Top 10 Army Aircraft & Helicopters in the World
B2 Spirit Bomber
The Northrop (later Northrop
Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy
strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for
penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses. Designed during the Cold War, it is a
flying wing design with a crew of two. The bomber can deploy both conventional
and thermonuclear weapons, such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82
JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg)
B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry
large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
Designed and manufactured by
Northrop, later Northrop Grumman, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737
million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per
aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software
support. The total program cost, which included development, engineering and
testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997.
Because of its considerable
capital and operating costs, the project was controversial in the U.S.
Congress. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed plans to purchase
132 bombers to 21. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after
takeoff, though the crew ejected safely. As of 2018, twenty B-2s are in service
with the United States Air Force, which plans to operate them until 2032, when
the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is to replace it.
F22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22
Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical
fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The result
of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was
designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack,
electronic warfare, and signal intelligence capabilities.
Despite its protracted
development and various operational issues, USAF officials consider the F-22 a
critical component of the service's tactical air power. Its combination of
stealth, aerodynamic performance, and avionics systems enable unprecedented air
combat capabilities.
In 2009, the program was cut
to 187 operational production aircraft due to high costs, a lack of clear
air-to-air missions due to delays in Russian and Chinese fighter programs, a
ban on exports, and development of the more versatile F-35. The last F-22 was
delivered in 2012. It is built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing for around $350m
per aircraft ($143m unit cost). The total programme cost is around $66bn.
F35 Lightning
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the carrier-based F-35C (CV/CATOBAR).
The program has drawn much
scrutiny and criticism for its unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning
costs, and much-delayed deliveries. The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through
2044, which will represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S.
Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades. The aircraft is
projected to operate until 2070.
P8A Poseidon
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon
(formerly Multimission Maritime Aircraft) is a military aircraft developed and
produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, modified from the 737-800ERX.
It was developed for the United States Navy (USN).
The P-8 operates in the
anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and shipping
interdiction roles. It is armed with torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and
other weapons, can drop and monitor sonobuoys, and can operate in conjunction
with other assets, including the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton maritime
surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
E-2 Advanced Hawkeye
The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is a game changer in how the Navy will conduct battle management command and control. By serving as the "digital quarterback" to sweep ahead of strike, manage the mission, and keep our net-centric carrier battle groups out of harms way, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the key to advancing the mission, no matter what it may be. The E-2D gives the warfighter expanded battlespace awareness, especially in the area of information operations delivering battle management, theater air and missile defense, and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system.
VH71 Kestrel Helicopters
The VH-71 contract was
terminated on 1 June 2009. Due to increased cost and schedule growth the
Secretary of Defense and USD (AT&L) directed cancellation of the current
VH-71 program. President Barack Obama said he ordered a review of plans to
replace the fleet of decades-old presidential helicopters at a cost of about
$11 billion. Mr. Obama made the announcement after his one-time presidential
rival, Arizona Senator John McCain, questioned the need for the costly program
when the government is trying to curb spending. The president responded that he
thinks his current helicopter seems "perfectly adequate," and he said
the costly military program is "an example of the procurement process gone
amok."
The VH-71 program was the
replacement helicopter for the VH-3D and VH-60N.
C17 Globemaster III India
A high-wing, 4-engine,
T-tailed military-transport aircraft, the multi-service C-17 can carry large
equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain
anywhere in the world day or night. The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft tackles
distance, destination and heavy, oversized payloads in unpredictable
conditions. It has delivered cargo in every worldwide operation since the
1990s.
The C-17's ability to fly
long distances and land in remote airfields in rough, land-locked regions make
it a premier transporter for military, humanitarian and peacekeeping missions.
It can:
·
Take off from a 7,600-ft.
airfield, carry a payload of 160,000 pounds, fly 2,400 nautical miles, refuel
while in flight and land in 3,000 ft. or less on a small unpaved or paved
airfield in day or night.
·
Carry a cargo of wheeled
U.S. Army vehicles in two side-by-side rows, including the U.S. Army's main
battle tank, the M-1. Three Bradley infantry-fighting vehicles comprise one
load.
·
Drop a single 60,000-lb. payload,
with sequential load drops of 110,000 lb.
·
Back up a two-percent slope.
·
Seat 54 on the sidewall and
48 in the centerline.
The Indian Air Force has a
fleet of 11 C-17 Globemaster IIIs. Boeing has also established an in-country
C-17 simulator training center which has completed thousands of training hours
for aircrews and loadmasters.
EA 18G Growler Jet
The EA-18G Growler
electronic attack aircraft, a derivative of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter, is
manufactured by Boeing. The EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, a
derivative of the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter, is manufactured by Boeing. The
aircraft is intended to provide tactical jamming capabilities and protection to
Australian ground, air and sea forces against enemy electronic warfare systems.
The Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) received the first of 12 EA-18G Growler aircraft in July 2015.
Deliveries of all 12 aircraft will be concluded by 2017 and initial operational
capability (IOC) is expected in 2018. All the 12 EA-18G electronic attack
aircraft are planned to be based at RAAF Base Amberley, complementing the Air
Force’s existing 24 F/A-18F Super Hornet and the future F-35A Joint Strike
Fighter.
V-22 Osprey
The V-22 Osprey is a joint
service multirole combat aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the
vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing
aircraft. With its rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover
like a helicopter. Once airborne, it can convert to a turboprop airplane
capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. This combination results in global
reach capabilities that allow the V-22 to fill an operational niche unlike any
other aircraft.
F/A-18 Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and
F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter
aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E
single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced
derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet.
The Super Hornet has an
internal 20 mm M61 rotary cannon and can carry air-to-air missiles and
air-to-surface weapons. Additional fuel can be carried in up to five external
fuel tanks and the aircraft can be configured as an airborne tanker by adding
an external air refueling system.
The F/A-18 Block III Super
Hornet is the newest highly capable, affordable and available tactical aircraft
in U.S. Navy inventory. The Super Hornet is the backbone of the U.S. Navy
carrier air wing now and for decades to come.
The combat-proven Super
Hornet delivers cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter
capability, outdistancing current and emerging threats well into the future.
The Super Hornet has the capability, flexibility and performance necessary to
modernize the air or naval aviation forces of any country. Two versions of the
Super Hornet – the single-seat E model and the two-seat F model – are able to
perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air
superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort,
close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance,
forward air control and tanker missions.
