Fighter aircraft



A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat against other aircraft, as opposed to bombers and attack aircraft, whose main mission is to attack ground targets. The hallmarks of a fighter are its speed, maneuverability, and small size relative to other combat aircraft.

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
First flown in 1974, the F-16 is the backbone of the U.S. Air Force. During the beginning of Solid Snake's infiltration mission of Shadow Moses Island, the Air Force sent in two F-16 fighter jets from Galena AFB as a diversionary tactic. The plan was to begin the infiltration while the terrorists had their eyes on the F-16s. The diversion proved to be effective, as Liquid Snake departed to engage them in a Hind D, to which he had earlier referred to the aircraft as "some bothersome flies." Incredibly, he was able to shoot them both down with the Hind. After shooting them down, Liquid contacted the Government and warned them that, should they try to pull a similar stunt like that again, he would launch the nuke.

Lavochkin La-5
The Lavochkin La-5 was a Soviet-made fighter craft used during World War II, and was considered one of the most reliable aircraft within the Soviet Air Force.

During the San Hieronymo Takeover in late 1970, the former Soviet commander of the San Hieronymo Peninsula, Colonel Skowronski, had a Lavochkin La-5 among his collection on board the tanker, which Naked Snake later noticed when conversing with Skowronski after the latter was imprisoned by Python due to being discovered.

Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the prime contractor and is responsible for the majority of the airframe, weapon systems and final assembly of the F-22. Program partner Boeing Defense, Space & Security provides the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The MiG-21 (NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is one of the Soviet Union's frontline fighter jets. They can be equipped with rocket pods and bombs for air-to-ground bombing runs.

Used to control the airspace over Tselinoyarsk, Naked Snake needed to avoid several MiG's with the D-21 drone at the beginning of Operation Snake Eater. In Snake's battle with The Boss MiGs were ordered to bomb the area giving her and Snake limited time in which to fight. Later, when he and EVA were making their escape, a couple of MiGs threatened to shoot them down but Nikita Khrushchev called them off.

The ex-commander of the San Hieronymo Peninsula, Colonel Skowronski, later lamented that he lacked a MiG, feeling it would have given him the opportunity to defeat Gene.

Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a fighter jet originally designed by the Soviet Union and was a mainstay in the Russian Federation's Air Force. The Flanker is an extremely capable aircraft that can hold its own against the American F-15 Eagle or the British Tornado.

Zanzibar Land utilized Su-27s as part of its Strategic Air Force's fighter division.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem, two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft, having first entered service in 1960. It possessed a top speed of Mach 2.2, and could carry over 8,400 kg of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. It initially did not carry an internal cannon, although later versions did utilize the M61 Vulcan gun. It was utilized extensively during the Vietnam War as the air superiority fighter of both the Navy and Air Force, and had roles such as reconnaissance and ground attacks late into the war. It continued to see usage throughout the 1970s and 1980s, before gradually being phased out for more modern fighters.

Zanzibar Land utilized various F-4 Phantom IIs of the RF-4C variant as part of its Strategic Air Force, specifically as Aerial Scouts.

Behind the scenes
F-22 Raptors did not appear in the series proper, but they did appear in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, released in the West as Metal Gear Solid, where they were dispatched to destroy anti-aircraft turrets guarding the maintenance base at Galuade. According to No. 4 during the Special Missions mode, the F-22s, besides their destroying the turrets, were also intended by Steve Gardner to act as a constituency plan in case Solid Snake failed to stop the Gindra Liberation Front by doing an air raid on Galuade that would have also ensured Snake's death, and even made plans of launching a nuclear warhead at the location. This also explained why the F-22s were suspiciously smooth in their carrying out the cruise missile strike.

A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II briefly made an appearance in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops in the montage accompanying Gene's threatening speech at the Plant before ensuring that the Russian soldiers under his command committed mass-riot suicide.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid (F16, mentioned only)
 * Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (F-22, non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (MiG-21)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (La-5, mentioned only; F-4, artwork only)