Lock On Modern Air Combat Aircraft

Ac notesA-10-C Thunderbolt II

Ac notesThe "Soviet Super Fighter" is what we called it in the 1980's.

Ac notesThe Hornet was conceived from the word go as a dual-role aircraft, hence the designation F/A-18, which means Fighter-Attack. It was meant to supplement the role of the F-14 Tomcat, providing shorter range Air defense and to totally replace the A-7 Corsair and A-6 Intruder.

Ac notesLike many flight sim fans, my love affair with the Wobbly Goblin began in 1988 with F-19 Stealth Fighter on my Atari ST.

Ac notesStarting this beast up and watching the Engine indicators - count them! - come to life is fun. Landing it is even more fun!

Ac notesFrom the 1980’s the Panavia Tornado was a staple of the UK, German and Italian airforces and along with the F-111 and B-1B dominated the low-level high speed interdiction bombing role for decades. There were also air defense variants. At the time it boasted the most sophisticated bomber / navigator station in service, the seat being dominated by 3 large cathode ray tubes. The flight plans were loaded via cassette tape and the Terrain Following Radar (TFR) enabled it to fly super-sonic at night and at altitudes down to 50 feet, a performance metric which is hard to match even in the 2020’s.

Ac notesPremiere US helicopter gunship.

Ac notes"The 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946." - Wikipedia

Ac notesFirst brought to the collective attention of the west in the 1972 defection of Lt. Victor Belenko to Hakodate, Japan and subsequently immortalised as the basis for the wildly successful novel and movie "Firefox", the MiG-25 was an integral part of Eastern Bloc air defence during the Cold War. With it’s Mach 2 plus and edge-of-space capabilities it was specifically designed to counter the reconnaissance threats posed by the U-2 and later the SR-71 Blackbird, a role it fulfilled for several decades..

Ac notesNavalised Su-25

Ac notesBeing the fastest prop aircraft in the world and having an extraordinarily long range makes the Tu-142 the ideal choice for a weekend away!

Ac notesLargest helicopter to have gone into serial production. Wikipedia

Ac notes"Black Shark" Soviet single-seat attack helicopter... coaxial rotor system- Wikipedia