Military Fighter Jets: Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCAs)
Even though most nations do still have some specialized strategic heavy bombers, the enormous price of modern military aircraft has led to the development of a new type of military fighter jets known as the MRCA, or Multi-Role Combat Aircraft.
They’re compact military fighter jets ranging in size from the Anglo-French Jaguar, Panavia Tornado and French Mirage 2000, all under 17m long and with wingspans of about 9m, towards the fixed-wing BAe Buccaneer and Mirage (VP, and the swing-wing General Dynamics F-III and Sukhoi Su-24 ‘Fencer’ – all between 19m and 23m lengthy and with wingspans of about 13m for the fixed-wing kinds and 10-19m for the swing-wings.
Most are powered by twin turbofan engines and have maximum speeds of Mach 2 to 2.5. The Buccaneer is slower at just over 1000km/h but has a longer range. One thing they all have in typical is a mighty punch. Most are armed with cannon for strafing ground targets and for close quarter defence against other aircraft.
Nuclear or conventional bombs could be carried in internal bays or slung under the wings or fuselage, alongside air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. All carry sensors to warn of attacking military fighter jets or missiles, and their air-defences consist of electronic jammers, and chaff dispensers and decoys to confuse incoming missiles.
Fast, manoeuvrable and heavily armed, they form the heart of most air forces, equally capable of reconnaissance missions, low-level night attacks, air-to-air interceptions, precision bombing and attacks on ships at sea.
