Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets.
In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. For other usages of 'fighter', see Fighter.Īn F-16 Fighting Falcon (left), P-51D Mustang (bottom), F-86 Sabre (top), and F-22 Raptor (right) fly in a formation representing four generations of American fighters.įighter aircraft (early on also pursuit aircraft) are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. This article is about aircraft designed to combat other aircraft.
