What does the afterburner of a jet fighter plane do?
An afterburner is an extension of a jet engine, used in military aircraft. It injects fuel into the heated exhaust pipe of the engine. It will react with uncombined oxygen in the exhaust, which increases the exhaust temperature and, thus, its velocity, giving the plane additional thrust. Afterburners use more fuel than the normal turbine, so they are used only when launching the airplane from the ground or an aircraft carrier, or when high speed is of the essence. The only civilian aircraft using afterburners is the Concorde. In addition, development of supercruise engines* has lessened the need for afterburner use. *As a BTW A supercruising aircraft is able to cruise at supersonic speeds without the use of afterburners. Aircraft with supercruise include: F/A-22 Raptor Eurofighter Typhoon Concorde Although supercruise is currently fashionable, it is not new; the first aircraft to exceed Mach 1 in level flight without afterburners was the P.1 prototype of the English Electric Lightning
