LM new Fighter - F-22 and F-35 hybrid
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
A vain punt by LM for the Japanese coproduction contract. the USAF is already looking ahead to the next generation fighter - the Penetrating Counter Air (PCA) fighter with the range and performance to take on China.
With the F-35 in series production it is unlikely that LM would also get the next major contract - particularly with their performance with the F-35 - and Boeing is hungry for something to replace the F-15/F-18.
Boeing's Newest Next-Gen Fighter Concept | Ares
Similarly the USN is also ramping up for the next generation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F/A-XX_Program
Why would the Japanese instead buy into a hybrid of a 40 year design which is proving astronomically expense to upgrade and a 30 year old design bomb truck which is dismally failing to perform and proving so expense to build that even putting the F-22 back into production is starting to look attractive?
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me......
With the F-35 in series production it is unlikely that LM would also get the next major contract - particularly with their performance with the F-35 - and Boeing is hungry for something to replace the F-15/F-18.
Boeing's Newest Next-Gen Fighter Concept | Ares
Similarly the USN is also ramping up for the next generation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F/A-XX_Program
Why would the Japanese instead buy into a hybrid of a 40 year design which is proving astronomically expense to upgrade and a 30 year old design bomb truck which is dismally failing to perform and proving so expense to build that even putting the F-22 back into production is starting to look attractive?
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me......
If the US Government was smart, they'd get the Japanese to finance re-opening the F-22 line then get updated F-22s instead of overpriced F-35A's.
So of course that'll never happen...
So of course that'll never happen...
Why would the Japanese instead buy into a hybrid of a 40 year design which is proving astronomically expense to upgrade and a 30 year old design bomb truck which is dismally failing to perform and proving so expense to build that even putting the F-22 back into production is starting to look attractive?
Pie in the sky?
π⁇
Or they could go in with India and Russia...
Or they could go in with India and Russia...
LOL, and pigs will fly.
Japan has quite a long history of expensive programs (C-1, F-1, F-2, P-1, US/PS1....) that keep their aviation design and manufacturing programs alive. Over the decades it would have been cheaper to buy off the shelf, but they desired to maintain the jobs and infrastructure. F-2 rumored to be around twice the cost of a F-16.
WHY they want to do this is perhaps another discussion....
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The concept is not entirely unknown.
The Shah of Iran’s desire to get the latest and greatest resulted in much needed funding for the F-14 which then saw it become the USN Fleet Fighter. This despite Congressional opposition to new technology going overseas.
At the time the Shah had put himself forward as being able to be a stable power in the ME with Britain's retreat. Unfortunate then that he was then hoofed out by radical Islam a short while later.
Does Turkey and the F-35 spring to mind?
Japan one might venture would appear to be a rather more stable ally to the West, is fully committed to the F-35, and is a strategically important ally in that area of the world that has aggressive Chinese expansion.
Could be good.
The Shah of Iran’s desire to get the latest and greatest resulted in much needed funding for the F-14 which then saw it become the USN Fleet Fighter. This despite Congressional opposition to new technology going overseas.
At the time the Shah had put himself forward as being able to be a stable power in the ME with Britain's retreat. Unfortunate then that he was then hoofed out by radical Islam a short while later.
Does Turkey and the F-35 spring to mind?
Japan one might venture would appear to be a rather more stable ally to the West, is fully committed to the F-35, and is a strategically important ally in that area of the world that has aggressive Chinese expansion.
Could be good.
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The Shah of Iran’s desire to get the latest and greatest resulted in much needed funding for the F-14 which then saw it become the USN Fleet Fighter.
Errr... do you have any evidence for a causal connection between Iranian interest and the funding of the USN program. Like, actual evidence.
Errr... do you have any evidence for a causal connection between Iranian interest and the funding of the USN program. Like, actual evidence.
https://warisboring.com/why-iran-rea...-f-14-tomcats/
How F-14 Purchase from US Humiliated Iran?s Monarchy
https://case.hks.harvard.edu/on-the-...buys-the-f-14/
Fact: Iran's Air Force Flies American-Made F-14 Tomcats | The National Interest Blog
Have a read - some contradictory stuff
Incidentally a couple of years ago I stayed at a house in Isfahan that had originally been part of the complex for US staff at the Bell factory
This complex I guess it was: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archi...=.849f573a8d8b
My Iranian friend had been moved there when the US moved out - they got bombed during the iraq/Iran war - he was only 5 then & his well-connected father had him smuggled out - to India.
How F-14 Purchase from US Humiliated Iran?s Monarchy
https://case.hks.harvard.edu/on-the-...buys-the-f-14/
Fact: Iran's Air Force Flies American-Made F-14 Tomcats | The National Interest Blog
Have a read - some contradictory stuff
Incidentally a couple of years ago I stayed at a house in Isfahan that had originally been part of the complex for US staff at the Bell factory
This complex I guess it was: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archi...=.849f573a8d8b
My Iranian friend had been moved there when the US moved out - they got bombed during the iraq/Iran war - he was only 5 then & his well-connected father had him smuggled out - to India.
Last edited by Load Toad; 24th Apr 2018 at 04:58.
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What is an F-22/F-35 hybrid anyway? How does one "combine" the features of a two-engine stealth air superiority fighter with a single-engine stealth attack aircraft? Will the resulting hybrid have 1.5 engines? And which version of the F-35 will they hybridize? The A, B, or C?
Maybe they could scale up the "big wing" F-35C and put two engines in it. Something like that would likely have a large internal weapons bay, huge volume for fuel, and could have excellent stealth. And if they tweeked the aerodynamics, probably have long range super cruise capability
Maybe they could scale up the "big wing" F-35C and put two engines in it. Something like that would likely have a large internal weapons bay, huge volume for fuel, and could have excellent stealth. And if they tweeked the aerodynamics, probably have long range super cruise capability
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Easier, and better, to start with a clean sheet of paper and design an aircraft around modern engines and avionics - with an open architecture - to meet the required specifications.
KenV, erm... F-28.5?
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And perhaps the best argument for using a mature airframe design is production. The biggest headache in any new aircraft design is maturing the production systems, including all the suppliers.
