Navy vs Air Force: The Jets

Whenever I tell people I fly jets for the Navy, almost always the first question I get asked is “Like Tom Cruise?!” Then I have to explain to them Tom Cruise didn’t actually fly in the Navy, we don’t play beach volleyball all day, you don’t high-five your wingman on the flight deck after landing and there are way fewer homosexual undertones in naval aviation than the movie leads on. Okay maybe not way fewer.

But after clearing that up, the next question I get asked every single time is “so do you fly the F-16?” The F-16? The F-16. “Why the hell would I fly the F-16 in the Navy?” is what I want to say but then I remember my ability to go down YouTube and Wikipedia rabbit holes of aircraft (among many, many, many other topics) is unmatched (read: psychotic) and therefore wouldn’t expect normal people to know the differences between American fighter jets.

So that’s what I’m going to help clarify today: the difference in fighter jets between the US Navy and Air Force and why don’t they just share the same platforms?

And hey, on the bright side, at least they didn’t ask me if I was a P-8 driver.

Key Takeaways

✈ The fighter was born out of necessity in World War II
✈ Navy fighters are versatile and "jacks of all trades" whereas Air Force designs for mission specificity and area dominance
✈ Both services often share similar airframes, with the Navy making specific adaptations for landing/storage aboard carriers

The History of the Fighter

WWII was really the true beginning of fighter aircraft becoming prevalent in militaries across the world. Prior to then military aircraft were mainly used as scouts for reconnaissance. But with the Germans developing the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the British engineering the Spitfire, aerial combat was about to take off.

The Air Force utilized bombers heavily in WWII and were often accompanied by famous fighter aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the P-38 Lightning as the air-to-air “bodyguard” or to establish air-to-ground support with the ground troops.

The US Navy had a slightly different mission with their fighters. Although the Navy had started experimenting with naval-based aviation as early as the 1910s, it was the 1940s that would establish aircraft carriers for launching and recovering aircraft in combat. The F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, and F4U Corsair are some of the more well-known fighters used by the Navy for naval strike, fleet defense, and supporting amphibious assaults.

Missions Constraints: Hybrid vs Specific

When assessing the differences between Air Force and Navy fighters, consideration must be given to the vast differences in operating conditions when conducting missions. The Air Force, as discussed previously, deploys to bases with essentially unlimited resources and space whereas the Navy is completely contained to the walls of the carrier.

This presents two very different results in how the two services operate their fighters: Air Force jets can optimize their platform for specific missions but Navy jets must be equipped and able to execute a wide variety of tasks.

An air base in Ramstein, Germany is going to have all the maintenance resources needed to maintain several different models of aircraft, providing the ability for a base to support specialization. An aircraft carrier like the Ford, for instance, will be much more constrained with the resources onboard. Because of this, it would make sense for the carrier to have fewer variances in models to share common parts, maintainers, and operating procedures.

After sorting out the differences in operating environments, it’s clear that the Air Force has the ability to choose from its vast inventory the best tool for the job: the A-10 for ground attacks, F-22 for air superiority, F-35 for stealth missions, etc…

The Navy, on the other hand, requires more of a hybrid platform. The F-18 is designed to be able to defend the fleet against enemy fighters in the air-to-air arena as well as support assets on the ground in air-to-ground missions.

Design Constraints

While mission constraints define each service’s needs on a “macro” level, there are also design constraints which relate more to the “micro”. These design constraints are directly representative of the operating area where these jets fly.

We’ll consider Air Force aircraft design the norm: aircraft that are light, powerful, designed as simply as possible to execute the mission, and land anywhere with a piece of concrete in an emergency.

Navy jets are almost the complete opposite. Due to the way Navy jets land on carriers, their landing gear is much bulkier and stronger than their counterpart’s. Also, the systems engineering behind Navy jets is inherently more complex due to the fact that the wings need to be able to fold up vertically to accommodate tight storage in small hangars. Lastly, but maybe most importantly: the engines. Although the Navy has historically flown some single-engine jets, the majority of their fleet (including today) are twin-engine. This allows for a safety factor if the pilot were to lose an engine, operating thousands of miles from a divert field.

Famous Fighter Aircraft

Throughout American military history, services have both shared common platforms, such as the F-4 Phantom II, as well as created niche fighters that serve a branch’s very specific requirements, like the A-10 Warthog or F-14 Tomcat.

Below are some examples of iconic fighters from each branch and what made them so legendary:

Navy

A-6 Intruder - a pioneering all-weather attack aircraft for the Navy, renowned for its advanced avionics and impressive payload capacity, enabling precise ground-attack missions day or night.

• 1963-1997
• Vietnam War, Gulf War

A-7 Corsair II - distinguished by its high subsonic speed, exceptional accuracy with ground attack, and ability to carry a diverse range of munitions, making it a vital close air support aircraft for the Navy.

• 1967-1991
• Vietnam War, Gulf War

F-4 Phantom II - a versatile and powerful fighter-bomber used by both the Navy and Air Force, acclaimed for its twin-engine speed, robust payload, and adaptability to various combat roles.

• 1960-1986
• Vietnam War

F-14 Tomcat - unique for its variable-sweep wing design and its role as the Navy’s premier fleet defense fighter, equipped with advanced radar and long-range Phoenix missiles.

• 1974-2006
• Gulf War, Kosovo War

F-18 Hornet/Super Hornet - versatile multirole fighters known for their agility, advanced avionics, and ability to perform both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, serving as the backbone of Navy carrier air wings.

• 1983-Present
• Gulf War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan

Air Force

F-100 Super Sabre - the first USAF fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight, setting a new standard for jet fighters in terms of speed and performance during its era.

• 1954-1979
• Vietnam War

F-105 Thunderchief - notable for its speed and bomb-carrying capacity, making it a key asset in strike missions over North Vietnam, particularly in the Wild Weasel role for suppressing enemy air defenses.

• 1958-1984
• Vietnam War

F-4 Phantom II

• 1963-1996
• Vietnam War, Gulf War

A-10 Warthog - known for its distinctive durability and powerful GAU-8 Avenger cannon, excels in close air support missions, providing unmatched ground attack capabilities and survivability.

• 1977-Present
• Gulf War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan

F-15 Eagle - an all-weather air superiority fighter celebrated for its unmatched speed, agility, and advanced avionics, maintaining air dominance for the USAF since its introduction.

• 1976-Present
• Gulf War, Kosovo War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan

F-16 Fighting Falcon - a versatile multirole fighter known for its agility, advanced avionics, and cost-effectiveness, becoming a cornerstone of air forces worldwide with its adaptability to various combat roles.

• 1978-Present
• Gulf War, Kosovo War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan

F-22 Raptor - a fifth-generation stealth fighter that excels in air superiority with advanced stealth technology, supercruise capability, and integrated avionics, representing the pinnacle of modern fighter design for the USAF.

• 2005-Present
• War in Afghanistan, Syrian Civil War

So there you have it. No more awkward conversations when someone assumes your “jet-er” (sad trombone joke). Now you can just pull up this nerdy post and show them some the cool models of fighters the Navy and Air Force have flown over the years, and this doesn’t even scratch the surface, really.

And when you’re done showing them and look up from your phone and realize they’ve walked away out of boredom because no one cares that much, you can thank me. Only real friends have conversations about which jet they’d be if they were an airplane.

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