JSF and A400M at risk?

[GreenKnight121]

Aerospaceweb.org | Aircraft Museum - Joint Strike Fighter

Since the designation X-32 had already been set aside for a CALF STOVL demonstrator and X-35 for an advanced fighter demonstrator, these were reallocated to two Joint Strike Fighter demonstrators to compete for a production contract. Manufacturers began considering design concepts in 1994 and the official request for proposals was released in 1996. The three design teams that expressed interest included:

• McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman, and British Aerospace: a relatively conventional design except that it did away with standard horizontal and vertical tails in favor of a flat-angle butterfly control surface. The STOVL version employed a separate lift fan installed aft of the cockpit coupled with a clam-shell to divert the main engine exhaust to two rotating nozzles for vertical flight. In forward flight, the clam-shell was opened and the exhaust flowed through the aft nozzle. The conventional models replaced this lift engine with an additional fuel tank.
• Boeing: a delta wing design with a V-tail, and a scoop jet intake under the nose. The STOVL version drove thrust from the engine forward to a pair of vectored lift nozzles under the aircraft's center of gravity. The nose intake scoop hinged forward to allow greater airflow.
• Lockheed Martin: conventional design, resembling a single-engined version of the F-22 Raptor. The STOVL version featured a lift fan behind the cockpit, driven by a shaft off the main engine, plus a vectored exhaust and two exhaust ducts, extending from each side of the engine to exit in the bottom of the wings.

Following evaluation in 1996, the McDonnell Douglas design was rejected as too complex, so Boeing and Lockheed were given contracts to build prototypes of their respective X-32 and X-35 submissions. These were not true prototypes participating in a competitive flyoff, as with the YF-22 and YF-23, but technology demonstrators showing different approaches to producing a common aircraft for the three armed forces.

Nonetheless, the Lockheed X-35 design was judged superior in 2001, and the company is now proceeding with additional development leading to full production of an operational fighter to begin entering service in about 2010. For detailed information on each of the competitors, see the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35 entries as well as the F-35.

Aerospaceweb.org | Aircraft Museum - F-35 Lightning II



X-32



MDD/NG/BAe entry