Out of Production Combat Aircraft

[Jade]

There are many combat aircraft that are out of production like the British Jaguars, and the French Mirage 2000's, and maybe the Russian Mig 29.

But the Indians have upgraded their Jaguars with Uk help I believe and they are expected to still give a good fight for many more years to come.

The upgraded version still sounds formidable - any comments about upgraded but older combat aircrafts ?

 

[Khairul Alam]

NOO!! The Mig-29 is NOT out of production. Rather it is coming with better upgrades; for example the latest OVT version has thrust-vectoring capability.

As for aircrafts that have gone out of production but are still retained, the best examples would be the Phantom F-4 and the F-5.

The Phantom F-4 is still maintained by a host of nations; Israel, Turkey and Iran would be a few examples. It went out of production somwhere in the late 80's. In Israeli hands, the Phantoms have been upgraded to the Super Phantom 2000. The upgrades include Israeli fire/control radar, and the ability to fire laser and TV guided munitions. The Turkish Phantoms were also upgraded along similar lines by Israel. The Iranians also carried out several upgrades on their Phantoms. In the late 90's the Iranians carried out several upgrades that increased the range of the APQ-120 radar (on the F-4E) from 160km to 290km. The radars were also given am airborne moving target indicator (AMTI) capability, to improve their detection of low-flying aircrafts. Other upgrades include chaff and flare dispensers, and extension of the range of the APQ-109 radar (on the F-4D) to 306km.

 

[Khairul Alam]

The F-5s on the other hand were put out of production in the year 1987. This aircraft still flies with about 25 airforces around the world. As far as i know upgrades are provided by the parent company Northrop Grumman as well as other companies such as the Singapore Technologies Aerospace and the ISraeli Aerospace Industries. The upgrade provided by Northrop gives the F-5s the "look-down" capability. The avionics are all digitised which allows more target information to be provided to the pilot. The Iranian F-5s have been given two tailplanes and have been named as the Azarakhsh. Some of the upgrades to their F-4s have also been adopted by their F-5s. For example, the APQ-159 fire-control radar's range has been extended to 64km in search mode and 40km in tracking mode. The Iranian F-5s can fire three types of air-to-air infrared missiles: the US Sidewinder, the Russian AA-8 Aphid and the Chinese CATIC (PL-7).

 

[crobato]

The fighter and attack aircraft that can be considered "classic" and genuinely popular all have modernized upgraded variants. In addition to the F-4 Phantom, the Jaguar, and the F-5E, they include the MiG-21/J-7, the Mirage III, and the A-4 Skyhawk.

Interestingly, some of these upgrades have similar patterns to each other, particularly on the radars that tend to be supplied by Israeli ELBIT or Italy's FIAR.

The Indian Jaguar upgrades were done with Israeli help, using Israeli radars. Same radar---the ELTA 2032---is the one for the F-4 Kurnass upgrade, and the Romanian MiG-21-2000 upgrade. The Singapore F-5E upgrades were done with Italian FIAR radars, same family of radars used in the Mirage III upgrades and the latest Pakistani J-7s. New Zealand's A-4 Skyhawk upgrades were done with a variant of the APG-66, the radar featured in the F-16A/B, which also features in F-4 Phantom upgrades. It should be noted that the ELTA 2032 and the FIAR radars are also targeting APG-66 replacements.

 

[swerve]

... The Singapore F-5E upgrades were done with Italian FIAR radars, same family of radars used in the Mirage III upgrades and the latest Pakistani J-7s. New Zealand's A-4 Skyhawk upgrades were done with a variant of the APG-66, the radar featured in the F-16A/B, which also features in F-4 Phantom upgrades. It should be noted that the ELTA 2032 and the FIAR radars are also targeting APG-66 replacements.

The Brazilian F-5E upgrade uses the Grifo radar (by the company formerly known as FIAR), & the upgraded Argentinean A-4s have an APG-66 variant.
There are Grifo variants tailored to various aircraft, e.g. F-5E, Mirage III & L-159.

 

[Khairul Alam]

Oh forgot to mention! The Iranian F-4s have been tweaked to fire the anti-ship C-801 cruise missile

 

[kams]

The fighter and attack aircraft that can be considered "classic" and genuinely popular all have modernized upgraded variants. In addition to the F-4 Phantom, the Jaguar, and the F-5E, they include the MiG-21/J-7, the Mirage III, and the A-4 Skyhawk.

Interestingly, some of these upgrades have similar patterns to each other, particularly on the radars that tend to be supplied by Israeli ELBIT or Italy's FIAR.

The Indian Jaguar upgrades were done with Israeli help, using Israeli radars. Same radar---the ELTA 2032---is the one for the F-4 Kurnass upgrade, and the Romanian MiG-21-2000 upgrade. The Singapore F-5E upgrades were done with Italian FIAR radars, same family of radars used in the Mirage III upgrades and the latest Pakistani J-7s. New Zealand's A-4 Skyhawk upgrades were done with a variant of the APG-66, the radar featured in the F-16A/B, which also features in F-4 Phantom upgrades. It should be noted that the ELTA 2032 and the FIAR radars are also targeting APG-66 replacements.

Indian Jaguar upgrade was not done with Israeli help. Only the Jaguar (IM) had their Agave radar replaced by Elta. Sagem Ring Laser Gyro INS with integrated Global Positioning System, Twin mission computers from DARE, Indigenous RWR, SMDS in place of COMED, Elbit's HUD in place of original Smiths HUD, Indigenous Autopilot are other changes made.

Mig-27 is another important aircraft, which is being currently upgraded in similar lines.

 

[Jade]

Have VTOL's like the Jaguars gone out of fashion ?

I don't seen any new ones in production anymore ????

 

[StingrayOZ]

I wouldn't class it strickly as a fighter.

But the F-111's Australia still operates are extremely capable.

There are just some aircraft that will never be replaced with nerwer aircraft.

 

[Tasman]

Have VTOL's like the Jaguars gone out of fashion ?

I don't seen any new ones in production anymore ????

VTOL Jaguars! Did you mean VSTOL Harriers?

I wouldn't class it strickly as a fighter.

But the F-111's Australia still operates are extremely capable.

There are just some aircraft that will never be replaced with nerwer aircraft.

By all accounts the F-111C, as upgraded, is still an excellent strike aircraft but the downside, based on what I've read in this and other forums and magazines, is that, unlike in its heyday, it now needs an escort when operating in defended airspace. There are also increasing concerns about its safety as time goes on. Hence the decision to withdraw it from 2010 and replace it with the FA-18F Super Hornet.

Tas