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A modern turbine engine is extremely efficient, and there is still a lot of oxygen available in the exhaust stream. The idea behind an afterburner is to inject fuel directly into the exhaust stream and burn it using this remaining oxygen. This heats and expands the exhaust gases further, and can increase the thrust of a jet engine by 50% or more.
The big advantage of an afterburner is that you can significantly increase the thrust of the engine without adding much weight or complexity to the engine. An afterburner is nothing but a set of fuel injectors, a tube and flame holder that the fuel burns in, and an adjustable nozzle. A jet engine with an afterburner needs an adjustable nozzle so that it can work both with the afterburners on and off.