AVIATION HISTORYLecture 9: Military Aviation

Definition of Military Aviation

Military aviation is used to attack or defend a country through the sky.

There are many types of military aircraft, but the basic types of military aircraft are bombers, fighters, reconnaissance and Helicopter.

Categories of Military Aviation

Bombers Bombers are normally larger,

heavier, and less maneuverable (moving) than fighter aircraft.

They are capable of carrying large payloads of bombs.

Designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs.

Example : B-2 Spirit, have stealth capabilities that keep them from being detected by enemy radar.

B-2 Spirit,

Fighter aircraft Fighters are fast, highly

maneuverable, and capable of destroying enemy aircraft and ground targets.

They are capable of carrying a variety of weapons, including machine guns and guided missiles.

Designed primarily for attacking other aircraft from a great distance, before the enemy even sees them.

Examples of air-superiority fighters include the F-22 Raptor and the MiG-29.

MiG-29.

F-22 Raptor

Reconnaissance aircraft

Reconnaissance aircraft are primarily used to gather intelligence.

They are equipped with photographic, infrared, radar, and television sensors.

Reconnaissance aircraft are normally the fastest aircraft in the military, an example being the SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 Blackbird

Multirole aircraft Many aircraft today have a

multirole ability. Can be a fighter or a

bomber, depending on what the mission calls.

Operable at night and in all weather.

An example of a multirole plane is the F/A-18 Hornet- an aircraft capable of attacking both ground and aerial targets.

F/A-18 Hornet-

Military Aviation in Malaysia

Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Royal Malayan Air Force (Tentera Udara

Diraja Persekutuan). Today, the RMAF operates a unique mix

of modern US, European and Russian made aircraft.

(RMAF) operates some 80 combat aircraft such as Hawks, MiG-29N, F/A-18D Hornets and Sukhoi Su-30MKM.

Altogether, RMAF has about 200 aircraft of various makes.

Military Aircraft operated by Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)

A TUDM Mig-29 Fighter Four TUDM F/A-18 HornetMultirole aircraft

Hawk

Pilatus PC-7 Trainer Aircraft

Multirole aircraftSukhoi-30