An F-35 pilot breaks down each fighter generation
Justin Lee | April 2, 2021
I hear the term “fighter generation†a lot these days, such as Fourth-gen or Fifth-gen. What does that mean?
It’s a great question. A fighter generation is a period of time where aircraft were designed and built with similar technology, under a similar philosophy. There’s no clear-cut distinction between generations—engineers simply build the best aircraft they can and looking back we can broadly categorize where different aircraft belong. Fifth-generation aircraft represent the newest fighter technology. However, to understand what that means and what capabilities these aircraft bring to the table, we need to take a look at the previous generations.
The dawn of the jet age began during WWII with the first operations jet—the German Me-262. The United States, lagging in jet technology, fielded their first combat-capable jet in 1945. These and other first-generation aircraft were like their propeller-driven predecessors, except for their engines. They had little to no avionics and their primary weapon was the gun. Because jet engine technology was in its infancy, they had short lifespans and, if not delicately managed, were prone to flameouts—quickly turning them into gliders.
https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/an-f-35-pilot-breaks-down-each-fighter-generation/
