The latest jet fighters deceive, evade, confuse, lock-on to their
targets, and kill them without being seen, heard, or detected.
There is no place to hide for older combat aircraft and by the time the
fourth generation know they are under attack they are already dead.
Fighter forces around the world are seeking out the best that technology
can provide - pilots can increasingly put themselves outside their
cockpit, peering far beyond visual range, leaving the aircraft to keep
them out of harm's way while they manage the mission.
In Fifth Generation Fighters, author David Baker explains how
net-centric warfare and sensor fusion takes the fight into the very
heart of the weapons systems computer, apportioning missiles to
discriminated targets, tracking up to 100 hostiles and downing many
beyond visual range. He also looks at how future fighters will connect
to satellites in space for information about enemy air assets, control
swarms of unmanned combat air vehicles and plan the endgame for an air
battle that has yet to begin.
And when the sixth generation arrives it will be like nothing yet seen -
trans-atmospheric air vehicles moving down from the edge of space faster
than a ballistic missile, engaging at hypersonic speeds and killing with
impunity.
The clock is ticking - a fifth generation fighter war is coming!
