The range of an a/c can be mis-leading.... and there are all
sort of radius and range also...
The longest "range" is probably "ferry" range. that is when the a/c
carry the most fuel via external tanks and so on and fly at its
most economical attitude and speed at the longest possible
distance....
Combat radius can be confusing also, as it depends on the combat
load of the a/c and the mission profile of it...
for example:
If it is a low level penetration at high speed, low level flying
use up a lot of fuel and combat radius is short...
if expected to dogfight its way to its target, again short...
if carry a lot of bombs, the weight and drag will cause range to be
short
if expected to "loiter" over target area and wait for target to
show up or as a CAP... range will be short without
refueling..
typically range will be specified by its mission profile, and the
munition it should carry. eg... internal 20mm ammo, 4x Mk82,
2xAIM9, 2x droptanks and a range specified.
Then you can compare apples against apples....
