A comprehensive directory of the world's combat aircraft since 1945 with over 260 entries spanning the technological advances developed over nearly six decades. From the last of the piston engined fighters and bombers, through the early jet age and on to today's highly advanced aircraft, 'Combat Aircraft Since 1945' covers the fighters, bombers, maritime patrol aircraft and helicopter gunships which have fought past battles and will fight those of the future. (From back cover).

This is a large format A-Z encyclopedia of every Allied and Axis fighting plane from 1933-1945 - from the famous to the lesser known - in all theatres of war from Europe to Asia and the Pacific.

The proposition that innovation is critical in the cost-effective design and development of successful military aircraft is still subject to some debate. RAND research indicates that innovation is promoted by intense competition among three or more industry competitors. Given the critical policy importance of this issue in the current environment of drastic consolidation of the aerospace defense industry, the authors here examine the history of the major prime contractors in developing jet fighters since World War II. They make use of an extensive RAND database that includes nearly all jet fighters, fighter-attack aircraft, and bombers developed and flown by U.S. industry since 1945, as well as all related prototypes, modifications, upgrades, etc. The report concludes that (1) experience matters, because of the tendency to specialize and thus to develop system-specific expertise; (2) yet the most dramatic innovations and breakthroughs came from secondary or marginal players trying to compete with the industry leaders; and (3) dedicated military R&D conducted or directly funded by the U.S. government has been critical in the development of new higher-performance fighters and bombers.

Examines how airfare requirements have evolved since WWII, and how air power has contributed to military needs.

Modern Military Aircraft is a comprehensive guide to the world's fighting aircraft since World War II, from the earliest jet fighters and basic piston-engined bombers, to today's high-tech and stealthy superfighters. Aircraft featured include: the F-86 Sabre, which fought its way to convincing victory over Russia's MiG-15 in the world's first jet-versus-jet battles in Korea; the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the deadliest fleet fighter ever built, which has played an important part in the conflicts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries; and Russia's export miracles the Sukhoi Su-27, currently in service with air arms across the world in an array of variants. This book contains detailed features on more than 220 combat aircraft and helicopters from the past 65 years. Presented alphabetically by manufacturer, each aircraft is covered in detail, with feature boxes outlining its development, technical specifications, performance data and variants. Unique graphics allow the reader to compare specific features like firepower, troop-carrying capacity, and bombload with those of other aircraft of the same type.

This book consists of an A-Z of modern fighters, from 1945 to the present day. From the propeller-driven Hawker SEa Fury to the jet-powered Eurofighter Typhoon, all the principal post-war fighters are described, illustrated and analyzed.

The world's first jet engines were already available shortly before the end of the Second World War, but they had not been developed to a high enough standard to take part. This changed after 1945 when, on both sides of the Iron Curtain, one technological development surpassed the others and records tumbled almost every week. The era of the piston engine was finally over and jet fighters now dominated the skies. By the mid-1950s their speed had already reached double that of the speed of sound; an achievement which a few years earlier, would have sounded to many like science fiction.

Military Jet Aircraft is a fully illustrated guide to over fifty of the most important jet-engined aircraft developed between 1945 and the present day, with an artwork and description of each aircraft type alongside action photographs and a comprehensive specifications.