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Aircraft in war

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• Aircraft in war
• Man has always dreamt of flight, but it only became possible through the scientific developments of the 20th century. Air war became a reality over the Western Front during World War One, although this was mainly restricted to fighter combat.

The Nazis experimented with the mass aerial bombing of civilian targets during the Spanish Civil War in the mid-1930s, and turned their bomber arm against Britain in 1940 during World War Two. The Allies responded by carpet bombing Germany in their turn, and terminated the war with Japan with nuclear bombs - a clear demonstration of how modern warfare is dominated by the need for air superiority, without which little is achievable.

The F-15 shown here is one of today's top-range fighters, capable of Mach 2.5 (over 1,600mph), and designed for air-to-air combat. It was first developed in the 1970s as a counter to Soviet MiG planes during the Cold War. The US Air Force has 400 of these machines operational, and boasts a perfect record of victories in 100 recorded combats. This superiority derives from the aircraft's speed, acceleration, manoeuvrability, weapons and electronic systems, which enable the pilot to track and attack enemy aircraft via head-up display (or HUD - where the information is presented in a readily accessible format on a screen).

Its electronic devices include radar, and navigation and UHF communications systems. A digital computer runs tactical electronic-warfare and friend-or-foe identification systems designed to reduce combat error. F-15s have taken part in post Cold War operations in the Balkans and Iraq.