In modern days the battlefields have become so much more than they used to be in the past. There are now modern missile technologies that can easily turn the table when used wisely. As you probably know, there are different kinds of missiles including the Surface-to-Air Missiles and the Air-to-Air missiles, and they all have different structures and different speeds.
But can a fighter jet survive getting hit by a missile?
Fighter jets cannot survive getting hit by a missile. However, a fighter pilot stands a good chance of avoiding the missile altogether with the help of evasive maneuvers, anti-missile flares, and other internal aircraft defense system.
This article will look closer at everything from how missiles find their target, to how fighter pilots can dodge and avoid missiles!
Table of Contents
Are Fighter Jets Armored?
If fighter jets were armored then they would be able to survive bullets and even missile strikes up to some extent. However, unfortunately, they aren’t.
The reason is that the thickness of the aircraft structure will add extra weight to it, and make it less agile. A heavier aircraft will to a large extent kill the purpose of being a fighter jet as it will never be able to maneuver as swiftly in the air.
In modern days maneuverability has become one of the most important traits. For example, if we take a look at Russian fighter jets such as the MIG or the SU, they are extremely maneuverable which helps them being excellent fighter jets on the battlefield, as well as in air-to-air combat.
What are fighter jets made of?
Aerospace engineering is a hard subject and aerospace engineers work day and night to make metals fly. However, you should keep it in mind that there isn’t any magic but pure calculations. Not every single metal on the earth can fly the way we want. Therefore, aerospace engineers have to select special elements to properly structure the aircraft.
A modern fighter jet’s wings consist of titanium and aluminum which is a light yet strong combination. These are strong yet light materials which make them the perfect option to withstand the high amount of pressure in the air.
How Do Fighter Jets Avoid Missiles?
Modern fighter jets have highly sophisticated systems that not only ensure safe flight, but also help the pilot carry out all types of missions. These systems are called Missile approach warning systems(MAW), and there are several types to ensure that missiles can be detected in varying conditions.
Perhaps the most prominent examples are the different kinds of RADAR systems mounted on fighter jets. These have the primary purpose of helping fighter pilots remain aware of their surroundings as well as incoming threats, such as missiles.
Let’s assume that a missile is launched towards a fighter jet. As the radar uses radio waves that are transmitted from the transmitting from the plane, these radio waves then hit the missile and reflect back to the receiver.
The receiver then uses a properly structured algorithm to calculate the position and velocity of the incoming missile, which allows the fighter pilot to think accordingly and plan his or her next move.
Some fighter jets are also equipped with infrared and ultraviolet warning systems, to help with missile detection in varying conditions. For example, the infrared sensor works best in good weather conditions, while the ultraviolet sensor has the advantage of working well in direct sunlight and less favorable weather conditions.
How Fighter Jet Pilots Avoid Missiles: Three techniques
Some people believe that fighter jets cannot escape missiles, but that’s not completely true. Modern military aircraft have several tricks up their sleeve that can be used to successfully dodge and avoid incoming missiles. However, the pilot must react quickly, as a missile can approach speeds well over 3000 ft per second.
Here are some things a fighter pilot can do to avoid an incoming missile:
- Evasive Maneuvers: Some common evasive maneuvers include barrel rolls and sharp turns. The main goal is to cause the missile to lose track of the plane.
- Anti-missile flares: If the missile is heat-seeking, the pilot may choose to deploy flares to confuse its tracking system and make it follow the flares rather than the fighter jet itself.
However, if the missile is radar-guided, flares won’t help that much. The pilot can instead choose to deploy tiny metal pieces called “chaff”. These will confuse the missile’s radar system - ECM: Many newer fighter jets are employed with so-called Electronic Countermeasures, that work to confuse the missile and make it lose track of the plane.
Now you might be thinking that another option would be to escape a missile by just flying faster. Well, this assumes that the fighter jet flies faster than the missile itself. So, is that the case?
Missiles Vs Fighter Jets: Which Fly Faster?
If you were to compare the speed of fighter jets to that of missiles then the winner would surely be the missile. This is because fighter jets are made up of various pieces of equipment as well as the pilot, which add to the weight of the aircraft.
On the other hand, a missile only contains its fuel, navigation module, and the warhead. This makes it lighter and less bulky, which allows it to reach higher speeds. In addition, the highly aerodynamic shape of the missile gives it an edge over fighter jets when it comes to speed.
Two fighter jets, the Lockheed SR-71 and the MIG 31 Foxbat are considered the fightest fighter jets of all the time, and there are claims that they could outspeed the chasing missiles.
As the SR-71 Blackbird can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 3.2 during simple reconnaissance flight, this is completely reasonable. However, many missiles still are able to reach speeds much higher than that. For instance, the MIM-104 Patriot can reach speeds of 5 Mach!
The following table shows a comparison between the fastest air to air missiles and some common fighter jets.
| Missile | Max Speed | Fighter Jet | Max Speed |
| RIM-66 Standard | Mach 3.5 | Mikoyan MIG-31 Foxhound | 2.5 Mach |
| FIM-92 Stinger | Mach 2.54 | Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat | 2.5 Mach |
| MIM-104 Patriot | Mach 5 | Chengdu J-10 | 2.2 Mach |
| RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile | Mach 2.5 | General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark | 2.2 Mach |
| RIM-7 Sea Sparrow | Mach 4 | McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle | 2.2 Mach |
How Do Missiles Find Their Target?
There are different navigation systems used in missiles to help them reach their target. Some rely on infrared light or radar systems, while others use satellites or internal sensors, sometimes combines
Let’s look at some of the most common navigation systems found in missiles:
Heat-seeking/Infrared Homing missiles
A heat-seeking or infrared homing missile has an infrared module installed. These missiles are called passive guidance missiles as they work on the one-way energy philosophy.
Simply put, we know that all bodies that are above the absolute zero emit electromagnetic radiation. Bodies with higher temperatures than 5 kelvin, such as jet engines, emit infrared radiations.
To detect such a hot body, infrared sensors are used and enclosed in missiles to make them heat-seeking.
The IR sensor detects the heat coming out of the aircraft’s exhaust and helps the missile to make its way to the aircraft using a simple navigation algorithm.
As the sun is also a major source of the infrared light, heat-seeking missile systems contain optical filters that help in the removal of unwanted wavelengths.
Another device used in IR homing missiles is the reticle, which is placed between the filter and the detector. The main purpose of the reticle is to determine the position of the target and separate it from its background.
Inertial Sensors Mounted Missiles
One of the most sophisticated missile navigation systems is the INS or the Inertial navigation system. It consists of gyroscopes and accelerometers that measure the missile’s heading and acceleration using these two sensors.
The major plus point of the inertial navigation system is that it is self-contained. This means the INS doesn’t rely on signals from any external source. However, its errors grow unboundedly with time which makes it less effective.
GNSS Mounted Missiles
The global navigation satellite systems have been proved to be a game-changer.
GNSS uses satellites in the medium earth orbit which broadcast their signals on different frequencies. The GNSS receiver installed on these missiles receive the incoming signal from satellites and then process it for its navigation purposes.
The GNSS is a modern technique that relies on signals from at least four satellites (In its standalone form). Unlike the INS, the errors of the GNSS don’t grow unboundedly with time. However, it is vulnerable to impulse forces acting on the missile. Apart from that the jamming and spoofing of the GNSS systems is another issue.
There are several GNSS systems belonging to different countries. Most modern missile systems use the GNSS system for its navigation.
Hybrid Navigation System for Missiles
A newer and modern technique for navigation of modern-day missiles is the integrated Navigation System. It consists of two systems combined together with a statistical/mathematical filter that minimizes the error in navigation.
The integration of two systems makes it a much more reliable source for navigation. A hybrid system typically consists of GNSS and INS in most missile systems.
One of the bright sides of the system integration of GNSS and INS is its security. As the GNSS system doesn’t rely on incoming satellite signals alone then such integrated systems aren’t as susceptible to jamming or spoofing.
Another benefit of an integrated system is that it copes up the unbounded growth in errors of INS with time. It simply is a reliable navigation system for many missiles.
The above are some of the most popular navigation systems that missiles use to track the target. It then follows the target and hits the mark exactly. These navigation systems prove to be quite effective in BVR (beyond visual range) situations where a pilot can lock the target relying on sensors alone.
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