Avions de Combat : Les machines de Guerre les plus redoutables du Ciel - Documentaire complet - CF

Video from the channel AIR TV - 100% aviation about Eurofighter Typhoon, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 46:04. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.

A French-language documentary from the production company Cineflix on the evolution of modern combat aircraft, told through active-duty pilots and test pilots. It covers in turn the F-15 Eagle, the vertical take-off Harrier, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-117 Nighthawk, the F/A-22 Raptor and, in its final section, the Eurofighter Typhoon, presented as the culmination of that line of development.

The piece starts with the F-15, conceived at the height of the Cold War to achieve air superiority over Soviet MiGs, which first flew in 1972. It explains how each model addresses a shortcoming of the previous one: the Harrier solves the dependence on long runways; the F-35 adds supersonic flight to short take-off and vertical landing; the F-16 introduces an unstable airframe that only flies thanks to onboard computers; the F-117 applies radar stealth, and the Raptor combines it with speed and supercruise. Against the American focus on stealth, the United Kingdom and its European partners prioritised super-manoeuvrability with the Eurofighter Typhoon.

On the Typhoon, a test pilot from the programme notes that it can also manoeuvre at supersonic speed and sustain 9 G for long periods, which requires an anti-G suit with inflatable boots. According to the documentary, its two engines give a combined thrust of about 18,000 kg, it reaches 2,125 km/h and can climb to 12,000 m in under a minute. Its delta wing with two small forward canards, an unstable airframe and three flight computers running the Carefree Handling system, which prevents the aircraft's limits from being exceeded, explain its agility. It flies in supercruise without afterburner, which reduces its infrared signature; it is not stealthy and is designed to fight at range, with targeting data projected onto the head-up display or the helmet visor. The documentary closes by suggesting that the limits of human physiology could make the JSF, the Raptor and the Eurofighter the last manned fighters.