This article refers to a class of aircraft. Light infantry

Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...

 is sometimes referred to in this fashion in the US, see 7th Infantry Division.

A light fighter or lightweight fighter is a type of fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 with a diminutive airframe, deliberately designed to fill a performance niche based on a high power-to-weight ratio

Power-to-weight ratio

Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power sources...

. Typically light fighters have been dismissed by military planners as being too limited in capability, but several light fighter designs have fairly good combat records.

History

The original light fighter class developed out of a series of pre-WWII

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 aircraft engine

Aircraft engine

An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...

s that delivered a high power-to-weight ratio, albeit at a low power rating. In order to make use of these engines, the aircraft carrying them would have to be made as light as possible. However this is not always easy as some elements of a design simply cannot be scaled down. Nevertheless there was a brief period in which there was a light-weight sweet spot

Sweet spot

Sweet spot may refer to:*Sweet spot *Sweet spot *Sweet spot...

, and several designs were attempted.

During the late 1930s the French Armée de l'Air, in an attempt to modernize her fleet of aircraft, produced several light fighter designs of wooden construction that could be built more quickly than conventional designs. The most numerous of these was the Caudron C.714

Caudron C.714

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Belcarz, Bartłomiej. GC 1/145 in France 1940. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2002. ISBN 83-917178-1-X....

, which examplified the fundamental flaws of the light fighter concept: underpowered, underarmed, and limited endurance. By contrast its somewhat heavier contemporary, the Arsenal VG-33

Arsenal VG-33

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Breffort, Dominique & Jouineau, André. French Aircraft from 1939 to 1942, Volume 1: from Amiot to Curtiss. Paris, France: Histoire & Collections, 2004. ISBN 2-915239-23-1....

, proved to have excellent performance. Delivery of these designs began in early 1940 but France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 fell before sufficient numbers could be produced to prove the concept in combat. The USAAC

United States Army Air Corps

The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...

 also contracted for several light fighter designs when it was believed that a massive German attack was forthcoming, but by the time any were ready the fear had passed.

During the war, the Hawker Fury was developed initially as the "Tempest Light Fighter" a lightweight version of the Hawker Tempest

Hawker Tempest

The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....

 though in practice the resulting naval Sea Fury was not significantly different in weight.

Light fighters again became popular in during the early era of jet engine

Jet engine

A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...

 development, for much the same reasons. The most famous of these is the Northrop F-5 "Freedom Fighter", which was largely passed over by the USAF

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

, but saw widespread service around the world due to its low cost. Several attempts have been made to introduce newer designs in the same general performance range as the F-5, but none have been nearly as successful.

The Folland Gnat

Folland Gnat

The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft developed by Folland Aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and flown extensively by the Indian Air Force....

 was a British private venture design for a light fighter. Although not adopted by the UK as a fighter (but as a trainer) it did serve as a fighter for the Indian Air Force.

The NATO Light Weight Strike Fighter competition of the early 1950s led to designs such as the French SNCASE Baroudeur

SNCASE Baroudeur

|-See also:-External links:* 1954...

, Breguet Taon

Breguet Taon

|-See also:...

 and Dassault Étendard VI, the Italian Aeritalia G.91

Aeritalia G.91

The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with West Germany's Luftwaffe, in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force....

 and Aerfer Ariete

Aerfer Ariete

-See also:-References:* Swanborough, Gordon. Air Enthusiast, Volume One. London: Pilot Press, 1971. ISBN 0-385-08171-5....

 (derived from the Aerfer Sagittario 2

Aerfer Sagittario 2

|-References:* The Aeroplane, December 21, 1956, p. 924* Giuseppe Ciampaglia, Dal SAI Ambrosini Sagittario all'AERFER Leone, January 2004, IBN editore, with English translation by Stephen Richards-See also:...

) and the US Northrop N-156 (which became the F-5). The competition also compared engines and selected the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus

Bristol Siddeley Orpheus

-See also:-References:* Retrieved: 29 September 2008-External links:*...

 - which had been developed for the Gnat - as the winner.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-16 Fighting Falcon

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...

 was originally conceived under the Lightweight Fighter program as a light fighter, but developed into a highly capable medium fighter-bomber

Fighter-bomber

A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...

. Robot or remote control fighter craft may usher in a new era of relatively disposable light fighters for high risk missions.