Weapons Races

The Race for the Jet Fighter (1x1)

Air date: Dec 31, 2006

There will never be another manned jet fighter as powerful as the Lockheed F-22 Raptor. Its extraordinary capability is the result of a weapons race to evolve the perfect combat aircraft which began well before Frank Whittle invented the jet engine. This programme looks at the requirements such as speed, endurance, manoeuvrability, and fire power which pushed designers to explore the technological limits; the pilots who flew them; and examines how combat honed their mounts into ever-more deadly killing machines.