Illustrated Guide to Future Fighters and Combat

by Bill Gunston

Looks at designs for future engines, cockpits, wing shapes, and fuselages, and describes prototypes for new helicopters, bombers, and fighters

Genres: Military Fiction

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1984

About the author

Bill Gunston was a British aviation and military author. He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1948, and after pilot training became a flying instructor. He spent most of his adult life doing research and writing on aircraft and aviation. He was the author of over 350 books and articles. His work included many books published by Salamander Books.

Reviews

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

End of 1980s and mid 1990s were times where high technology applications to the aerospace industry in particular where awed at and people wrote about it (information was much more available I have a feeling than it is case today, or there was no information overload like today that IMHO has somewhat blocking nature). From introduction of fully digital cockpit demonstrators (today called full glass cockpits), concepts of FBW flight concts, to concepts of machines that can fly almost in space, VTOLs and tiltrotors and various multipurpose light fighters used for attack and air supremacy roles, like Tigershark and Mitsubishi CCV. Who can forget EPA and later competing French designs that at the end gave birth to Typhoon, revolutionary Grumman X29 or various Sikorsky prototypes of hi speed choppers. This was also time when Russian combat aircraft started becoming more known in the West, from air superiority fighters to heavy bombers and helicopters.

Excellent overview of technologies that are still in operational use and get ever improved.

Very informative little book. Highly recommended to all fans of aerospace technology.

[Regina Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool stuff, but I think a bit out of date models, I am no pro in this and know very little. But I do think I saw much more advenced models than the ones they even planned to build.