A light combat aircraft (LCA) is a light,

multirole A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air defens ...

jet/turboprop

military aircraft A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on su ...

, commonly derived from advanced trainer designs, designed for engaging in light combat. The mission can either be in a light strike or attack missions,

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

, interdiction roles or trainer roles and even air-to-air fight.

Characteristics

They are typically slower than larger multirole or strike aircraft such as the American

F-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

F-15E Strike Eagle The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Intended for the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) program (initially called Enhanced Tactical Fi ...

, or Russian MiG-29. Most light combat aircraft are capable only of subsonic speeds, although some are capable of reaching Mach 1+. An LCA will typically be equipped with bombs, gun pods, or short-range air-to-air missiles used for

COIN A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

or CAS missions. Some aircraft integrate more advanced armaments such as smart bombs, air to ground missiles, ECM pods (

Electronic Countermeasure An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

), and electronic targeting systems.Serbian Air Force Targets Fleet Modernisation
/ref> However, these aircraft are usually used for self-defense or anti-hostile aircraft/helicopter missions, not for air-defense missions typically carried out by lightweight fighters. Some LCAs are capable of

air-to-air combat Air combat manoeuvring (ACM) is the Military tactics, tactic of moving, turning, and situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Commonly associated with dogfighting, air c ...

or point air defense missions if equipped with multi-mode radar systems. Still, the majority cannot perform these missions due to their small design and limited capabilities. LCAs are often used to patrol the skies and implement border patrol or air policing.

Aircraft

The list of a light combat aircraft currently on the market is below.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Light Combat Aircraft Attack aircraft Fighter aircraft Military trainer aircraft

Characteristics

Aircraft

See also

References