In the light of recent events vis-à-vis the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the latter’s total inability to defend its sovereign borders, the concept of hard power has come into picture again. Hard power, in military terms, is the strength of a country’s military to defend the country against conventional warfare from a rival country through deterrence or swift counterattack. In contemporary times, one of the most critical components of hard power is a powerful air force which can undertake a swift offensive on a short notice. In this context, the epitome of advanced warfare is fifth-generation fighter jets (equipped with tech developed in the first decade of 21st century) which boasts features such as stealth (less visible to radar, infrared, sonar, etc.), super cruise flight, latest avionics, advanced frameworks, highly integrated computer systems capable of networking with other elements within the battlespace for situation awareness and C3 (command, control and communications) capabilities. Today, there are four fifth-generation in service and several in development and testing phases across air-forces across the world. Here’s a combined list of such 10 fifth-generation jets:
F-22 Raptor Lockheed Martin F-22 is an American stealth aircraft developed for the US Air Force. The jet took its first flight in 1997 and was introduced into service in 2005. It is a single-seater jet which has a length 18.92m, wingspan of 13.56m and a height of 5.08m. The maximum take-off weight is 38,000kg. The maximum speed of the jet is Mach2.25/2412kmph and has a combat range of 850km (185km in cruise-mode). It is powered by twin-Pratt and Whitney F-119-PW-100, each producing a thrust of 116kN. It carried both air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. It boasts AN/APG-77 radar which has a detection range of 201-241km. It also boasts an AN/AAR-56 Missile Launch detector.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American stealth, multi-role combat fighter jet. It took it’s first flight in 2006 and was introduced into service in 2015. The jet has been exported, in different variants, to American NATO allies and partner countries. It is a single seater aircraft. The length of the jet is 51.4m, wingspan is 11m, height is 4.4m. The empty weight of the F-35 is 13,290 kg. The maximum takeoff weight is 31,751 kg. The internal fuel capacity is 8278 kg. The combat range on this fuel is 1239 km. It has a maximum speed of Mach 1.6. It employs single-engine Pratt & Whitney F135 which is the most powerful fighter engine in the world (produces 191 KN of thrust). It is a supersonic fighter even with maximum payload capacity. The F-35 employs AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system. It is a solid-state active electronically scanned array (semiconductor based). There are three variants, F-35A, F-35B and F-35C. The US operates all the three variants. Italy, Japan and South Korea operate the F-35A and F-35B. Australia, Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway and Poland operate the F-35A.
Chengdu J-20 Chengdu J-20 is a fifth-generation, all-weather, stealth fighter jet manufactured by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation. It is one of the only three fifth-generation fighter jets in operation after F-22 and F-35. It was inducted into service in March 2017. It is a single-seater aircraft. Its length is 21.2m, wingspan is 13.01m and height is 4.69m. The gross take-off is 37,000kg. The maximum speed is Mach2.0. The combat range is 2000km. It is lethally armed, with PL-10/12/15/21 air-to-air missiles as well as anti-radiation missiles. Different variants are powered by different engines. J-20 is powered by twin WS10B engines. J-20A is powered by twin AL-31FM2 engines (145kN thrust each) as well as WS-10C (147kN thrust each). It boasts 1475 (KLJ-5) Active Electronically Scanned Array radar with a range of 138-150 km. It currently has 10 J-20s in operation with the PLAAF.
Sukhoi Su-57 Sukhoi Su-57 is a stealth, multirole fighter jet developed by Sukhoi. It is the first combat aircraft in Russian military service designed with stealth technology. It took its first flight in 2010 and was introduced in service in 2020. It is a single seater jet which has a length of 20.1m, wingspan of 14.1m and height of 4.6m. The maximum take-off weight is 35,000kg. The maximum speed is Mach2/2135 kmph and Mach1.3/1400kmph in cruise mode. It is powered by twin-Saturn AL-41F1 engines, each producing a thrust of 88.3kN. It is armed with air-to-air, air-to-ground, anti-ship as well as anti-radiation missiles. It boasts Byelka radar (400km tracking range) with a N036-1-01: Frontal X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
Sukhoi Su-75 Sukhoi Su-75 “Checkmate” is a stealth, light multi-role fighter jet which is currently under development. It is a single-seater, single-engine fighter jet. The Maximum speed is said to be Mach1.8. It is said to be powered by NPO Saturn izdeliye 30 which is said to have a thrust of 107.9kN. A mock-up was unveiled at the 2021 MAKS air show in Zhukovsky. The first flight is planned for 2023. The jet is supposed to be introduced into service in 2027.
HAL AMCA The HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is an Indian project to develop a stealth, multirole fifth-generation jet. The jet will be designed by Aeronautical Development Agency under the aegis of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The first flight is expected to take-off in 2024 and the jet is expected to be introduced into service in 2026-27, even though some reports put the timeline to 2030. It is a single-seater jet with a projected length of 18m and a height of 4.8m, as per a report by the Jane's All the World's Aircraft. The maximum take-off weight is 25,000kg. It is said to be powered by twin- GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri engines, each with a thrust of 52kN. The maximum weight is expected to be Mach2.15/2633.84kmph. It will boast an upgraded version of AESA radar.
Mitsubishi X-2 Shinshin Mitsubishi X-2 is a Japanese stealth experimental technology demonstrator. It is currently being developed by the Japanese Ministry of Defence Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI). The first flight of the aircraft was in 2016. On the basis of its technological developments, a sixth-generation fighter jet is in plans. It is a single seater jet with a length of 14.174m, wingspan of 9.099m and a height of 4.514m. It is powered by twin-IHI XF5-1 engines, each with a thrust of 49.03kN. The combat range is 761km.
Mitsubishi F-X Mitsubishi F-X is a sixth-generation jet being developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The first flight is expected to be in 2028 and the jet is expected to be introduced in 2035. It will be powered by two-XF9 engines, each producing a thrust of 107kN.
KAI KF-21 Boramae Also known as KF-X, it is a 4.5-5 stealth, multirole generation fighter jet. The jet boasts a stealth of a fifth-generation aircraft but the weapon carrying capacity in the interior bay is fourth-generation. The first flight is planned for 2022 and is expected to be introduced in 2026. It is a single seater jet with a length of 16.9m, wingspan of 11.2m and 4.7m. The maximum take-off weight is 25,400kg. It is powered by twin-GE F414-GE-400K, each with a maximum thrust of 57.8kN. It will be armed with air-to-air, air-to-ground and anti-ships missiles. Pic: YNA
TAI TF-X TAI TF (Turkish Fighter)-X is a stealth, multirole fifth-generation jet developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries. The first flight is expected to be 2025 and the jet is expected to be in service 2028. It is a single-seater jet with a length of 21m, wingspan of 14m and a height of 6m. The maximum take-off weight is said to be 27,215kg. The maximum speed is said to be Mach1.8/2,222kmph. It is powered by air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles. For the test flights, it is using twin-GE F110, each with a thrust of 120kN (afterburn). Representative Image
