FIGHTER JETS

It’s been a long time since the Allied d forces had to worry about losing airrplanes in a dogfight or has fretted that an enemy airplane could slip past radar to bomb airbases. But a new class of stealth warplanes from Russia (PAK-FA, pictured) and China (J-20, J-31) is adding new lines to the foreheads of the guys at the US DOD. The world’s air forces – and the global network of defence media – have been following the development of these aircraft for years, even before their secret first flights in 2010 and 2011. Stealth airplanes revolutionised modern warfare for the US, as they’re used to eliminate air defences so that older, easily seen aircraft can attack other targets. Now we have to deal with potential enemies having them, too.