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Tomorrow’s air defense today
Air defense
today integrates modern missile defense technology with more traditional
weaponry such as radar-guided antiaircraft guns. While gun systems
currently are employed in more diminished role, their importance in
specialist roles cannot be ignored. Missile defense has become more
prevalent as a first line of defense and have steadily been replacing
gun systems.
Missiles’
advantage over guns when defending against an air attack has lead
to this change. On board "navigation
systems" make it possible for a missile to change its course
after launch and hone in to its target. This makes it possible to
attack an incoming enemy aircraft from a much larger distance than
a rapid fire gun system, which is limited by the range of its ammunition.
Stealth technology poses a threat to this modern adjustment to missile
defense systems. A stealth aircraft is designed to elude radar. For
missile systems to be effective they must be able to track an incoming
aircraft from a considerable distance. A stealth aircraft that remains
undetectable at these distances poses a threat to the first line of
defense.
The weaponry of defense today will give way to models of science fiction
in the future. Mobile Tactical High-Energy Lasers could bridge the
gap in defense that stealth technology has created. These systems
have been proven effective in short to mid-range scenarios when defending
against both aircraft and missiles, and could help in situations where
a stealth aircraft that has eluded long-distance radar comes into
more immediate proximity of its target.
Fighter aircraft remain an importance part of air defense. Advances
in microchip and semiconductor technology lead to technological leaps
in avionics during the 1990’s, and supercomputers made it possible
to create effective stealth designs.
Modern fighter aircraft employ a wide range of air-to-air armaments.
Stealth fighters currently in use hide their payload within the fuselage
of the aircraft so as to retain its stealth capabilities. Payload
doors can be opened in under a second by the use of hydraulic arms
that push the missiles clear of the airframe. Incredibly high sustained
speeds combined with high altitude capability make these modern aircraft
a highly effective weapon with both long and short range capabilities.
Future aircraft will further these leaps in technology, and advancements
such as thrust vectoring, improved navigation
systems, and integrated
avionics will augment tactical advantages and alleviate some of the
pilot’s burden, increasing situational awareness and mitigating
fatigue. It is even possible future aircraft could house laser systems,
increasing the overall strategic power of these incredible weapons. |
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Air 
