Attack aircraft

An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical <a href="/facts/Military_aircraft/hG80LP2F">military aircraft</a> that has a primary role of carrying out <a href="/facts/Airstrikes/FehKpSt5">airstrikes</a> with greater precision than <a href="/facts/Bomber/YKEYbswu">bombers</a>, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level <a href="/facts/Air_defense/fHtGQpLy">air defenses</a> while pressing the attack. This class of aircraft is designed mostly for <a href="/facts/Close_air_support/buqaXGIp">close air support</a> and naval air-to-surface missions, overlapping the <a href="/facts/Tactical_bombing/zNHLEqye">tactical bomber</a> mission. Designs dedicated to non-naval roles are often known as ground-attack aircraft.
<a href="/facts/Fighter_aircraft/NuIvaGJg">Fighter aircraft</a> often carry out the attack role, although they would not be considered attack aircraft per se; <a href="/facts/Fighter-bomber/263tB5NF">fighter-bomber</a> conversions of those same aircraft would be considered part of the class. <a href="/facts/Strike_fighter/WvaGSfh5">Strike fighters</a>, which have effectively replaced the fighter-bomber and <a href="/facts/Light_bomber/yL916mKb">light bomber</a> concepts, also differ little from the broad concept of an attack aircraft.
The dedicated attack aircraft as a separate class existed primarily during and after <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>. The precise implementation varied from country to country, and was handled by a wide variety of designs. In the <a href="/facts/Contiguous_United_States/yx414G7a">United States</a> and <a href="/facts/Great_Britain/TNgGQRPj">Britain</a>, attack aircraft were generally light bombers or <a href="/facts/Medium_bomber/M9NEt09w">medium bombers</a>, sometimes carrying heavier forward-firing weapons like the <a href="/facts/North_American_B-25_Mitchell/NN9dD6k8">North American B-25G Mitchell</a> and <a href="/facts/De_Havilland_Mosquito/G5BUMHX8">de Havilland Mosquito Tsetse</a>. In <a href="/facts/Nazi_Germany/8kRbqRpo">Germany</a> and the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">USSR</a>, where they were known as Schlachtflugzeug ("battle aircraft") or sturmovik ("storm trooper") respectively, this role was carried out by purpose-designed and heavily armored aircraft such as the <a href="/facts/Henschel_Hs_129/MzMGFQn0">Henschel Hs 129</a> and <a href="/facts/Ilyushin_Il-2/tlXmUzJf">Ilyushin Il-2</a>. The Germans and Soviets also used light bombers in this role: cannon-armed versions of the <a href="/facts/Junkers_Ju_87/vqlo8Uoq">Junkers Ju 87</a> Stuka greatly outnumbered the Hs 129, while the <a href="/facts/Petlyakov_Pe-2/P7hF00TD">Petlyakov Pe-2</a> was used for this role in spite of not being specifically designed for it.
In the latter part of World War II, the <a href="/facts/Fighter-bomber/263tB5NF">fighter-bomber</a> began to take over many attack roles, a transition that continued in the post-war era. <a href="/facts/Jet_engine/CJjFpeqt">Jet</a>-powered examples were relatively rare but not unknown, such as the <a href="/facts/Blackburn_Buccaneer/lwhSr5zY">Blackburn Buccaneer</a>. The <a href="/facts/United_States_Navy/xYK0fUou">U.S. Navy</a> continued to introduce new aircraft in their <a href="/facts/List_of_military_aircraft_of_the_United_States/jTsQeQdE">A</a>-<a href="/facts/1962_United_States_Tri-Service_aircraft_designation_system/kHjJtWg2">series</a>, but these were mostly similar to <a href="/facts/Light_bomber/yL916mKb">light</a> and <a href="/facts/Medium_bomber/M9NEt09w">medium bombers</a>. The need for a separate attack aircraft category was greatly diminished by the introduction of <a href="/facts/Precision-guided_munition/9kX0Hy3y">precision-guided munitions</a> which allowed almost any aircraft to carry out this role while remaining safe at high altitude. <a href="/facts/Attack_helicopter/c12bKhvd">Attack helicopters</a> also have overtaken many remaining roles that could only be carried out at lower altitudes.
Since the 1960s, only two dedicated attack aircraft designs have been widely introduced, the American <a href="/facts/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II/8y6zYaxe">Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II</a> and the Soviet/Russian <a href="/facts/Sukhoi_Su-25/ug8f3lHd">Sukhoi Su-25</a> Frogfoot.
A variety of light attack aircraft has also been introduced in the post-World War II era, usually based on adapted <a href="/facts/Trainer_(aircraft)/7sfKaA8h">trainers</a> or other light <a href="/facts/Fixed-wing_aircraft/0DQQP2rB">fixed-wing</a> aircraft. These have been used in <a href="/facts/Counter-insurgency/gvfLNewj">counter-insurgency</a> operations.

Attack aircraft open-in-new

Attack aircraft