Historical Development of Air Warfare

Toward the end of World War II, Germany was the first to install jet engines in airplanes. World War II ended and the Cold War began. Over a period of fifty years, the fighter planes of various countries underwent a great transformation. The use of jet engines improved flight characteristics. The use of on-board radar greatly improved the field of view. The advent of missiles changed the way battles were fought. The use of electronic warfare equipment made combat confusing.

Facts have proved many times: whoever has more advanced fighter jets will have a better grasp of the air power in modern war. At the beginning of the Korean War, the United States had absolute air superiority. However, it did not expect the Chinese air force to have the ability to compete with it almost overnight. In the air war, young Chinese pilots shot down 330 enemy planes. These included ace pilots with extensive experience. The brilliant results were attributed both to the resourcefulness and bravery of the Chinese pilots and to the world's most advanced MiG-15 fighters, supplied by the Soviet Union at the time.

On February 28, 1994, four Serbian Seagulls flew into the "no-fly zone" to bomb Muslim targets. Two NATO F-16s came in to destroy them. "The Seagulls ignored the F-16s' repeated warnings. The F-16s then fired three Rattlesnake AIM-9 air-to-air missiles and one AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missile. All three missiles hit their targets except one, which exploded on impact. Shortly after, the last Seagull was shot down by another F-16 that arrived to participate in the battle. The battle was 4:0 and lasted five minutes.

In modern warfare, stealth airplanes have appeared on the battlefield with the application of technology to avoid and weaken radar search. Stealth airplanes generally use three main stealth measures: first, changing the shape to reduce radar echoes; second, using composite materials to absorb radar waves to build the aircraft; third, using paint to absorb radar waves. The famous F-117A stealth fighter has good stealth ability. In the Gulf War, it was invisible and successfully completed the combat mission.