To me America at present is the "King of The Skies" because this is the only country with fully operational 5th generation fighters.Yes America is an evil nation and yes these gadgets are in the wrong hands,but this is the truth at the moment.
The United States has established itself as a superior superpower in air defense. The US establishment believes that air superiority can give quick reconnaissance and quick response time to any crisis in any part of the world and as such has invested heavily on 5th generation fighters in the F22 and Lockheed Martin F 35's. As war experience has taught the United States and also exemplary Israel 6 days war,the point taken is that he who controls the skies "may" dictate the pace of the battlefield and ultimately a real game changer in war affairs.
The United states air superiority philosophy also extends on to the seas. They build huge ships known as Aircraft Carriers,which can accommodate hundred's of Fighter jets. An a craft carrier fleet is almost Impossible to sink and a single fleet is more than the military of most countries in the world.
What is a 5th generation Fighter
A 5th generation Fighter is a type of jet greatly superior to the 4th generation Fighter, the main feature of which is its' stealth ability. This stealth ability makes the planes invisible to radar systems and are quite Ideal for surprise air attacks.
Another important feature is the ability of a 5th generation fighters to reach supersonic speed without the use of afterburners which is a great defect of the Russian SU-57 as we will see later in this article.
There are up to about 14 types of 5th generation fighters however only a few meets this 2 major criteria. let's take a look at the major world powers 5th generation Fighters.
4.Chengdu(Avic)J-20(Black Eagle)
The J20 is the Chinese first and only 5th generation fighter. The Chinese aircraft industry had a lot of help from countries like Russia,to help it modernize its' fleet. Some of Chinese 4th generation aircraft are known to be a copy of the Russian SU-27. Chinese engineers had access to some Russian aircrafts during the cold war and had managed to reverse engineer the components and make their own indigenous aircraft. There are other rumours that the J20 technology might in fact be based on Lockheed Martin F-177 stealth fighter shot down by a surface to air missile in Syria in 1992. The Chinese and Syrians were close at that time and could have facilitated sharing of the technology. In summary the J20 is still a work in progress and still has many bugs to be fixed. it'll take quite a while for it to be fully operational as the F 35
3. Sukhoi-SU 57(Felon)
Sukhoi Su-57 is a Russian made 5th generation Fighters made primarily to challenge the US F-22. It is still under development under Sukhoi OKB which is a Russian aircraft firm originating from world war II. This aircraft possess the latest aviation technology,radar absorbing material and a great weaponry system. it's multirole and would perform both air to air and air to surface attacks. It also has super cruise feature and also enjoys a greater speed and great maneuverability than the F 22. The major challenge of this fighter is the use of afterburners to reach super cruise speed. Use of afterburners makes it easily detectable by radar and would no longer be regarded as stealth. The Russians are however working on a similar kind of engine which the F35 and F22 posses that enables them go so fast without using afterburners
2. Lockheed Martin F 35
The Lockheed Martin F 35 is a very successful multirole stealth fighter aircraft. Multirole in the sense that it's suitable for both air and ground attack. it's the most successful aircraft on the planet.Due to it being very successful, the US can't even keep up with demand for it from allied nations and raking in billions of dollars for the United States. The F 35 is also capable of gathering information, surveillance and reconnaissance. It has 3 variables F35 A,F35 B and F35 C, conventional takeoffs and landings,short takeoff and vertical landing and carriers based respectively.
1. Lockheed Martin F22 Raptor
The Lockheed F22 Raptor is the most advanced and most expensive fighter on the planet. If you are looking for an air superiority beast,this is the beast you are looking for. With the advent of the successful multirole F35,the USAF was not satisfied and wanted an aircraft solely for air superiority, this gave way for the rise of the Raptor F22.This fighter is so advanced that production had to be stopped because no fighter in operation currently comes close to it,so it doesn't make sense wasting billions of dollars on its maintenance. The F22 Raptor is therefore not available for export to other countries