F-14, F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

[favad]

AOA
My first major post to any site guys .last nite i was watching a movie in it i saw F-14 .the 1st thing which comes to my mind wht is major difference b/w a;lll these fighters (f-14,f-15,f-18) all have almost the same aerodynamic srtructure can any one one tells me wht is mthe moajor difference b/w them a part from naval version export version and american version
ws

 

[Winter]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

They are all quite different actually...Especially visually...Among others...:cat2

After a while you will should to tell them apart quite distinctly...

F/A-18 - Operated by USN, USMC

'The F/A-18 "Hornet" is a supersonic, twin engine, all weather, night, combined fighter and attack aircraft and can be refueled in flight. The F/A-18 multi-mission aircraft can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions.'

F-14 - Operated by USN

'The F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-place fighter designed to attack and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in all weather conditions....The F-14 employs variable geometry wings to optimize aircraft performance throughout the flight envelope. The multiple tasks of navigation, target acquisition, electronic counter measures (ECM), and weapons firing are divided between the pilot and the radar intercept officer (RIO).'

Specifications (F-14)

F-15 - Operated by USAF

'The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through a mixture of maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons and avionics. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. Its weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat.'

 

[Londo Molari]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

- F-18 has ROUND engine intakes

- F-14 has swing-wing design

- F-15 is the remaining one

 

[favad]

aoa
what is the logic behind these round engines ? i hope it doesnt makes a a/c more efficient but iyt certainly makes a difference in its look .Among the three which one is more Multirole fighter can any one knows the price tag for these birds .and what about there operational ranges (without bein refueled). more over if pak has money whcih one v go for (based on assumptions only).

 

[favad]

and winter goood logical explanation

 

[Red aRRow]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

Nice post winter.
Can you write something about the F-16 too.

 

[Gremlin29]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

The difference between engine nacelle shapes (the nacelle is just the fairing that goes around the engine) has more to do with the approach to aeordynamcis of the day, F-15 and F-14 were designed in the late 60's while the F 18 was designed in the 80's. The engines themselves as well as their exhaust are round in cross section.

F-15 is an air superiority plane. It was designed to dogfight and is still the most capable "pure" fighter in the US inventory. In the hands of equal pilots the F-15 will swat other US types out of the sky all day and all night, and in all weather.

F-14 is actually an interceptor. It is not the best dog fighter as far as the airframe is concerned however the Phoenix missile gives it "over the horizon" engagement capabilities that are unique and IIRC unmatched by any other air to air system in the world. I believe the most current design of the Phoenix missle gives it a maximum engagement range of over 110 nautical miles. Where the F-14 lacks in maneuverability it makes up for in weapons systems.

F-18 is a multi-role aircraft and the least capable of the 3. It is by comparison not a very good dog fighter, nor is it a particularly capable attack plane (bomber). It can do both jobs okay, but does not excel at either. The A-6 Intruder it replaced was a better all weather attack plane and the F-18 is a poor substitute IMHO. Likewise the F-18 could not hold it's own against the F-15, F-14 or the F-16. I would say that the Mig 29 and the newer Sukhois would also be superior fighter aircraft to the F-18.

 

[AnonymousDoe]

Gremlin29,
F/A-18 is most capable of the 3, or why would the U.S.A.F. decommission all the F-15s and F-14s and then build a bounch of F/A-18?

 

[Gremlin29]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

F-18 is not and will not be used by the US Air Force. The US Air Force will replace the F-15 with the F-22 Raptor. Also, the Air Force has never operated the F-14, in any case the F-14 is NOT being replaced by the F-18.

The F-18 is a dual role aircraft. As such it suffers the same fate All dual role aircraft face in that it does not excel at any given task. I am comparing the F-18 to other new types. The F-18 entered service in 1988/9 I believe so it is a relatively new plane. The Navy opted for the F-18 because it could conceivably operate as either a stike aircraft or a fighter. It is however not the best fighter, more than a match for the old Migs (21) it is totally outclassed by the new Migs(29) in the air to air role.

So why was the F-18 chosen? Politics, and bad decission making for one thing. I think the strike pilot community endorsed it because they were trading in their A-6's and A-7's (neither of which were fighter planes) for the F-18. The idea is that F-18 can ingress with a strike package and egress as a fighter aircraft capable of defending itself from enemy aircraft.

Hey the US builds some nice equipment, but sometimes they end up with something that's less than perfect. Osprey is a great example of this!

 

[Winter]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

Note: I'm afraid I can't take credit. I merely compiled it from across the wonderful source the internet is...Though I must acclaim Gremlin's explanation.

Same for the F-16:

'The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multirole fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.

In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions.'

AnonymousDoe: - The USAF has not decommisioned it's inventory of F-15s, though it plans to, to be replaced by the F/A-22.
- The USAF has never, is not, or will ever operate the F-14.
- The USAF has never, is not, or will ever operate the F/A-18.

 

[favad]

Aoa
Eid Mubarik All around nice to c so many ppl giving such good comments it is hard to say any thing else but bros i would like to ask one more thing or two i.e is ther any thing common among them also v all know the capabilities of F-18 hornet if v compare f-14 with f-15 (whcih r not in large no at present) r these failed programs? and also if not can any one tell other then USA and KSA which airforce has F-15s and how many squadrans + price tag for these a/c .does israel currently have f-18s what r there performance against f-16s (liitle optimistic i think?)
ws

 

[Londo Molari]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

The F-18 is not THAT bad... its a capable ground attack aircraft, and what it lacks in manouverability, it makes up for in advanced on board systems.

The newest F/A-18 E/F has upgraded engines (also no longer round intake), larger wings, much better radar, avionics and electronic warfair suites.

Although its a mediocre dogfighter, it is superb at beyond visual range combat... it can jamm other BVR missiles rather well, it can fully exploit the AMRAAM missile, and it can carry 10 AMRAAMS!!!!

Also, the F-18, F-14 and F-15 are in no way "failed programs".

The F-14 was rather short lived, and I guess you can say politics played a hand in replacing the Navy's F-14 with the F-18.

But the F-14 was very capable, and the F-18 is also very capable.

 

[umair]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

The F-18 is not THAT bad... its a capable ground attack aircraft, and what it lacks in manouverability, it makes up for in advanced on board systems.

The newest F/A-18 E/F has upgraded engines (also no longer round intake), larger wings, much better radar, avionics and electronic warfair suites.

Although its a mediocre dogfighter, it is superb at beyond visual range combat... it can jamm other BVR missiles rather well, it can fully exploit the AMRAAM missile, and it can carry 10 AMRAAMS!!!!

Also, the F-18, F-14 and F-15 are in no way "failed programs".

The F-14 was rather short lived, and I guess you can say politics played a hand in replacing the Navy's F-14 with the F-18.

But the F-14 was very capable, and the F-18 is also very capable.

Londo is right the F/a 18 E/F version is a highly capable strike fighter.It's total AAM load is 14, greater than that of the Su27. The E version has larger & more widely flared LERXES which give it excellent maneauverability(it's g limits are +9,-2).It's EW suite has an integral ECM jammer and it packs 3 ANLE 53 towed decoys which are capable of jamming both radar guided missiles as well as heaters.It's been equipped to carry tactical ALCMs which increases it's standoff attack capability & survivability.In short the E/F version is a fighter to reckon with. :smokingc:

 

[favad]

well bro can u tell me how good it is against falcon(f-16s) and if f-16 comes any closer to f-18 i know comparison cant b done but there is some thing whcih could b pulled out of it

 

[umair]

well bro can u tell me how good it is against falcon(f-16s) and if f-16 comes any closer to f-18 i know comparison cant b done but there is some thing whcih could b pulled out of it

The block60 F16C(also known as the F16E) is atleast as good or most probably better than the F18E/F.Other wise considering the previous models I'd say the falcon wins hands down.To know more about the F16E visit the topic "Advanced F16s For Israel" in this forum.

 

[corsair7772]

The F-18, though a capable aircraft is now outclassed by the latest Sukhois such as the SU-35.
It is due to this problem that the "Super Hornet" was developed which is far more advanced than its original versions and is capable of defeating the new Rusiian Aircraft but we can expect a balance of technology here. But one thing, The older versions of the F-18 are not superior to the new Sukhois and Mikoyans.

 

[favad]

does pakistan have any a/c to counter these threats F-18s specially (for the case if Americans attack us).do v have any thing which can counter these threats .

 

[Gremlin29]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

PAF F-16's are good counter for the F-18.

 

[Londo Molari]

Re: F-14,F-15 and F-18 what they have in common

lol, hilarious.

"If the americans attack us"

If the americans attack us, we are SCREWED. We can't counter at all.

the F-16 is older than the F-18. The F-16A, which Pakistan has can counter old F-18A's, but certainly not the new F-18Es or even F-18Cs. They have superior avionics, radar, jamming and BVR capability.

The JF-17 can probably counter F-18Cs, but the F-18E, with its new AESA radar is very stealthy,and superior to anything Pakistan has.

Ofcourse newer F-16s, like the block 50 and 60, can match the new F-18s, but pakistan doesnt have those.

 

[rebellious]

Gremlin29,
F/A-18 is most capable of the 3, or why would the U.S.A.F. decommission all the F-15s and F-14s and then build a bounch of F/A-18?

Admin: text deleted. Pls read the forum rules about appropriate behaviour and civility towards other posters.

where did u get that from. the US f-14s and f-18s are ONLY in the navy and the f-15 is in the usaf. and the f-14 was decommisioned cuz mainatainance was too expensive. the f-16 is an economical fighter of the usaf and the f-18 is an economical fighter for the navy, both are multirole. the f-18 cant even reach mach 2!! and it has a small payload. it doesnt have enough range when compared to the tomcat so it cant penetrate deep into enemy terriitroy and get back to the carrier. \
thts y the indians are more interested in the mig29K over the f-18, gremlin is right,

get the facts from formal high ranked naval ppl:
http://www.flightjournal.com/articles/f14f18/f14f18_2.asp