Active Modern Military Aircraft Question...Need Input

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P51Fan

New Member
I have been working on a project for some time now and was hoping to get some advice from other aircraft enthusiasts. I have been working on identifying 52 fighter planes that are currently still active in the armed forces somewhere around the world. I tried to create a list that best represents aircraft from all over. I would love if you could take a moment and look over the list of fighter planes below and let me know if you think I either missed one that deserves to be on there or if there is one on the list that is no longer in service anywhere. Here are the fighters:
1. Aero Vodochoy L-159 Alca
2. AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo
3. AMX A-1
4. Atlas Cheetah
5. BAE Systems Hawk
6. Boeing EA-18G
7. Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet
8. Chengdu FC-1
9. Chengdu J-7
10. Chengdu J-10
11. Dassault Mirage 2000
12. Dassault Mirage III
13. Dassault Rafale
14. Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano
15. Eurofighter Typhoon
16. Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt
17. FMA IA 58 Pucara
18. FMA IA 63 Pampa
19. Grumman A-6 Prowler
20. HAL Tejas
21. HESA Saeqeh
22. IAI Kfir
23. IAI Lavi
24. Lockheed Martin F-104S Starfighter
25. Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon
26. Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
27. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightening II
28. Lockheed Martin T-50 Golden Eagle
29. McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom
30. McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II Plus
31. McDonnell Douglas CF-18
32. McDonnell Douglas F-15 Strike Eagle
33. Mikoyan MiG-23
34. Mikoyan MiG-27
35. Mikoyan MiG-29
36. Mikoyan MiG-31
37. Mitsubishi F-1
38. Mitsubishi F-2
39. Nanchang Q-5
40. Northrop Grumman F-5A Freedom Fighter
41. Northrop Grumman F-5AE Tiger II
42. Northrop T-38 Talon
43. PAC JF-17
44. Panavia Tornado
45. Saab JAS 39 Gripen
46. Sepecat Jaguar S16
47. Shenyang J-11
48. Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark
49. Sukhoi Su-27
50. Sukhoi Su-30
51. Sukhoi Su-34
52. Sukhoi Su-35
What's the reason for the list? I have been designing a deck of playing cards that are a modern twist to what are known as Spotter Cards created during WWII for Allied forces to help memorize and identify the silhouettes of aircraft so that they can tell friend from foe. I just started a Kickstarter project using the planes above as the inspiration for the playing cards. I even have two drones for the Jokers (Elbit Hermes 450 Drone and the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator Drone). I really would like your input on whether or not these planes are the best to have. What do you think?
 
Ananda

Ananda

The Bunker Group
Are you plan for Fighters only or also included Trainers..?
No 5,18,28, and 42 are trainers, although some of them have light attack capabilities. No 28, is KAI and not LM, LM involved with designed of T-50, however the property rights owner and manufacturer is KAI. FA-50 is the version with Fighter capability. As for BAE Hawk, only HAWK 200 designed as Fighter, others are LIFT.

I don't think no 4, 19, and 24 is still active. South African AF already retired their Atlas Cheatah (which basically based on Mirage 5), Italian AF as the last users of F-104, also already retiring them and I believe all Prowler being replaced by Growler. No 23, never been active, you can not included prototype as active fighters.
 
S

STURM

Well-Known Member
There are some in the list that are no longer widely in service, some that won't be in service for much longer and at least one that never entered service.

Not that there's anything wrong with it, just thought I'd point it out.
 
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John Fedup

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
No. 31, CF-18, is the Canadian designation for the legacy Hornet, F-18. In addition to Canada, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Malaysia, Kuwait, the USMC, and the USN (I think) continue to operate the Hornet. The USN and Australia also operate Superhornets and the EA-18G.
 
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bdique

Member
Nice list there! Just wondering, some aircraft look visually similar to each other i.e. F-16 & Mitsubishi F-2. I think they should be in the list BECAUSE of their differences, would make for wonderful trivia, any idea how to incorporate that element into the cards?
 
L

LeGrig

New Member
In service

In service with Romanian Air Force:
- Mikoyan MiG-21 LanceR (air-to-air and air-to-ground versions)
- IAR-99 (jet trainer, Romanian made)
 
locutus

locutus

New Member
I would remove #19. Not really such an aircraft. There is the A-6 Intruder which has been retired from service and the EA-6B Prowler. The Prowler is currently being retired from service from the Navy (2015) and 2017/2018 for the Marine Corp. Someone can correct me if I have those dates wrong. Neither aircraft is/was a fighter. The A-6 was a strike aircraft while the EA-6B is an EW aircraft.
 
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airwingspotter

New Member
I wonder if the F-5A and Lavi should be in there since they're quite old and Lavi being an experimented project that was killed back in the 80s??

DaveC
 
Feanor

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
You have the L-159 but you're missing the L-29 and L-39.

Also North Korea flies some amazingly old Su-7s.

http://koreadprk.tumblr.com/post/64872062246/north-koreas-su-7s

But you're also missing the easy and common Su-18/20/22, the Su-24, the Su-25, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21...

I guess you could say that the Su-25 and Su-24 are primarily air-to-ground so they don't count... but then you include the A-6 (a ground-attack aircraft), and for some reason don't include the A-10.

North Korea (a very special place) also flies the MiG-15.
 
Blackshoe

Blackshoe

Defense Professional
Verified Defense Pro
Feanor said:
Also North Korea flies some amazingly old Su-7s.

North Korea (a very special place) also flies the MiG-15.
Click to expand...
The DPRK after it collapses will be for early Soviet jet warplanes what Cuba is to classic American car enthusiasts. Museums will make some great hauls out of it.
 
Feanor

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
Blackshoe said:
The DPRK after it collapses will be for early Soviet jet warplanes what Cuba is to classic American car enthusiasts. Museums will make some great hauls out of it.
Click to expand...
Oh it's truly amazing. There is footage of an active DPRK T-34-85. So apparently even some of those are still running.

But the truly unique pieces are the North Korean's own light armor vehicles. They have a monstrously varied zoo of various light armor, with the strangest weapon combinations conceivable.
 
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Bonza

Super Moderator
Staff member
Blackshoe said:
The DPRK after it collapses will be for early Soviet jet warplanes what Cuba is to classic American car enthusiasts. Museums will make some great hauls out of it.
Click to expand...
I just hope someone in Australia can get ahold of a two-cockpit MiG-21 to operate civilian joy flights. We had a MiG-15 for a while but I put it off again and again and now it's been retired. Been on a great aerobatic flight in a prop military trainer and on a introductory helicopter pilot flight, but haven't managed to get into a small jet yet. Seriously considering saving some cash for a flight in an L-39, which I think is the only small jet still operating for civilian flights. The P-51 is also on the bucket list. But a real fast jet like a MiG-21 would be absolutely bloody amazing.

That is, unless I'm prepared to go to Russia with 20,000 euros to pay for a flight in a Flanker or (more likely) a flight into the upper atmosphere in a recon MiG-25...
 
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