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By the 1960s, the greatest threats to the US Navy were the fast bomber jets the were equipped with long range anti-ship missiles. The first fighter to handle this problem was the F-4 Phantom. The F-4 was simply just not good enough. A fighter was needed that could destroy targets far beyond visual range. It needed supersonic dash speed both to run down fleeing opponents when necessary, and to assist patrols from the deck.
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During the Cold War, hostilities broke out between the East and the West. One thing was for sure: NATO forces would have been heavily outnumbered. The F-15 was designed by McDonnell Douglas (later part of Boeing). The F-15 was armed with the same missiles as the F-4 Phantom, four AIM-7 Sparrows and four AIM-9 Sidewinders. This new fighter was required to have the speed of Mach 3, however, Mach 2.5 was agreed on.
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The Fighting Falcon may be the official name for the F-16, however, it's more widely known as the Viper or Electronic Jet! The Fighting Falcon was created because the F-15 was heavily out numbered during the war in Central Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact. A part of the Pentagon known as the Fighter Mafia rose to meet the problem. The result was the Light Weight Fighter (LWF) program. This fighter had to have the capability to have the turning speed of Mach 0.9 through Mach 1.2
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The origin of the F-22 was the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) studies that began in 1981. This program was aimed at designing a replacement for the F-15. Stealth was an obvious requirement because it's difficult to fight an invisible man. Most other fighter had to carry fuel externally, but the F-22 had to carry fuel and weapons internally. The F-22 is having special ammunition being developed so that the ballistics telescope and there can be more ammunition stored. Also this new ballistic will have a homing property. this homing ammunition will follow the target in flight.
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