Military aircraft are aircraft used for military frontline or respectively combat sorties, designed for more power without regard to economy, unlike civilian aircraft.

Classification of military aircraft

Military aircraft, first of all, are required to have a high rate of climb, as well as high speed, altitude and range. Long-range bombers and missile-carrying airplanes for destroying military targets are used for operational air warfare. Tanker aircraft, which have only fuel on board, have the ability to refuel combat aircraft directly in flight. Military aircraft include long-range reconnaissance aircraft with a long range, altitude and speed of flight. Tactical warplanes include fighter aircraft (or fighters), fighter-bombers, light bombers and tactical reconnaissance aircraft. Modern military aircraft are often designed as multi-purpose aircraft, i.e., they are designed for combat use as attack, interceptor, and reconnaissance fighters.

1) Fighter planes (fighters)

A fighter aircraft is a very fast one- or two-seat combat aircraft for destroying (searching for) enemy warplanes, unmanned rockets, etc. All modern fighters, as a drive, are equipped with one or two air-jet engines. Velocity exceeds sonic speed and is currently around 3,500 km/h, near-ground climb rate is over 200 m/s and maximum operating altitude is up to 30,000 m. Armament consists of 2 to 5 fixed automatic cannons (2.0 to 3.7 cm caliber) and ballistic, radio-controlled or homing air-to-air missiles. In addition, for the most part, fighter planes have extensive electronic equipment such as radar, recognition devices, etc.

2) Bomber planes (bombers)

Fighter aircraft are primarily used for defensive missions, while bomber aircraft focus on offensive operations. A bomber is a large, heavy military aircraft with several turbojet engines (jet turbines or turboprop engines). On short runways or when overloaded, bombers are often equipped with auxiliary launch rockets.

Bombers are tasked with attacking distant targets quickly and at high altitude with explosive charges in the form of bombs. Because of the great danger in approaching a target in an enemy area, more and more bombers are upgraded to rocket launchers that launch missiles far away from the target and are remotely controlled until the target is hit, while the bomber itself is outside the area controlled by enemy forces. The takeoff weight of modern bombers reaches 230 tons, and the total thrust is over 50,000 kgf, or accordingly a combined power of about 50,000 hp. The bomb load depends on the tactical radius of action; it amounts without refueling to 16,000 km, with aerial refueling even more. The flight altitude reaches 20,000 m, and the number of crew can be 12 people. The speed of modern bombers exceeds the 2,000 km/h mark; bombers that will have even greater speed are currently being designed. Defensive armament consists of missiles, machine guns and automatic cannons.

3) Reconnaissance aircraft (scouts).

These are multi-seat, lightly armed fighters or bombers (without a bomb load), which are equipped with aerial cameras, radars, often television signal transmission devices, or also shipboard aircraft for aerial reconnaissance, i.e. for reconnaissance of enemy positions, facilities, etc., territory and weather conditions for the benefit of all parts of their own armed forces.

4) Military transport aircraft.

These are large aircrafts which have 2 to 8 engines and a cruising range of 3000 km and more. They are lightly armed or not armed at all and are intended for transportation of supplies for troops (food, fuel, ammunition, weapons as well as guns, tanks, transport vehicles, etc.). Military transport aircrafts are used to land (airdrop) airborne troops, as well as to transport troops during regrouping. The military transport aviation fleet consists of transport aircraft, cargo gliders, and helicopters that are appropriately equipped.