Light fighter

A light fighter is a type of fighter aircraft which is deliberately designed to fill a performance niche based on a high power-to-weight ratio. Typically light fighters have been dismissed by military planners as being too limited in capability, but several light fighter designs have fairly good combat records.

The original light fighter class developed out of a series of pre-WWII engines that delivered a high power-to-weight ratio, albeit at a low power rating. In order to make use of these engines, the aircraft carrying them would have to be made as light as possible. However this is not always easy, due to an engineering rule of thumb known as "minimum gauge" -- some elements of a design simply cannot be scaled down. Nevertheless there was a brief period in which there was a light-weight sweet spot, and several designs were attempted. The French Armée de l'Air attempted several light fighter designs, one of which, the Arsenal VG-33, proved to have excellent performance. France fell before sufficient numbers could be produced to prove the concept in combat. The USAAC also contracted for several light fighter designs when it was believed that a massive German attack was forthcoming, but by the time any were ready the fear had passed.

Light fighters again became popular in during the early era of jet engine development, for much the same reasons. The most famous of these is the F-5 Freedom Fighter, which was largely passed over by the USAF, but saw widespread service around the world due to its low cost. Several attempts have been made to introduce newer designs in the same general performance range as the F-5, but none have been nearly as successful. The F-16 Fighting Falcon was originally developed as a light fighter, but developed into a highly capable medium fighter-bomber. Robot or remote control fighter craft may usher in a new era of relatively disposable light fighters for high risk missions.