A strike fighter is a fighter aircraft which is also capable of attacking surface targets, including ships. It differs from an attack aircraft in that the aircraft remains a capable fighter. Previously, an airstrike on a ground target would usually involve bombers, defended by fighters. Strike-fighters can attack targets unaided, while remaining manouverable and well-equipped enough to defend themselves. An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... As the name suggests, a surface target is a military target located on the surface of the Earth. ... Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, usually with multiple decks. ... A ground attack aircraft is an aircraft that is designed to operate very close to the ground, supporting infantry and tanks directly in battle. ... An airstrike is a military strike by air forces on an enemy ground position, which depending on the selected tactics may or may not be followed up by artillery, armor, and/or infantry units. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ...

The term ‘strike fighter’ is almost synonymous with the term ‘fighter-bomber’, first seeing usage in the 1950s to describe a new generation of attack aircraft like the Blackburn Firebrand. The term can be considered more politically correct, as bomber aircraft can be portrayed as dropping bombs indiscriminately over a target area. Precision attacks are commonly termed ‘surgical strikes’, a term that implies extremely accurate modern weapons and intelligence. A ground attack aircraft is an aircraft that is designed to operate very close to the ground, supporting infantry and tanks directly in battle. ... The 1950s were the decade that traditionally speaking, spanned the years 1950 through 1959. ... The B-37 Firebrand was a single-engine fighter aircraft designed to Air Ministry Specification N.11/40 by Blackburn Aircraft. ... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... A surgical strike is a military attack upon a target which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed only to have resulted in damage to the intended legitimate military target, and does not result in any collateral damage to surronding structures, vehicles, buildings, etc. ...

The Panavia Tornado, for example, was originally known as a fighter-bomber, and later became a strike fighter. The Tornado strike fighter is designated IDS, meaning ‘Interdiction/Strike’. IDS is the European equivalent of the US F/A designation. The term fighter-bomber remains in use when describing the Tornado, however, because it falls into an arbitrary class of older, slower, and less manouverable strike fighters. Luftwaffe Tornado IDS at Radom Air Show 2005 Tornado GR.4 taking off at the Farnborough Air Show, 2006. ...

Recently, the term has become blurred. The F-117 Nighthawk is often referred to as a strike fighter, although it has no air-to-air capability and is therefore a pure attack aircraft. The F-22 Raptor was designated a F/A-22 between 2003 and 2005, implying a Fighter/Attack role, though it has since been returned to a fighter designation. The Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is the worlds first operational aircraft completely designed around stealth technology. ... The F-22 Raptor is a stealth fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. ...

The latest generation of strike fighters are the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon, though current European parlance describes the Typhoon as a 'swing-role' aircraft. The F-35 Lightning II program is designing a multirole fighter with ground attack capability. Four F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets assigned to the Black Aces of Strike Fighter Squadron Forty One (VFA-41) fly over the western Pacific Ocean in a stack formation on 25 October 2003 F/A-18F at RIAT 2004 The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is... The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multi-role canard-delta strike fighter aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, Eurofighter GmbH, formed in 1983. ... The F-35 Lightning II — previously known as the X-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) during its development — is a single-seat, single-engined military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. ...

Popular culture

Strike Fighter is also the name of a Sega arcade game simulating an F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter, this game is a spiritual successor to the earlier After Burner series and its semi-sequel, G-LOC: Air Battle. Sega Corporation ) is an international video game software and hardware developing company, and a former home computer and console manufacturer. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... After Burner is 1987 Japanese arcade game by Sega. ...