Top 10: The finest fighter aircraft of the 1980s

Advances in radar, missile and human-machine interface technology produced extremely potent machines that were far easier to fly and fight in than their 1960s forebears. In the past, enemy aircraft had been safe hiding in the clutter of ground returns (flying low could hide you from earlier radars) but by the mid-80s many fighters had a look-down/shoot down capability (the ability to detect and shoot down an air target moving below the horizon) making the sky a far more dangerous place.

Here are 10 of the most potent air-to-air fighters of the 1980s.

The Sea Harrier is the oddest aircraft on this list: its top speed was half that of the other aircraft, it could only carry half the number of missiles and its radar had half the detection range. Yet, it managed to perform extremely well in the air-to-air role in the Falklands War of 1982.

Its virtues were its high thrust-to-weight ratio and that it was small and smokeless, but the main reasons for its success were its highly-trained pilots and the excellent AIM-9L heat-seeking missile that the Americans supplied to the British at the last moment, mostly thanks to the Anglophile US Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger. The Sea Harrier could also operate in weather conditions that would have kept any other carrier fighters on or under the deck.

The Harrier was the first operational vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft, earning it the nickname of the ‘Jump Jet’. The Harrier family pioneered the use of vectored thrust for abrupt decelerations and unexpected manoeuvres in the dogfight, though these have not been used in actual air combat.

The Sea Harrier was a modified variant of the Harrier for use on Britain’s relatively small aircraft carriers. A small fighter that could carry two powerful 30-mm cannon and four of the best short range air-to-air missiles of the time, only a fool would underestimate the plucky Sea Harrier. The Sea Harrier shot down 20 Argentinian aircraft in the Falklands versus no air-to-air losses of their own.

France’s resurrection after World War II saw the creation of a world-class jet fighter industry. Of this military production renaissance, the most significant contribution was the Mirage series of combat aircraft from the Dassault company. Not only excellent aircraft, they proved a success on the export market, especially for nations wishing to avoid (or refused the opportunity of) buying aircraft from the US or Soviet Union.

The F1 dropped the iconic delta (triangular) wing of earlier Mirages in favour of a clever conventional swept wing that rectified some of the failings of the delta. The improvements included reducing the runway length required and the weight and drag of the wing.

The French Dassault Mirage F1 proved itself a formidable fighter in the Iran-Iraq War destroying 35 Iranian aircraft in air-to-air combat: one jet alone claimed a dozen on its own. In this long bloody war, the F1 also downed several F-14s, making it the first type to bring down the mighty Tomcat.

In service with the South African Air Force it was fitted with a helmet-cueing system (the missile could fire where the pilot was looking to save time in a fight) and the Kukri short range air-to-air missile. These South African Mirages were one of the very first aircraft to use helmet cueing, making it a particularly nasty dogfight opponent.

Sweden’s neutral status during the Cold War led this Scandinavian European nation to produce a slew of innovative and extremely potent warplanes. Among them was the Viggen, the first operational fighter aircraft with the canard delta (a triangular wing with the ‘tail’ control surfaces in front) configuration.

Intended to operate away from large airbases in times of war, the Viggen was designed for short take-offs and landings from dispersed bases with small rough airstrips or even reenforced sections of motorway. The initial bomber attack version, the AJ 37 was followed by a fighter interceptor variant, the JA 37.

Though not the highest performance airframe in terms of climb or agility, the Swedish JA37 was one of the world’s best-equipped fighters in 1985. At this time the Viggen had just received a secure datalink allowing the sharing of encrypted information. This innovation, years ahead of other nations gave the fighter an enormous edge in situational awareness. Its electronic warfare equipment was also world-class.

The Sky Flash, that armed the JA37, was the arguably the best medium range missile in the world and its cannon, the 30mm Oerlikon, was extremely powerful. The Viggen’s agility was however inferior to the new generation of Soviet, US and French fighters.

Described by many that have flown it as a perfect machine, the ultimate Mirage was an absolute thoroughbred. Fast, agile and easy to fly, it is a well-balanced design and formidable warplane. The fly-by-wire system (a system that takes the pilots desired directional control and lets a computer decide the best control surfaces to use to achieve the result) had cured most of the worst vices associated with the delta wing.

In 1985 the Mirage was fitted with the unimpressive Thomson-CSF RDM (Radar Doppler Multifunction) which had a limited look down/shoot capability and the Matra Super 530F semi-active radar guided missile.

The instantaneous turn rate of the Mirage 2000 was described by an Indian Air Force pilot as the “Best in the class, I don’t think there is any fighter comes any close, this needs to be measured with roll and rate of onset of the turn (called tau). In a common language, it means when I spot a bogey how fast can I bank to the required degree, initiate a turn and point towards him. In this regard Mirage 2000 is the best.” Though a capable fighter- the design was not close to the formidable machine it would become later in its life.

Whereas earlier fighters like the F-4 Phantom II were large and cumbersome, the US General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon was a small nimble fighter, designed to excel in the within-visual- range dogfight. This required a massive thrust-to-weight ratio to give the aircraft outstanding acceleration and manoeuvrability, and also the ability to keep its energy level high in a dogfight. The pilot has the least obstructed view of any fighter thanks to a big bubble canopy with no obstructions.

The F-16 did not have a beyond-visual-range (a weapon that can hit a target beyond the distance a pilot can see) weapon until the Sparrow-capable Block 25 of mid-1984; but in 1985, it was still an immature model riddled with software problems. Despite this, the F-16C was an extremely agile, long-ranged aircraft and a daunting opponent for any fighter in the world in the close-range dogfight. Like the F-15, the F-16s first saw combat with the Israeli air force; a Syrian Mi-8 and MiG-21 were shot down in 1981.

In the 1982 Lebanon War, Israel claimed to shoot down 44 enemy aircraft for the F-16 for no losses; a large number of the aircraft destroyed were Syrian MiG-21 and ‘23s. And the F-16 was not just an air-to-air specialist; in June 1981 eight Israeli F-16s bombed and destroyed an unfinished nuclear reactor at Osirak in Iraq; the task took two minutes and the planes escaped with no losses.

The Soviet Union fielded two new tactical fighter types in the 1980s that caused NATO much alarm. The larger of these was the Sukhoi Su-27 ‘Flanker’ and the smaller the MiG-29. Both types shared a similar overall configuration with underslung intakes and twin-tails, and demonstrated exceptional manoeuvrability.

The MiG-29 was tough and cheap, lacking the refinement of American fighters but compensating in extreme performance and the ability to operate from rougher airbases and tolerate worse treatment. It lacked a sophisticated cockpit but featuring innovative systems including auxiliary air intakes above the wing roots to protect the engine from debris, and an infra search and track sensor combined with a laser range finder.

The MiG-29 of 1985 would have been able to destroy most F-16s at arm’s length, armed as it was with medium range R-27 missiles: most F-16s had nothing more potent than short-ranged Sidewinders. Opponents that got closer to the MiG-29 would face an almost unbeatable fighter armed with the world’s best short range air-to-air missile, with an unprecedented off-boreshot (the ability to engage targets in a wide arc rather than just directly in front of the aircraft) capability cued by a helmet ‘look, shoot’ system (something the West would not have until the 1990s).

Its manoeuvrability was breath-taking due to extremely powerful and tolerant engines, and advanced aerodynamics. Its weaknesses were a short-range, poor man-machine interface and smoky engines. Remarkably, early MiG-29s did not include a fly-by-wire system.

The Hornet is an American a relatively lightweight fighter able to operate from aircraft carriers. We spoke to a former Hornet pilot who noted, “The Hornet’s instantaneous turn was as good or better than any jet that I flew against.” He also opined that, “The Hornet was excellent at high alpha flying. The Hornet was better than any jet I flew against in high alpha manoeuvring flight.”

‘High alpha flying’ refers to flying in a nose up position, which can enable a gun or missile shot in a dogfight.

In 1985 the F/A-18 had the most user-friendly cockpit in the world, the best multi-mode radar and the best low-speed manoeuvrability of any western fighter. Unlike the F-16, it had a mature Sparrow medium range missile capability, an extremely significant capability. The F/A-18 set new standards for a multirole fighter that Europe and Russia could only follow.

Its weaknesses lay in its disappointing range and its relatively mediocre performance at high speed and high altitude compared to aircraft like the US McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle or Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 ‘Flanker’.

America’s Grumman F-14 Tomcat flew with both the US Navy from the decks of its aircraft carriers, and with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force from land bases (which it continues to do today), a legacy of the 1970s when America and Iran were friends. The F-14’s most notable weapon was the ultra-long-range AIM-54 Phoenix missile, capable of destroying hostile aircraft 100 miles away (at least in theory).

For the air-to-air role it also carried AIM-9M short range missiles and AIM-7M Sparrow medium-range missiles and the M61 gun. The main problem with the F-14A was its unreliable Pratt & Whitney TF30 engines, which were prone to stalling, and were insufficiently powerful to get the most out the airframe. The F-14, was also not as agile as the F-15 or Su-27.

However, the F-14 proved very effective in the Iran/Iraq War. By 1985, the most successful F-14 pilot, Jalil Zandi of the IRIAF, had downed seven Iraqi aircraft including Mirage F1s, Su-22s, MiG-21s and MiG-23s.

The F-14 was the elite fighter of the IRIAF and it is claimed that it destroyed 160 Iraqi aircraft including 58 MiG-23s, 23 MiG-21s, nine MiG-25s, 33 Dassault Mirage F1s, 23 Su-17s and five Tu-22s making it arguably the greatest fighter aircraft of the 1980s.

After a slow development period, the Su-27 began entering service with the Soviet air force in 1985. In terms of agility and manoeuvrability, the Su-27 was the best fighter of 1985, and even superior to the F-15, especially at lower speeds.

Its manoeuvrability was virtually unbeatable, and combined as it was with the same helmet/R-73 missile combination as the MiG-29, it would have proved almost invincible in the close-range dogfight. It had an impressive range, though at maximum weight it was not a particularly agile aircraft.

It also had a large weapon load, normally consisting of six R-27 medium-ranged missiles and two R-73s short range missiles, backed up by an extremely accurate 30-mm cannon. Another system it shared with the MiG-29 was a combined infra-red search and track (IRST) and laser range finder sensor.

At this time IRSTs were out of vogue with western air forces and offered Soviet fighters an advantage in ‘silent’ passive detection enabling the Su-27 to sneak up on an enemy aircraft. In 1985 the Su-27 was just bedding into frontline service and just misses the top spot through a lack of maturity.

The earlier F-15A, though excellent in many ways, suffered from an immature radar and disappointing endurance. The F-15C, which entered service in 1979 rectified these problems and demonstrated McDonnell Douglas’ mastery of fighter design. The Eagle’s air superiority was achieved through a mixture of unprecedented manoeuvrability and acceleration, and advanced avionics, making it the benchmark of 1980s fighters.

The F-15 was an uncompromised air superiority fighter, designed to excel in both within- and beyond visual range engagements. For the first time, USAF had a fighter with a thrust-to-weight ratio that exceeded unity at combat weight.

The brute force of the F-15s large APG-63 radar gave it excellent detection range and a hearty resilience to electronic countermeasures. The aircraft was fast, and armed with up to eight air-to-air missiles and a M61 rotary cannon with 940 rounds. The first production Multistage Improvement Program (MSIP) F-15C was produced in 1985, which carried an upgraded central computer, the Programmable Armament Control Set, allowing for advanced versions of the AIM-7, AIM-9, as well as provision for the forthcoming AIM-120A missiles.

In 1985 the Su-27 was still finding its legs, but the F-15 was combat proven; Israeli F-15s had scored multiple kills with no reported losses.

In producing a top ten, I don’t hesitate to add all the normal disclaimers: each aircraft has strengths and weaknesses at different heights, speeds and in different situations; as always, pilot quality and tactics are more important than hardware. The ordering one to ten has involved consideration but is ultimately arbitrary. Aircraft considered that failed to make the grade included the Kfir C2, which deserves an honourable mention, but was pipped to the number ten slot by the Sea Harrier.

Several F-4 Phantom variants (3 pictured along with an F-15)could have been included, despite the airframe being passed its prime. The RAF’s Tornado F.Mk 2/3 were flying in late 1985 but were immature - lacking as they were a functional radar or even the provision for chaff and flares.

Though at a push the Tornado ADV and F-14 interceptors can be described as ‘fighters’, the MiG-31 seems a trifle too specialised to be featured but was certainly an impressive machine that is worth a mention. Upgraded MiG-21s would have given half the aircraft on this list a run for their money in the ‘merge’, but were too poorly equipped to make selection.

The full Hush-Kit article this is based on can be viewed here. Joe Coles is the author of The Hush-Kit

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