Interceptor aircraft
Encyclopedia
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up for another mission. The choice of trade-offs involved in meeting these goals leads to two typical designs, larger aircraft that can operate at extended ranges and provide defence over a large area, and much smaller designs with very quick response times and much shorter ranges that are intended to protect point targets on-demand.
Interceptors as a dedicated type were first developed starting before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As performance of conventional fighters improved, the need for dedicated point interceptors was reduced, while the heavier designs further specialized into classes like the bomber destroyer
Bomber destroyer
Historically, several aircraft were designated bomber destroyers prior and during the Second World War. They were interceptor aircraft dedicated to destroy enemy bomber aircraft with exceptionally powerful armament...
and night fighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
. Nevertheless, the two classes reached their zenith in the examples of the of the Me 163
Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
in the point interceptor role, and the Do 335
Dornier Do 335
The Dornier Do 335 Pfeil was a World War II heavy fighter built by the Dornier company. The two-seater trainer version was also called Ameisenbär . The Pfeils performance was much better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique "push-pull" layout and the much lower drag of the in-line...
in the heavy role. During the jet age
Jet age
The Jet Age is a period of history defined by the social change brought about by the advent of large aircraft powered by turbine engines. These aircraft are able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older piston-powered propliners, making transcontinental and inter-continental travel...
, high speeds rendered reaction times so short that the point defence interceptor became less practical, although a few specialist designs were attempted and the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
and MiG-21 are considered examples. This role was later replaced by the surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
. Key to the practical use of interceptors after this period was early detection and long range, demanding the use of radar and a large aircraft, eliminating the night fighter as a separate class. Numerous examples of this sort of design were introduced in the 1950s and 60s, notably the F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...
and MiG-25.
After the late 1960s, interceptors became less important due to the move to intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
s (ICBMs) for nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
. The Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
continued to face a US bomber force of some magnitude, and invested considerable effort in a dedicated interceptor fleet. Today this role is best exemplified by the MiG-31
Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.-Development:...
, a very large aircraft with high speed, long range, and an extremely powerful radar. Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
also faced the threat of Soviet bombers, and maintained an interceptor fleet of their own, most recently the Tornado ADV
Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Forceand is now only in service with the...
. The interceptor role is now performed by multirole fighters like the F-15 Eagle
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
and Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
.
Design
There are two solutions to this problem. One is to keep enough interceptors in the air in order to provide coverage over the entire attack area. As military aircraft generally require considerable time on the ground between missions, this solution requires many aircraft or ones that stay in the air for extended periods. This solution is exemplified by the "area defence interceptor" concept. The other solution is to build an interceptor with extremely high performance, one that can be launched after the attack is spotted and still have enough time to engage the enemy. In this case only a small number of aircraft is needed as they will spend most of their time on the ground, and they can be located at the target site as opposed to having to fill the entire attack area. This solution is exemplified by the "point defence interceptor".
Intercept aircraft sacrifice capabilities of the air superiority fighter
Air superiority fighter
An air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to gain air superiority in a war, by entering and seizing control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are designed to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft...
(i.e., fighting enemy fighter aircraft) by tuning their performance for either fast climbs or high speeds. The result is that interceptors often look very impressive on paper, typically outrunning, outclimbing and outgunning less specialized fighter designs. Yet they tend to fare poorly in fighter-to-fighter combat against the same "less capable" designs due to limited maneuverability.
Point defense interceptors
The first dedicated interceptor squadrons were formed up during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in order to defend against attacks by Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s, and later against early strategic bombers. Relying on visual or audio detection, the targets were disproved at short ranges, perhaps 30 miles. A Zeppelin flying at 75 mph would take as much as 1/2 hour to cover this distance, giving the defensive fighters ample time to climb to altitude.
Prior to the start of the Second World War technology had improved so that it appeared that the interceptor mission would be effectively impossible. Using the same detection techniques, a bomber like the Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
would cover that same distance in perhaps 10 minutes, making it almost impossible to climb to altitude before the bombers were already approaching their targets. This could be addressed through the use of a standing cover of aircraft, but only at enormous cost, one that would render it economically impossible. The conclusion at the time was that "the bomber will always get through
The bomber will always get through
The bomber will always get through was a phrase used by Stanley Baldwin in 1932, in the speech "A Fear for the Future" to the British Parliament...
". The introduction of radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
upset this equation. By pushing the detection range out to the point where the defence once again had about 1/2 hour to respond, the point interceptor once again became the primary weapon of defence.
At the start of the war, most single engine fighters were "short-legged", with limited internal fuel capacity. These were not designed specifically as interceptors, but their limited endurance forced them into this role. For bomber forces this presented a serious problem; as bombers generally had much longer ranges than the fighters, on long range missions during daylight the bombers would be able to be attacked with impunity. This led to some experimentation with longer ranged fighters and bomber escorts, but these were generally not successful. This proved to be a critical problem for the German Bf 109 during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, which could escort bombers across the channel, but only had sufficient fuel for a few minutes of combat if they were also to return to their airfields in France.
When RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
began its own bombing campaign over Germany, most of its missions were flown at night, unescorted. As the war progressed, however, Bomber Command flew increasing numbers of daylight missions. The Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
, designed several years before the war, was adapted to other roles – older machines were re-assigned to fighter-bomber squadrons, based nearer the front, while newer marks developed into more highly-focused interceptors. These later, Griffon-engined Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire (Griffon powered variants)
The Rolls-Royce Griffon engine was designed in answer to Royal Naval specifications which required an engine capable of generating good power at low altitudes...
were primarily retained in Britain to defend against V-1s and bombing raids by single, high-speed or high-altitude, German bombers. Newer designs, like the Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
, and P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s bought under Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
, would fill the conventional and long-range fighter gap.
The Germans, quickly losing their ability to project their airpower over enemy territory, no longer had much requirement for a long-range escort fighter. They were obliged to keep using the Bf 109 throughout the war, although it was joined by other aircraft like the Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
. The bomber escorts, notably the Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
, were adapted to other roles. The arrival of the P-51 turned the table on the Luftwaffe, introducing a truly effective escort that could beat the German fighters. The Luftwaffe quickly lost air superiority. This led to the introduction of new interceptor designs of even higher performance, like the rocket-powered Me 163 Komet
Messerschmitt Me 163
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. Messerschmitt...
. The engine allowed about 7 minutes of powered flight, but offered such tremendous performance that they could fly right by the defending fighters. The Me 163 required an airbase, however, which were soon under constant attack. The Germans developed even odder designs, like the Bachem Ba 349
Bachem Ba 349
The Bachem Ba 349 Natter was a World War II German point-defence rocket powered interceptor, which was to be used in a very similar way to a manned surface-to-air missile. After vertical take-off, which eliminated the need for airfields, the majority of the flight to the Allied bombers was to be...
Natter, which launched vertically and thus eliminated the need for an airbase. In general all these initial German designs proved difficult to operate, often becoming death traps for their pilots, and had little effect on the bombing raids.
In the initial stage of Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, bombers were expected to attack flying higher and faster, even at transonic
Transonic
Transonic speed is an aeronautics term referring to the condition of flight in which a range of velocities of airflow exist surrounding and flowing past an air vehicle or an airfoil that are concurrently below, at, and above the speed of sound in the range of Mach 0.8 to 1.2, i.e. 600–900 mph...
speeds. Initial transonic and supersonic fighters had modest internal fuel tanks in their slim fuselages, but a very high fuel consumption. This led fighter prototypes emphasizing acceleration and operational ceiling, with a sacrifice on the loiter time, essentially limiting them to point defense role. Such were the mixed jet/rocket power Convair XF-92
Convair XF-92
The Convair XF-92 was the first American delta-wing aircraft. Originally conceived as a point-defense interceptor, the design was later made purely experimental...
or Saunders Roe SR.53. The Soviet and Western trials with zero length launch
Zero length launch
The zero length launch system or zero length take-off system was a system whereby jet fighters and attack aircraft were intended to be placed upon rockets attached to mobile launch platforms...
were also related. None of these found practical use. Designs that depended solely on jet engines achieved more success with F-104 Starfighter
F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
(initial A version) and the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
.
The role of manned point defense designs was reassigned to unmanned interceptors—surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
s (SAMs)—which first reached an adequate level in 1954–1957. SAM advancements ended the concept of high-altitude bomber operations, in favor of low-altitude raids.
Area defence
As capabilities continued to improve, especially through the widespread introduction of the jet engineJet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
, the time allowed between detection and interception dropped. Even the most advanced point defence interceptors combined with long-range radars were struggling to keep the reaction time down enough to be effective. Fixed times, like the time needed for the pilot to climb into the cockpit, became an increasing portion of the overall mission time. As there were few ways to reduce this, the need for longer-range designs with extended loiter times became the main design concept.
These area defense interceptors (or area defense fighters) were large designs intended to stay on lengthy patrol and protect a much larger area from attack, depending on great detection capabilities and high speed to reach targets. The design emphasis was on range, missile carrying capacity and radar quality rather than on acceleration and climb rate. They usually carried long-range or medium-range air-to-air missile
Air-to-air missile
An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...
s, and often had no bombing capability. They were first to introduce all-weather avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
, assuring successful operations during night, rain, snow, or fog. Countries that were strategically dependent on surface fleet, most notably US and UK, maintained also fleet defense fighters that acted very similarly to area defense interceptors.
Interceptors in the Soviet Union and Russia
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, an entire military service, not just an arm of the pre-existing air force, was designated for their use. The planes of the Soviet Anti-Air Defense
Soviet Anti-Air Defense
The Soviet Air Defence Forces was the air defense branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998. Unlike Western air defense forces, V-PVO was a branch of the military unto itself, separate from the Soviet...
(PVO-S) differed from those of the Soviet Air Force
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
(VVS) in that they were by no means small or crudely simple, but huge and refined with large, sophisticated radars; they could not take off from grass, only concrete runways; they could not be disassembled and shipped back to a maintenance center in a boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
. Similarly, their pilots were given less training in combat maneuvers, and more in radio-directed pursuit. The main interceptor was first the Su-9, then Su-15
Sukhoi Su-15
The Sukhoi Su-15 was a twin-engined supersonic interceptor developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s to replace the Sukhoi Su-11, which was becoming obsolete as the United States and Britain introduced newer and more capable strategic bombers...
, and then MiG-25
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970...
. The auxiliary Tu-28
Tupolev Tu-28
The Tupolev Tu-28 was a long-range interceptor aircraft introduced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The official designation was Tu-128, but this designation was less commonly used in the West...
, an area range interceptor, was notably the heaviest fighter aircraft ever to see service in the world. The latest and most advanced interceptor aircraft is the MiG-31
Mikoyan MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The MiG-31 was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau based on the MiG-25.-Development:...
. Although it is the first one to carry an internal cannon, to this day it remains too cumbersome for dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
s with the contemporary air superiority fighter
Air superiority fighter
An air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to gain air superiority in a war, by entering and seizing control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are designed to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft...
s.
Russia, despite merging PVO into VVS, still plans to maintain a number of dedicated interceptors.
Interceptors in the United States Air Force
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
maintained a dedicated Aerospace Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command
Aerospace Defense Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1946 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the integrated air defense system of the Continental United States , exercise direct control of all active...
, consisting primarily of dedicated interceptors. Many post-war designs were of limited performance, including designs like the F-86D
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
and F-89 Scorpion
F-89 Scorpion
The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an early American jet-powered fighter designed from the outset as an all-weather interceptor. Though its straight wings limited its performance, it was among the first USAF jet fighters with guided missiles, and notably the first combat aircraft armed with air-to-air...
. In the late 1940s ADC started a project to build a much more advanced interceptor under the 1954 interceptor
1954 interceptor
The 1954 interceptor, formally WS-201A, was a US Air Force project to develop a dedicated interceptor aircraft that would enter service in 1954. Several aircraft were developed as part of the project, leading to the F-102 Delta Dagger, F-106 Delta Dart, XF-103 Thunderwarrior and, indirectly, the...
effort, which eventually delivered the F-106 Delta Dart
F-106 Delta Dart
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it has proven to be the last dedicated interceptor in USAF service to date...
after a lengthy development process. Further replacements were studied during the 1960s, but came to nothing as the USSR strengthened their strategic force with ICBMs. Hence, the F-106 ended up serving as the primary USAF interceptor into the 1980s. As it was retired, intercept missions were assigned to the contemporary F-15 and F-16 fighters. The F-22 is the USA's latest combat aircraft that serves as an interceptor, among other roles.
Fleet defense fighters in the United States Navy
In the 1950s, the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
led an unsuccessful F6D Missileer
F6D Missileer
The Douglas F6D Missileer was a proposed carrier-based US Navy fleet defense fighter aircraft, designed by Douglas Aircraft Company in response to a 1959 US Navy requirement...
project. Later it launched the development of a large F-111B fleet air defense fighter, but this project was cancelled too. Finally, the role was assigned to F-14 Tomcat
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
, carrying AIM-54 Phoenix
AIM-54 Phoenix
The AIM-54 Phoenix is a radar-guided, long-range air-to-air missile , carried in clusters of up to six missiles on F-14 Tomcats, its only launch platform. The Phoenix was the United States' only long-range air-to-air missile. The weapons system based on Phoenix was the world's first to allow...
missiles. This aircraft was well-capable of fighter-to-fighter combat, as well as air interdiction
Air interdiction
Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units...
missions, so it does not exactly fit "pure" interceptor niché. Both the fighter and the missile were retired in 2006.
Interceptors in other countries
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
produced the Avro CF-100
Avro CF-100
The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production, serving primarily with the RCAF/CAF and in small numbers in Belgium...
, generally similar to the F-89
F-89 Scorpion
The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an early American jet-powered fighter designed from the outset as an all-weather interceptor. Though its straight wings limited its performance, it was among the first USAF jet fighters with guided missiles, and notably the first combat aircraft armed with air-to-air...
, which went on to serve for a lengthy period of time in the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
. Its replacement, the Avro Arrow, was controversially cancelled in the late 1950s.
The Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
operated the Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
and then Gloster Javelin
Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s...
in the subsonic night/all-weather role
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
, alongside the supersonic day fighter English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
. Efforts to replace the Javelin with a supersonic design under Operational Requirement F.155
Operational Requirement F.155
Operational Requirement F.155 was a specification issued by the British Ministry of Supply for an interceptor aircraft to defend the United Kingdom from high-flying supersonic bombers....
ever came to fruition, with the expectation that missiles would replace bombers. The ADV variant of the Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado ADV
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Forceand is now only in service with the...
was eventually introduced into this role in the 1980s, and continued to serve in this role until replaced with a multirole design, the Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
, which is an air superiority fighter and also an attack aircraft.
Partial decline
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, a strong interceptor force was crucial for the great powers, as the best means to defend against threat of the unexpected nuclear strike by strategic bomber
Strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...
s. Hence for a brief period of time they faced rapid development. At the end of 1960s, the nuclear threat became unstoppable with the addition of various ballistic missiles which could not be intercepted approaching from outside of atmosphere with speeds as high as 5–7 km/s. Thus, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction replaced the trend of defense strengthening, and left interceptors with much less strategic justification. Their utility waned as the role became blurred into the role of the heavy air superiority fighter
Air superiority fighter
An air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to gain air superiority in a war, by entering and seizing control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are designed to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft...
s dominant in military thinking at the time.
See also
- Air superiority fighterAir superiority fighterAn air superiority fighter is a type of fighter aircraft intended to gain air superiority in a war, by entering and seizing control of enemy airspace. Air superiority fighters are designed to effectively engage enemy fighters, more than other types of aircraft...
- Day fighterDay fighterA day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night , although it is sometimes used to refer to some interceptors as well.Examples of planes that were classified as...
- Escort fighterEscort fighterThe escort fighter was a World War II concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets.The perfect escort fighter had long range, a lengthy combat loiter time to protect the bombers, and enough internal fuel to return home...
- Heavy fighterHeavy fighterA heavy fighter is a fighter aircraft designed to carry heavier weapons or operate at longer ranges. To achieve acceptable performance, most heavy fighters were twin-engined, and many had multi-place crews....
- Night fighterNight fighterA night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
- InterdictorInterdictorAn interdictor is a type of ground-attack aircraft that operates far behind enemy lines, with the express intent of interdicting the enemy's military targets, most notably those involved in logistics. The term has generally fallen from use...