" (literal translation).
There are some advanced aviation translations of combat awareness and combat effectiveness in China, such as "high maintenance" and "over-the-horizon strike". According to the official document of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of F-22 (/data/assets/corporate/press-kit/F-22-booklet.pdf), it is more likely to be interpreted as "high information superiority", that is, "network centric warfare". That is, fighter becomes a node of network-centric warfare, sharing operational information with other combat units, so that fighter pilots can fully understand their own environment. Regarding the translation into "over-the-horizon air combat", some netizens questioned why BVR could not be translated into over-the-horizon air combat. "BVR", literally translated as over-the-horizon, is the capability that some second-generation fighters (such as F-4E) and third-generation fighters already have, but due to technical reasons such as radar and other supporting software, BVR capability cannot be put into practical use. For example, F 15 uses long-range air-to-air missiles, and the preparation time for out-of-sight attacks is very short. Once the opponent's fighter plane approaches to avoid the first over-the-horizon attack, it will enter the medium and short range, and even air-to-air combat is often needed to decide the outcome. BVR is just a literal description. In the era of the third generation aircraft, BVR can only show that it meets the requirements in air-to-air missile technology, but for fighters, it is far from entering the era of over-the-horizon attack. Compared with the "advanced" idea of BVR capability of the second generation aircraft, the third generation aircraft returned to focus on the medium and short range air-to-air combat capability, and the principle of energy maneuver (that is, an important symbol to distinguish the standards of the second generation aircraft from the third generation aircraft) was born. The literal translation of superior avionics for combat awareness and effectiveness is "aircraft with advanced combat awareness and effectiveness" According to Loma's tendentious explanation, it can be translated into battlefield perception ability in the case of network-centric warfare, that is, "after getting rid of enemy planes for many times, entering the line-of-sight range, using the perception ability of network-centric warfare to use over-the-horizon strikes for many times."
Therefore, the outstanding aviation in terms of combat awareness and effectiveness can be simply explained as "practical over-the-horizon strike capability". Considering that most of the third generation machines only have simple BVR function, it is impossible to make over-the-horizon strike really used in actual combat, and it is also possible to convert it into over-the-horizon strike capability.
As for STOL, that is, short takeoff and landing, this is a special requirement for a certain type of aircraft, such as F/A-35, not for all fourth-generation fighters, so it cannot be used as one of the standards of 4S.
The fourth generation advanced multi-function fighter has both combat and penetration capabilities, which makes its attack range unprecedented and can strike all-depth targets in war.
The representative models of the fourth generation advanced fighters are American ATF, American F-22 Raptor and F35 Lightning. Russian S-37 "Golden Eagle" (SU47) and MIG I.44, etc. However, with the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Russia's national strength is weak, and the new generation fighter project is tense and slow. While F22 and F35 have been in service or will soon be in service.
Excellent performance must be supported by advanced aircraft design and production technology. However, from the birth of the first aircraft at the beginning of this century to the fourth generation aircraft, all departments of aircraft design, whether it is aircraft engine, fire control system or aircraft overall design, have reached the peak of their respective technologies due to the limitations of the world's advanced technology. If we want to make technological breakthroughs in their respective local fields and improve the performance of the aircraft, it is not only costly, but also costly. In view of this situation, the masters of aircraft design all over the world have to give up the technical breakthrough temporarily and seek another innovation-the change of design ideas. Therefore, the aircraft design method based on flight/propulsion/fire control integration came into being, which is the aircraft.
Integrated design technology, including the most advanced pneumatic control technology-thrust vector technology. Representative aircraft and fighter generation are divided according to the western fighter generation method.
1: subsonic fighter (jet revolution)-representative models: American F86, Soviet MIG 15, China 歼 5 (imitation of former Soviet MIG 15), etc.
The judgment basis of the first generation fighters: jet and subsonic. Since then, the propeller era of fighter aircraft has entered the jet era, which is called the "jet revolution" of fighter aircraft.
2. Fighters that emphasize supersonic performance (supersonic revolution)-representative models: F4 and F5 of the United States, MIG 2/KOOC-0/of the Soviet Union, MIG 25 (the peak of the second generation), and J-7 of China (the imitation of MIG 2/KOOC-0/of the former Soviet Union).
The judgment basis of the second generation fighter: the speed of the fighter exceeds the speed of sound for the first time, and it is emphasized that the faster the speed, the stronger the fighter (non-energy maneuvering principle design), which is called the "supersonic revolution" of the fighter in history.
3. Multi-purpose supersonic fighter (energy maneuvering revolution) emphasizing medium and close air combat and air-to-air combat-representative models: American F 15, F 16, F 14, F 18, Soviet MIG -29, Soviet -27, and Soviet-made MIG-29.
The judgment basis of the third generation fighter: supersonic multi-role fighter designed according to the principle of energy maneuver. Regarding the principle of energy maneuver, few people in Baidu answered what the third generation fighter is, which is a fighter designed by using the principle of energy maneuver. During the Vietnam War, the US Air Force found that its F4 was faster than MIG -2 1, but it was shot down by MIG -2 1 many times, and it was difficult to escape even under unfavorable circumstances. Why is this? . Some retired pilots of the old air force cooperated with scientists and discovered the "principle of energy maneuver", the specific meaning of which is more complicated. I won't say much here. The principle of energy maneuver means that the fighter with the greatest kinetic energy and potential energy is likely to win in air combat. These people combined the amazing findings of all fighter fighting cases since World War II and reasonably explained the trade-off between fighter speed and fighter height. They put forward the principle of energy maneuver contrary to Dan's theory, pointing out that speed is not the first requirement for designing fighters in the future. The better the principle of combined energy maneuver is for all the performance of aircraft, they are also called "fighter mafia" by people who didn't understand their behavior at that time. But after F 15 was made, it was a blockbuster. F 15 is the first fighter plane that conforms to the principle of energy maneuver, and it was subsequently put into service. F 16 is the first fighter made after accurate calculation according to the principle of energy maneuver. Since then, the US Air Force has entered the third generation aircraft era, and it took the former Soviet Union almost ten years to understand the principle of energy maneuver. Then Su -27 and MiG -29. There is a controversy here, that is, F 14. Some people think that F 14 does not conform to the design principle of energy maneuver, but we still count it as the third generation fighter, because the "fighter mafia" was arguing with officials at that time, and the variable swept wing of F 14 provided an opportunity to correct the principle of energy maneuver, so it was still considered as the third generation fighter. History calls it the "energy maneuver revolution" of fighter planes.
4. Multi-purpose supersonic fighter with 4S standard, such as stealth performance-representative models: American F22 Raptor and F35 Lightning, and Russian Soviet 47(S37) Golden Eagle fighter.
The judgment basis of the fourth generation fighter is 4S, so I won't say more. History calls it the "invisible revolution" of fighter planes.
Soviet/Russian fighter planes are divided into the third generation by dividing the MIG -23 with variable swept wings and the American F-11.The division method of the first two generations is the same as that of the West. The general differences between the first generation, the second generation, the third generation and the fourth generation fighters are now divided into three methods: Russian method, new American method and westernization method. However, it is generally accepted that the western substitution method is adopted, and I will only introduce the western substitution method here.
The first generation: American F- 100, Soviet MIG-19, France is super mysterious. The main features are the use of jet engines with large swept wings and afterburner, simple photoelectric and radar sights, machine guns and rockets as the main weapons, and later the first generation of air-to-air missiles, with the maximum horizontal flight speed of 1.3 ~ 1.5 Mach. This generation, as a transition between the first generation of jet fighters and M2 class fighters, has not served for a long time.
The second generation: American F-4, F- 104, Soviet MIG -2 1, MIG -23, French Mirage III. The main feature is a new turbojet engine or turbofan engine with large thrust, and monopulse radar or monopulse plus continuous wave radar is widely used, with aircraft guns and second-generation air-to-air missiles as the main weapons. The maximum horizontal flight speed is M2, the thrust weight is relatively high, and the flight performance at middle and high altitude is good. Among them, MIG -23 and other variable swept-wing fighters were listed as single-generation fighters by the Soviet Union, while the West still considered them as second-generation fighters.
The third generation: American F- 15, F- 16, F/A- 18, Soviet MIG -29, Soviet Su -27, French Mirage 2000. The main features are turbofan engine with thrust-to-weight ratio of 8, omni-directional all-weather fire control system, fly-by-wire control system and advanced pneumatic layout. The weapons are mainly air-to-air missiles, supplemented by cannons. The maximum flight speed and altitude are similar to those of the second generation. The subsonic and transonic maneuverability in the middle and low altitude is outstanding, and it has the ability of over-the-horizon combat and shooting down.
The fourth generation: American F-22, F-35 and Russian Su -47. Its main features are outstanding stealth performance, supersonic cruise capability, extraordinary maneuverability and agility, short-range take-off and landing capability (or all-environment combat capability), referred to as 4S. The turbofan engine with thrust-to-weight ratio 10, phased array fire control radar, stealth technology and thrust vector technology are adopted, and the air-to-air missile that "doesn't matter after launch" is the main weapon.