Swing Wing Fighters

As early as the 1940s it was realized that there were significant advantages to be gained from changing the position of an aircraft's wings in flight - straight wings provide more lift at low speeds, making take-offs and landings easier, while swept wings are better for high-speed flight. Allowing an aircraft to change its wings from straight to swept and back again gave it the best of both worlds - in theory. Since the 1940s there have been several famous (and several not so famous) types with variable sweep wings including the F-14 Tomcat, F-111, B-1, Tornado, Mirage G, MiG-23, MiG-27, Su-17/20/22, Su-24, Tu-22M and Tu-160. Bertie Simmonds explores the history of variable geometry, how it works in service today and what the future might hold.