Fighters Comparison: Thrust to Weight Ratios of all Fighter Planes

Thrust to Weight Ratios of all Fighter Planes



TWR or T/W ratio = (Max Thrust of Engine[s] / (Empty Weight + (3.505 Tonnes of Fuel & Weapons, or only Internal Fuel)))

1.30 - Su-35S
1.29 - F-15K
1.26 - Su-27S
1.25 - Eurofighter
1.24 - Mig-35 (T/W = 1.45 during Emergency Thrust*)
1.23 - Su-27SK & J-11A
1.19 - Mig-29M/M2 (T/W = 1.39 during Emergency Thrust*)
1.19 - F-15C
1.18 - F-22A (T/W = 1.37 with Round nozzles?)
1.16 - Su-30MKK

1.16 - Rafale C
1.16 - F-35A
1.15 - Mig-29B (9-12)
1.14 - Su-30MKI (T/W = 1.21 during Emergency Thrust@)
1.13 - Mig-29 (9-13), S, SD, SE & SM
1.11 - F/A-18E (F/A-18F: 1.09)
1.10 - Rafale M
1.10 - Mig-29 BM & SMT (T/W = 1.15 during Emergency Thrust*)
1.09 - F-16E Block 60
1.09 - Mig-29K (T/W = 1.28 during Emergency Thrust*)

1.09 - F-18C
1.09 - J-8III(or J-8C)
1.08 - F-35B
1.08 - F-14 B & D
1.06 - F-16C Block 52 (Block 50: T/W = 1.055)
1.05 - J-8IIm
1.04 - AV-8B+ Harrier II
1.03 - F-2A (F-2B: 1.02)
1.03 - JH-7
1.02 - F-16A Block 10

1.01 - F-35C
1.01 - J-8II & J-8IIb & J-8IId
1.00 - J-10A
1.00 - Harrier GR7A
0.99 - Su-34 & Su-32FN & Su-27IB
0.99 - Sea Harrier FA2 & FRS51
0.99 - F-16A Block 20
0.97 - Su-15T
0.95 - MiG-23 P, ML, MLA & MLD
0.94 - Gripen NG

0.94 - F-4E
0.94 - J-8
0.93 - Mirage 2000-5
0.93 - Su-15TM
0.93 - F-101B
0.92 - Harrier GR7
0.92 - E E Lightning F6
0.91 - F-16C Block 25
0.91 - Yak-28 I & P
0.91 - F-111F

0.91 - Su-24
0.90 - Su-15
0.88 - Mirage-2000 C & H
0.87 - F-14A
0.87 - Mig-23 MF & MS
0.87 - Su-24 M, MK & M2
0.86 - F-CK-1
0.86 - LCA (T/W = 0.91 during Emergency Thrust****)
0.86 - Su-9
0.84 - Su-11

0.84 - Su-17M
0.83 - Tornado F3 Air Defence Variant
0.83 - Tornado GR1
0.83 - Su-20
0.82 - JF-17 (T/W = 0.86 during Emergency Thrust*)
0.82 - Su-22
0.81 - Gripen A
0.81 - Su-7B
0.81 - F-20
0.80 - Gripen C

0.80 - Mig-27K
0.80 - Su-7BM
0.79 - Mig-21 Bis (T/W = 1.11 in Emergency Thrust mode**)
0.79 - JA-37 Viggen
0.79 - Mig-27
0.79 - Su-17M2
0.78 - Mig-23BN
0.78 - Su-7 BKL & BMK
0.78 - Javelin FAW MK9
0.77 - Mig-23S

0.77 - J-7IIIa
0.76 - Mig-27 D & ML
0.76 - Mig-23M(E)
0.76 - F-106A
0.76 - F-7MG & F-7BG & F-7PG & J-7E & J-7G (WP-7N: T/W = 0.69)
0.76 - Q-5D
0.75 - Kfir C.7
0.75 - Kfir C.2
0.75 - AJ-37 Viggen
0.75 - J-7III

0.74 - Mig-21SM
0.73 - Su-17
0.73 - Mig-21MF
0.73 - Su-17M3
0.73 - Mig-19S*** (MTOW T/W = 0.86)
0.72 - Yak-27K
0.72 - Su-17M4
0.72 - F-104G
0.71 - Mig-19P*** (MTOW T/W = 0.84)
0.71 - Mig-21PF

0.71 - Supermarine Scimitar F.1
0.71 - Cheetah C
0.70 - Mig-21M
0.70 - Su-25SM
0.69 - Jaguar GR1
0.69 - J-35F Draken
0.69 - Mig-21F
0.69 - Mig-21 F-13
0.69 - J-7II
0.69 - Su-25 or Su-25T

0.68 - F-105F/G
0.68 - Mirage 50
0.68 - F-7M(or F-7MP or F-7MB) & F-7P
0.67 - F-1
0.67 - F4D-1/F-6 Skyray
0.66 - Mirage F-1
0.66 - F-8P
0.64 - F-102A
0.63 - Sea Vixen FAW.2
0.63 - Su-25TM or Su-39

0.62 - Yak-27
0.61 - Yak-38M (TWR during STOVL/VTOL takeoff: 1.20)
0.61 - Mirage-5A
0.61 - J-32B Lansen
0.60 - A-4S1
0.59 - Mirage-III E & D
0.58 - Yak-38 (T/W during STOVL/VTOL takeoff: 1.16)
0.58 - IAI Nesher
0.58 - F-5E Tiger-II
0.56 - F-100D

0.56 - A-6E
0.55 - A-7E
0.51 - Super Étendard
0.50 - F3H-2 Demon
0.49 - A-10A
0.49 - F-11A
0.49 - AMX
0.47 - Étendard-IV M
0.46 - F-89D
0.46 - Super Mystère B.2

0.46 - Hunter F 6
0.45 - Marut Mk.1
0.43 - Yak-25
0.43 - F-94C/F-97A
0.43 - F9F-8/F-9J Cougar
0.41 - A-37B
0.37 - Mystère IVA
0.37 - FJ-4 Fury
0.36 - F7U-3M
0.34 - F-84F

0.33 - J-29F Tunnan
0.33 - P-80C
0.32 - Supermarine Attacker F.1
0.31 - F2H-3 Banshee
0.30 - Ouragan M.D.450B
0.30 - F3D-2 Sky Night
0.29 - Venom FB.1
0.29 - F-84G


Pure Interceptors
1.30 - Mig-31M
1.30 - Mig-31BM
1.28 - Mig-31B
1.27 - Mig-31FE
1.27 - Mig-31E
1.22 - Mig-31
1.21 - Mig-25M
1.00 - Mig-25 P & PD
0.93 - Mig-25BM
0.74 - Tu-128




Empty Weight - Thrust - Aircraft

41,447 - 31,967 X 2 - Su-35S
37,500 - 29,160 X 2 - F-15K
36,111 - 27,557 X 2 - Su-27S
24,251 - 20,000 X 2 - Eurofighter
24,251 - 19,841 X 2 - Mig-35 (23,148lbf - Emergency Thrust*)
37,192 - 27,557 X 2 - Su-27SK & J-11A
25,573 - 19,841 X 2 - Mig-29M/M2 (23,148lbf - Emergency Thrust*)
31,700 - 23,450 X 2 - F-15C
43,340 - 30,100 X 2 - F-22A(35,000lbf - Thrust with round nozzle)
39,903 - 27,557 X 2 - Su-30MKK

20,948 - 16,620 X 2 - Rafale C
29,300 - 43,000 X 1 - F-35A
24,030 - 18,300 X 2 - Mig-29B (9-12)
40,565 - 27,557 X 2 - Su-30MKI (29,321lbf - Emergency Thrust@)
24,692 - 18,300 X 2 - Mig-29 (9-13), S, SD, SE & SM
32,082 - 22,000 X 2 - F/A-18E (F/A-18F: 32,795lb)
22,478 - 16,620 X 2 - Rafale M
25,573 - 18,300 X 2 - Mig-29 BM & SMT (19,180lbf - Emergency Thrust*)
22,000 - 32,500 X 1 - F-16E Block 60
28,550 - 19,841 X 2 - Mig-29K (23,148lbf - Emergency Thrust*)

24,700 - 17,700 X 2 - F-18C
22,509 - 16,535 X 2 - J-8III(or J-8C)
32,000 - 43,000 X 1 - F-35B
43,600 - 27,800 X 2 - F-14 B & D
19,700 - 29,160 X 1 - F-16C Block 52 (Block 50: 420lb & 240lbf more)
21,671 - 15,422 X 2 - J-8IIm
14,865 - 23,400 X 1 - AV-8B+ Harrier II
21,000 - 29,600 X 1 - F-2A (F-2B: 21,235lb)
31,967 - 20,515 X 2 - JH-7
15,600 - 23,830 X 1 - F-16A Block 10

34,800 - 43,000 X 1 - F-35C
21,671 - 14,815 X 2 - J-8II & J-8IIb & J-8IId
20,394 - 28,000 X 1 - J-10A
15,708 - 23,400 X 1 - Harrier GR7A
49,163 - 28,219 X 2 - Su-34 & Su-32FN & Su-27IB
14,052 - 21,450 X 1 - Sea Harrier FA2 & FRS51
16,285 - 23,830 X 1 - F-16A Block 20
22,818 - 14,770 X 2 - Su-15T
22,553 - 28,660 X 1 - MiG-23 P, ML, MLA & MLD
15,653 - 22,000 X 1 - Gripen NG

30,328 - 17,845 X 2 - F-4E
20,470 - 13,219 X 2 - J-8
16,000 - 22,045 X 1 - Mirage 2000-5
23,970 - 14,770 X 2 - Su-15TM
28,495 - 16,900 X 2 - F-101B
15,708 - 21,450 X 1 - Harrier GR7
28,042 - 16,360 X 2 - E E Lightning F6
18,238 - 23,770 X 1 - F-16C Block 25
21,980 - 13,448 X 2 - Yak-28 I & P
47,481 - 25,100 X 2 - F-111F

46,738 - 24,692 X 2 - Su-24
22,531 - 13,669 X 2 - Su-15
16,538 - 21,384 X 1 - Mirage 2000 C & H
40,104 - 20,900 X 2 - F-14A
24,008 - 27,558 X 1 - Mig-23 MF & MS
49,163 - 24,801 X 2 - Su-24 M, MK & M2
14,300 - 09,500 X 2 - F-CK-1
14,462 - 19,100 X 1 - LCA (20,200lbf - Emergency Thrust****)
16,920 - 21,164 X 1 - Su-9
18,876 - 22,267 X 1 - Su-11

21,605 - 24,692 X 1 - Su-17M
31,970 - 16,410 X 2 - Tornado F3 Air Defence Variant
31,065 - 16,005 X 2 - Tornado GR1
21,936 - 24,692 X 1 - Su-20
14,520 - 18,300 X 1 - JF-17 (19,180lbf - Emergency Thrust*)
23,027 - 25,353 X 1 - Su-22
14,595 - 18,097 X 1 - Gripen A
18,453 - 21,164 X 1 - Su-7B
13,150 - 17,000 X 1 - F-20
14,991 - 18,097 X 1 - Gripen C

26,252 - 27,558 X 1 - Mig-27K
18,629 - 21,164 X 1 - Su-7BM
12,037 - 15,654 X 1 - Mig-21 Bis (21,829lbf - Emergency Thrust**)
27,866 - 28,100 X 1 - JA-37 Viggen
24,317 - 25,336 X 1 - Mig-27
23,369 - 24,692 X 1 - Su-17M2
24,692 - 25,336 X 1 - Mig-23BN
19,599 - 21,164 X 1 - Su-7 BKL & BMK
23,955 - 12,300 X 2 - Javelin FAW MK9
21,583 - 22,487 X 1 - Mig-23S

11,629 - 14,815 X 1 - J-7IIIa
25,573 - 25,336 X 1 - Mig-27 D & ML
22,046 - 22,487 X 1 - Mig-23M(E)
24,420 - 24,500 X 1 - F-106A
11,667 - 14,650 X 1 - F-7MG & F-7BG & F-7PG & J-7E & J-7G (WP-7N: 13,450lbf)
14,054 - 08,269 X 2 - Q-5D
17,130 - 18,750 X 1 - Kfir C.7
16,061 - 17,901 X 1 - Kfir C.2
27,006 - 25,970 X 1 - AJ-37 Viggen
11,861 - 14,650 X 1 - J-7III

11,574 - 14,308 X 1 - Mig-21SM
21,164 - 21,164 X 1 - Su-17
11,795 - 14,308 X 1 - Mig-21MF
26,014 - 24,692 X 1 - Su-17M3
12,009 - 07,165 X 2 - Mig-19S*** (MTOW: 16,667lb)
15,443 - 08,318 X 2 - Yak-27K
26,810 - 24,692 X 1 - Su-17M4
14,082 - 15,600 X 1 - F-104G
12,507 - 07,165 X 2 - Mig-19P*** (MTOW: 17,042lb)
11,354 - 13,492 X 1 - Mig-21PF

23,962 - 11,250 X 2 - Supermarine Scimitar F.1
14,550 - 15,900 X 1 - Cheetah C
11,795 - 13,613 X 1 - Mig-21M
20,723 - 09,921 X 2 - Su-25SM
15,432 - 08,040 X 2 - Jaguar GR1
17,339 - 17,262 X 1 - J-35F Draken
10,624 - 12,654 X 1 - Mig-21F
10,739 - 12,654 X 1 - Mig-21 F-13
11,850 - 13,219 X 1 - J-7II
20,944 - 09,921 X 2 - Su-25 or Su-25T

28,393 - 24,500 X 1 - F-105F/G
15,763 - 15,870 X 1 - Mirage 50
11,629 - 13,219 X 1 - F-7M(or F-7MP or F-7MB) & F-7P
14,017 - 07,305 X 2 - F-1
16,024 - 16,000 X 1 - F4D-1/F-6 Skyray
16,314 - 15,873 X 1 - Mirage F-1
19,700 - 18,000 X 1 - F-8P
19,350 - 17,200 X 1 - F-102A
27,954 - 11,240 X 2 - Sea Vixen FAW.2
23,677 - 09,921 X 2 - Su-25TM or Su-39

15,395 - 07,165 X 2 - Yak-27
16,535 - 14,770 X 1 - Yak-38M (Lift Engines: 07,165lbf X 2)
14,550 - 13,669 X 1 - Mirage-5A
16,535 - 14,680 X 1 - J-32B Lansen
10,250 - 10,800 X 1 - A-4S1
15,540 - 13,669 X 1 - Mirage-III E & D
15,476 - 13,448 X 1 - Yak-38 (Lift Engines: 06,724lbf X 2)
16,061 - 13,669 X 1 - IAI Nesher
09,558 - 05,000 X 2 - F-5E Tiger-II
20,638 - 16,000 X 1 - F-100D

25,630 - 09,300 X 2 - A-6E
19,781 - 15,000 X 1 - A-7E
14,220 - 11,265 X 1 - Super Étendard
21,287 - 14,400 X 1 - F3H-2 Demon
29,000 - 09,065 X 2 - A-10A
13,810 - 10,500 X 1 - F-11A
14,837 - 11,030 X 1 - AMX
13,007 - 09,703 X 1 - Étendard-IV M
24,200 - 07,400 X 2 - F-89D
14,087 - 09,920 X 1 - Super Mystère B.2

14,121 - 10,146 X 1 - Hunter F 6
13,658 - 04,856 X 2 - Marut Mk.1
12,610 - 04,409 X 2 - Yak-25
12,708 - 08,750 X 1 - F-94C/F-97A
11,866 - 08,500 X 1 - F9F-8/F-9J Cougar
06,211 - 02,850 X 2 - A-37B
12,941 - 07,734 X 1 - Mystère IVA
13,210 - 07,700 X 1 - FJ-4 Fury
18,210 - 04,600 X 2 - F7U-3M
13,830 - 07,220 X 1 - F-84F

10,681 - 06,070 X 1 - J-29F Tunnan
08,420 - 05,400 X 1 - P-80C
08,426 - 05,100 X 1 - Supermarine Attacker F.1
13,183 - 03,250 X 2 - F2H-3 Banshee
09,132 - 04,991 X 1 - Ouragan M.D.450B
14,989 - 03,400 X 2 - F3D-2 Sky Night
09,200 - 04,856 X 1 - Venom FB.1
11,470 - 05,560 X 1 - F-84G


Pure Interceptors
48,281 - 36,376 X 2 - Mig-31M
48,115 - 36,376 X 2 - Mig-31BM
45,569 - 34,171 X 2 - Mig-31B
49,383 - 36,376 X 2 - Mig-31FE
46,297 - 34,171 X 2 - Mig-31E
48,104 - 34,171 X 2 - Mig-31
41,667 - 29,762 X 2 - Mig-25M
41,447 - 24,684 X 2 - Mig-25 P & PD
45,415 - 24,684 X 2 - Mig-25BM
54,013 - 22,706 X 2 - Tu-128


# Data from Official Company & Military sites, Aerospaceweb.org, Airwar.ru, Globalsecurity.org, Fas.org, Warfare.ru, Wikipedia.org & its References, and Other Sources.
# Weight in lb, and Thrust in lbf.
# 3505 kg = 7727 lb
# Not all of them are Fighter Planes.
# Some of the Fighters' data couldn't be obtained, and hence could not be included in the above list.
# Individual engines' SFC(Specific Fuel Consumption) & Individual aircrafts' standard Air-Air payload weight, based TWR cannot be determined due to unavaliability of SFC data for Older Engines. Even in the case of some Newer Engines, SFC data is not avaliable.
# It's unclear whether the 35,000lbf thrust for F119(F-22's engine) is the actual thrust output. It's known that a Flat nozzle reduces the thrust of an engine anywhere between 14% to 17%. Further it's mentioned in official sources that the engine is of 35,000lbf Class, meaning the 35,000lbf number is not the precise engine output, and the actual output is somewhere around it. Generally, in official publications, when an engine output is mentioned in the form of 'Class', the actual output is less than the number given. It could be that the engine can very well produce 35,000lbf with normal nozzles during testing, but the mating of Flat Nozzle(instead of the normal Round one) reduces the thrust, hence the 'Class' designation for the engine's output. For an engine thrust decrease of 14%, F-22's TWR would drop down to 1.18. Given the fact that the F-35's engine, which is a derivative of the F-22's engine, but newer & bigger than the F119 engine, has a thrust of 39,900lbf with round nozzles, it's likely the 35,000lbf fig for F119 is also for round nozzles. F-35's engine F-135, just recently got its thrust upgraded to 43,000lbf. To further illustrate the data sheet's/brochure's failure of mentioning the loss of thrust for Flat Nozzles, the F-117's F404-GE-F1D2 engine which is a non-afterburning, flat nozzle engine[1], is mentioned as having the same 10,600lbf[2] non-afterburning thrust as the F404-GE-400 engine[3]. F404-GE-F1D2 is basically a non-afterburning F404-GE-400 engine with a flat nozzle.[4]

* Klimov States that Thrust as "Take-off emergency mode"
** The conditions for 21,829lbf Emergency Thrust are limited to 3 Minutes and Altitude less than 4000m.
*** Empty weight + 7727 lb exceeds max takeoff weight. Except Mig-19 all other less MTOW(Maximum Take-Off Weight) fighter planes are omitted.
**** Official tejas.gov.in Website claims the Thrust of F404-GE-IN20 as 20,200lbf which contradicts with the manufacturers' claim of 19,100lbf. Most likely the 20,200lbf figure is for Emergency Thrust. Also Tejas has gotten heavier by about 60kgs thus bringing its TWR to 0.86 from 0.87 .
@ Normally, Emergency Thrust is carried out at Take-off near the sea level where the air is denser. It is normally employed for scramble missions, OR/and to reduce the Take-off distance if the Aircraft is heavily loaded with fuel and munitions, OR/and if the runway is shorter. It may or may not be employed during dog-fighting, but it heavily depends upon the altitude and is time constrained(for example see **).
______________________________

Comparison of TWRs using variable weights(Full Fuel) Updated 11 Feb 2010: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust-to-weight_ratio#Fighter_Aircraft
Old Data: http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/fighterplanes/images/articles/thrustweightratio.jpg

Godric wrote:going by the stats the Mig35 is comparable to the Eurofighter

Ivan the Colorado wrote:

Godric wrote:going by the stats the Mig35 is comparable to the Eurofighter

Eurofighter was originally meant to dogfight with the MiG-29, so the MiG-35 and the Eurofighter are very comparable aircraft.

Godric wrote:

Ivan the Colorado wrote:

Godric wrote:going by the stats the Mig35 is comparable to the Eurofighter

Eurofighter was originally meant to dogfight with the MiG-29, so the MiG-35 and the Eurofighter are very comparable aircraft.

I know the Mig 29 was cheap to buy and expensive to operate and maintain .... will the Mig 35 be easier to maintain and cheaper to operate ?? if the answer is no then the best option is either the SU-35 or SU-30

Ivan the Colorado wrote:Very interesting Nemrod. Thanks for posting this.

F-22  
combat weight of 24.883 kg,
wing loading of 317,4 kg/m2,
thrust-to-weight ratio of 1,18
span loading of 1.835 kg/m.
Wing sweep  42,
engine has a power-to-frontal area ratio of 26,82 N/cm2. thrust vectoring to improve high-speed high-altitude performance.
fuel fraction of 0,29

SU-35
Combat Weight of 25,300 kg
Wing loading 408 kg/m²
thrust-to-weight ratio of 1,30



F-35A
combat weight of 18.270 kg,
wing loading of 427,9 kg/m2,
thrust-to-weight ratio of 1,07
span loading of 1.707,5 kg/m
Wing sweep is 34,
and engine has a power-to-frontal area ratio of 17,86 N/cm2.
fuel fraction of 0,38.

T-50 has a typical combat weight of 21.500 kg,
wing loading of 272,8 kg/m2,
thrust-to-weight ratio of 1,39
span loading of 1.541 kg/m
At heavy combat weight (50% maximum internal fuel capacity) of 23.150 kg,
wing loading of 294 kg/m2,
thrust-to-weight ratio of 1,3
span loading of 1.659 kg/m.
Wing sweep 46,5,
engine has a power-to-frontal area ratio of 22,85 N/cm2.
It seems that T-50 will have excellent instantaneous turn rate as well as very good sustained turn rates and acceleration, but its weight harms transient performance (though it will still be better than the F-22s).
fuel fraction of 0,36,
Overall it adheres very closely to Boyd’s energy-maneuverability requirements.

J-20 has an estimated combat weight of 26.422 kg,
wing loading of 339 kg/m2,
thrust-to-weight ratio of ??? (possibly 1,1, but lower value is more likely as J-20 uses Russian AL-31F and will continue to do for forseeable future, until Chinese manage to copy it)
span loading of 2.032 kg/m.
Wing sweep is 43*
engine has a power-to-frontal area ratio of ???.
Fuel fraction is very good at 0,35.