Military Aircraft

The aircraft developed and used by our armed forces are the vehicles of aerial warfare. The function for which an aircraft is designed dictates its size, shape, speed, range, weight, and its operational altitude. Our armed forces have a need for many different kinds of aircraft.

The easiest way to classify military aircraft is by the job that they are designed to perform. There are, for example, aircraft used for training, observing, fighting, bombing, trans­porting, rescuing, and air refueling. In the sections that follow you will find some examples of modern military fighter, bomber, transport, and reconnaissance aircraft.

Another important part of military aviation is the devel­opment of new aircraft. It takes a lot of money, time, and patience to develop a new idea that eventually becomes an operational aircraft. In the next few pages you will find a description of three experimental aircraft that have been used to good advantage by our armed forces.