What is a nth Generation fighter?

Wouldn't the BUFF be considered a 2nd generation bomber? ;-)


Apparently that depends


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"

I wonder if there are BUFF pilots out there flying the same aircraft
their grandfather did. I'd heard of pilots flying the very same F-4s
their dads did.

For the 50th Anniversary of the B-52 in Wichita in the Spring of 2002 they were
able to assemble two (or maybe three?) groups of grandfathers, fathers and sons
who had all crewed the B-52. I remember seeing e-mail asking for info on such
unique people in the Summer of 2000 and wondered if any existed. There are
numerous storys about father-son BUFF crewmembers. We even had two in my
squadron at one time. One radar nav whose son was a BUFF pilot and an ol' BUFF
pilot whose son was a radar nav. Kind of interesting.


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"

"Alan Minyard" wrote in message
news
On 14 Dec 2003 22:11:39 GMT, (BUFDRVR) wrote:

5th Generation (???) - MiG 1.42, Su-30 series or FA/22, F-35

Fourth.

Hmmm, okay Mary what would a 5th Generation fighter be? They are using
that
term fairly regularly when discussing the Su-30 family.


BUFDRVR

"Stay on the bomb run boys, I'm gonna get those bomb doors open if it
harelips
everyone on Bear Creek"

IMHO it would be the F-22 and F-35. The first generation to integrate true
stealth,
super cruise (F-22) a new generation of electronics, etc.

Well, perhaps the F-35 and a flock of mindless bots.

Scott Ferrin wrote:
On 16 Dec 2003 01:10:01 GMT, (BUFDRVR) wrote:


Good reply, but I don't think I'd classify Mig-25 as 4th generation.

I may have catagorized that one incorrectly, but I though it was considered

the

same generation as the F-15?

Nope - just a faster member of (and contemporary of)
the F-4 graduating class.


Could I have confused it with the MiG-31?

Damn things look very familar....to me at least.


Best way to remember is on the 31 the afterburner nozzles extend
beyond the tail surfaces.

U/C is different too.

John

On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 23:23:47 +0000, "Paul J. Adam"
wrote:

In message , Alan Minyard
writes
On 14 Dec 2003 22:11:39 GMT, (BUFDRVR) wrote:
Hmmm, okay Mary what would a 5th Generation fighter be? They are using that
term fairly regularly when discussing the Su-30 family.

IMHO it would be the F-22 and F-35. The first generation to
integrate true stealth,
super cruise (F-22) a new generation of electronics, etc.

See my other post. Supercruise is 5th generation if you're selling
F-22s, unless you're looking at Typhoon in which case supercruise is
irrelevant and stealth is crucial... and, again, many of those 'new
generation electronics' are common to both platforms.


Just my opinion but it *seems* like "generation" is a combination of
timeframe, sensors, avionics, and a few goodies the previous
generation didn't have. Internal weapons carriage isn't one but an
AESA radar and whatever the hell sharing of information is called as
in the Gripen and F-22 (don't know of others that have it, that was
just and example). IRST and helmet mounted sights, while they would
be found on a 5th generation fighter, don't necessarily make a plane a
"5th" generation because they are found on earilier aircraft. Stealth
is a 5th but "stealthy" is generally found on those considered "4th+"
or "4th and a half". Just my two cents.