The Future of Turkey's Airpower: The Fifth Generation Challenge.

• Author: Mevlutoglu, Arda
• Position: ARTICLE

Introduction

Turkey is currently working on the design and development of an indigenous combat aircraft under a project called Milli Muharip Ucak (MMU, National Combat Aircraft). The MMU is stated to be a fifth generation combat aircraft because it has certain features and characteristics that are incorporated in only a handful current or upcoming aircraft. The term 'generation' in air warfare implies incremental qualitative developments resulting from advances in aerospace technology. With the introduction of each new capability or performance improvement, combat aircraft generations proceed, and this progress has both direct and indirect effects on warfare in general. Many different methodologies are used to classify and describe combat aircraft generations, but according to the most widely accepted approach, the latest iteration in active service is the fifth generation. Design, development and deployment of a fifth generation fighter require multi-layered, interdisciplinary program management. In other words, a combat aircraft has become more than just a military platform; it is also a techno-political asset.

Understanding the challenges and opportunities of fifth generation aircraft and modern air warfare requires insight into the evolution of air power. Turkey's current position and prospects will be presented upon this foundation. The present article describes the main characteristics and dynamics of the evolution of air warfare and its effects on combat aircraft design. After providing an overview of these features in the first section, the second section will present the current structure and future projects of the Turkish Air Force. The final section will submit suggestions and insight on the opportunities, dynamics and challenges of the transformation of Turkey's next generation air warfare.

Transformation of Air Power

The end of the Cold War meant that the risk of all-out, global armed conflict became history. The following decades, especially the period after the 9/11 attacks, marked a new era of asymmetric warfare, operations other than war (OOTW) and counter terrorism operations. These modalities require new technologies and systems for the modern warfighter. (1) Combat aircraft design is no exception. The importance of network-enabled capability, high speed and robust information sharing through advanced data link systems and precision guided strike capabilities are at the top of the requirement lists. Tomorrow's fighter aircraft will not just be platforms to counter adversaries' equivalent platforms. Instead, they will be integrated elements of a network-centric warfighting organism. (2) In the 20th century, especially after World War II, combat aircraft were designed for specific requirements, often resulting in dedicated platforms. The performance requirements of fighters were often determined in regard to those of enemy aircraft. This was especially the case for aircraft tasked primarily with air superiority and interception missions. These aircraft's capability and performance of secondary missions such as air-to-ground or reconnaissance were limited, if not entirely neglected.

This trend began to change in the last quarter of the past century, due to a combination of developments in technology and the need to achieve the most cost-effective combat capability. Single mission dedicated platforms have become more difficult to sustain. Budget cuts and the cost of technology, combined with the cost required to develop, manufacture and maintain the platforms have resulted in a smaller number of aircraft being procured. Training and infrastructure also have become challenging factors for planners and decision makers. (3) Advancements in technology have provided new capabilities for fighter aircraft like multi-spectrum sensors, information fusion, advanced data sharing and various forms of kinetic effect with high levels of precision. These factors have become the de facto standards of fighters of a new generation.

Air warfare saw a dramatic change toward the end of WWII with the introduction of the jet engine. During the Korean War, which started shortly afterwards, jet fighters were used extensively by both sides. The capabilities and performance of combat aircraft have increased very rapidly since then, thanks to advances in aerospace and defense technologies. (4)

As mentioned above, all of the incremental developments and capability improvements in combat aircraft design can be studied under certain groups, referred to as generations. There is not a widely accepted consensus regarding the criteria used to distinguish between generations, but according to the most common methodology, there have been five generations of combat aircraft since World War II. The most distinctive characteristics of these generations are summarized below. (5)

First generation: Jet engine aircraft of the first generation were developed between the mid-1940s to 1950s. In terms of flight characteristics, armament and manufacturing technology, these aircraft were basically the same as contemporary fighter aircraft with their piston engines replaced with the first examples of turbojet engines, which were prone to frequent failures during flight. The first test of this first generation was air war during the Korean War, which was fought in a subsonic speed regime and in low to medium altitudes. The F-86 (United States), Mystere (France) and MiG-15 (Soviet Union) were among the members of the first generation.

Second generation: Developed between the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, second generation fighter aircraft introduced the first examples of guided air-toair missiles, using infrared and semi-active radar seekers. Advances in aerodynamics, materials and engines resulted in sustained supersonic flight and much higher operational altitudes. The combat aircraft of this generation also incorporated more complex avionics and navigation equipment; another major improvement was the introduction of fire control radars, enabling fighter aircraft to find and engage targets without aid from ground radar or an early warning system. The F-104 and F-5 (United States), Mirage III (France) and MiG-21 (Soviet Union) are the most well-known examples of this generation.

Third generation: The combat aircraft of this generation were developed between the early 1960s and 1970s. There were significant developments in terms of maneuverability, communication and navigation equipment and radar. More advanced radar incorporating Doppler technology provided 'lookdown, shoot-down' capability over longer ranges. Air-to-air missiles with more capable seekers enabled beyond visual range engagements while electro-optical seekers and targeting systems drastically increased air-to-ground strike capability, through the introduction of the first examples of precision guided bombs and missiles. These developments resulted in the elimination of the necessity to visually acquire targets, both in the air and on the ground. The F-4 (United States), Mirage F1 (France) and MiG-23 (Soviet Union) are among the members of the third generation.

Fourth generation: These aircraft were designed between early 1970s until the late 1980s and incorporated giant leaps in electronics and software fields. Aircraft cockpits were equipped with modern displays, while flight control systems were supported by electro-mechanic actuators and computers. Fourth generation aircraft were able to switch between missions, being able to be equipped with different types of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapon and mission systems. The F-15 and F-16 (United States), Mirage 2000 (France) and MiG-29 (Soviet Union) are well-known fourth generation fighters.

Advances in technology, especially in the fields of electronics and software, enabled further advanced avionics and subsystems for combat aircraft. Combat aircraft that were introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s had all the features of the fourth generation while incorporating new capabilities and increased performance, thus being ahead of the fourth generation but not necessarily members of an entirely new one. Sometimes referred to as 4.5 generation or 4+ generation, these combat aircraft were controlled predominantly by computers. In addition to their multi-mode radars, they were equipped with electro-optical search and tracking systems. The first examples of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar systems are seen on these fighters. Features of this sub-group are also applied to fourth generation fighters through extensive avionics and structural upgrades. The Gripen (Sweden), Typhoon (multinational) and Rafale (France) can be regarded as 4.5 generation.

Fifth generation: Starting in the late 1990s, the fifth generation introduced a number of ground-breaking technologies such as low observability, sensor fusion, advanced data link and communication systems, thrust vectoring control (TVC) and advanced flight control systems. The F-22 Raptor is considered the first, truly fifth generation combat aircraft, followed by the F-35 Lightning II. China and the Russian Federation have been working on fifth generation fighters, respectively the J-20, which is recently entering service, and Su-57, which is currently at the initial stages of serial production.

One of the most important characteristics of fifth generation fighters is increased situational awareness through a fusion of the aircraft's own sensor data and information gathered from other friendly air, sea and land assets. Fifth generation aircraft are capable of creating, updating, processing and sharing a tactical picture. This capability enables the fighter to engage enemy targets from long ranges without being detected. (6) Such complicated features require computers taking command of almost all of the functions of the aircraft, through the seamless functioning of a human-machine interface. In other words, in fifth generation combat aircraft the pilot is...