a state of the art british fighter jet.Indranil wrote:Sorry my friend. At the moment, I only have looks to go on. By the way, which of these concepts don't exist right now?ashish raval wrote:I don't care if my TREX looks ugly as long as it can eat other dinosaurs. It has some of the most beautiful stealth lines best of stealth I have seen in line with Raptor. Beauty is in eye of beholder. None of these concepts exists in any 4++ generation aircraft. Most stealth aircrafts are ugly but invisible.
International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
So to be a 6th generation fighter, a plane needs such networking capabilities supported by AI that it acts as an command and control center on top of being fifth generation. cool. it's nice to know that AMCA won't be lagging behind from the date of induction and will have the potential to be truly contemporary.Austin wrote:UK 6th Generation Combat Aircraft Tempest
IMO the next big thing in military aviation is going to be in Jet engines. Maybe Plasma or fusion engines. Upon which there truly can be a generation leap over the others. Variable Bypass ratio sounds fun but won't be that leap.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Neshant , Check thisNeshant wrote: The recent 2005 declassified UFO encounter by F-18 pilots of the USN
'Aliens could share more tech with us, if we warmonger less' - Former Canada Defense Minister
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
The U.K.'s New 'Tempest' Stealth Fighter Project Already Faces Serious Challenges
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22 ... challenges
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/22 ... challenges
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Austin wrote:Neshant , Check thisNeshant wrote: The recent 2005 declassified UFO encounter by F-18 pilots of the USN
'Aliens could share more tech with us, if we warmonger less' - Former Canada Defense Minister
Frmer defence minister of Canada is a bit nutty.
I would not be talking anything he says as being worthwhile.
The USN disclosure however was interesting.
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Which 4++ generation aircraft has radar signature matching stealth aircraft, internal weapons and engines bay, swarming ability like drones, laser weapons (not laser guided), which aircraft can go completely autonomous like a drone, fire hypersonic weapons yada yada..Indranil wrote:Sorry my friend. At the moment, I only have looks to go on. By the way, which of these concepts don't exist right now?ashish raval wrote:I don't care if my TREX looks ugly as long as it can eat other dinosaurs. It has some of the most beautiful stealth lines best of stealth I have seen in line with Raptor. Beauty is in eye of beholder. None of these concepts exists in any 4++ generation aircraft. Most stealth aircrafts are ugly but invisible.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
https://www.defenseone.com/business/201 ... ef=d-river
Boeing Is Pitching the US a New F-15, Using Its Super Hornet Game Plan
Boeing Is Pitching the US a New F-15, Using Its Super Hornet Game Plan
Dubbed the F-15X, the new variant of the venerable jet offers more modern flight controls, cockpit displays, and radar, according to military and industry sources with knowledge of the plan. The plane would also pack a lot of firepower, carrying more than two dozen air-to-air missiles, the most of any U.S. Air Force aircraft.Boeing officials declined to explicitly confirm their efforts to sell the F-15X, except perhaps obliquely:“We see the marketplace expanding internationally and it’s creating opportunities then to go back and talk to the U.S. Air Force about what might be future upgrades or even potentially future acquisitions of the F-15 aircraft,” Gene Cunningham, vice president of global sales of Defense, Space & Security, said Friday at the Royal International Air Tattoo in England.The Air Force has not purchased new F-15s since placing a 2001 order for five F-15E Strike Eagles, a two-seat version that can bomb ground targets and shoot down other aircraft. The original F-15 first flew in 1972, and many of the Air Force’s current air-to-air Eagles entered service in the 1980s. Many of them are older than the pilots who fly them.
Air Force leaders say they are currently evaluating their mix of aircraft.“We have a new National Defense Strategy and the Air Force is working through the process of determining what Air Force is needed to meet that new National Defense Strategy and how do you represent that to the world, Gen. James “Mike” Holmes, the head of Air Combat Command, said June 28 at a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington.Among the options being considered are new versions of F-15s and F-16s, according to one Air Force observer.American allies Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and South Korea fly tailored versions of the F-15. Boeing has long pitched new versions of the Strike Eagle to the Air Force and international customers. In 2010, the firm pitched the Silent Eagle — an F-15 with special coating and canted vertical tails — that executives said could better evade enemy detection. In 2015, it pitched an upgrade to the F-15C — the aerial combat version — that would allow it to carry 16 air-to-air missiles.At times, Boeing has argued that upgraded versions of their planes could come close to matching the advanced stealth, sensors and electronic warfare capabilities of the F-35 at a fraction of the cost..
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Which 6th generation aircraft can fly?ashish raval wrote:Which 4++ generation aircraft has radar signature matching stealth aircraft, internal weapons and engines bay, swarming ability like drones, laser weapons (not laser guided), which aircraft can go completely autonomous like a drone, fire hypersonic weapons yada yada..Indranil wrote: Sorry my friend. At the moment, I only have looks to go on. By the way, which of these concepts don't exist right now?
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
ENOUGH OF THE UFO DISCUSSIONS. Create a thread for it if you guys want to.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Thanks , Done !Indranil wrote:ENOUGH OF THE UFO DISCUSSIONS. Create a thread for it if you guys want to.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Soko lost chopper , 5 Marines Dead and 1 Critically injured
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Austin wrote:Soko lost chopper , 5 Marines Dead and 1 Critically injured
Holy crap! The entire rotors assembly came off. I don’t think I ever seen one of these.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Britain to become the first nation in the world to have a fully unmanned aircraft sqd.$2B is being invested now for development and the " Tempest", will be in service by 2035.
We must contrast this with the AMCA plans which have yet to be kicked off.
We must contrast this with the AMCA plans which have yet to be kicked off.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Haw haw haw saar
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Incredible 360 loop by Lockheed !! at Farnborough
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Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
RAF 100 years celebration flypast
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2 ... ef=d-river
New Details About the F-15X That Boeing is Pitching the US Air Force
New Details About the F-15X That Boeing is Pitching the US Air Force
The new F-15 combat aircraft that Boeing is pitching to the U.S. Air Force would have a single-seat cockpit and a host of new weapons, including anti-ship missiles, Defense One has learned.If the Air Force bites, the so-called F-15X would be the Pentagon’s first new Eagles since a 2002 purchase of the air-to-ground variant known as the F-15E Strike Eagle. But various allies have purchased newer variants of the Cold War air-superiority fighter, as recently as last year. The X version would largely resemble the ones Qatar ordered in 2017, tuned up with the latest technology for the new era of great-power competition envisioned in the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy, according to people with knowledge of the plane’s development. Large digital display screens would replace the analog dials inside older F-15s. The planes could carry all of the existing equipment, like targeting pods, used across the existing Eagle fleet. The F-15X will also be able to carry anti-ship weapons that allies have paid to test and install. In all, the plane could carry 29,000 pounds of weapons.The additional weapons would allow the plans to fly new missions. It is expected to cost about $27,000 per hour to fly the F-15X. That’s about $5,000 less than an F-15E.The F-15X is being pitched to complement existing F-22 Raptors and F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, to handle various missions where there is little risk of being shot down by surface-to-air missiles.The view of only flying stealthy, fifth-generation fighters solo into battle without a complement of other other jets “appears to be going away,”Aboulafia said.Looking to the future, the sources said, the F-15X is ideally suited to carry hypersonic weapons.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Missile Truck - 22 AAMs on the F-15 X ?
Our sources describe the aircraft as a single seat variant of the latest F-15 advanced Strike Eagle derivative—the F-15QA destined for Qatar—but it will also integrate many of the features and upgrades that the USAF intends (or intended as it may be) to include on its nearly four-decade-old F-15C/D fleet. And no, the aircraft is not a repackaging of the semi-stealthy F-15 Silent Eagle concept that Boeing floated nearly a decade ago. The F-15X features no low-observable enhancements of any kind.
With the help of the company's new AMBER missile carrying racks, the F-15X will be able to carry a whopping 22 air-to-air missiles during a single sortie.
Alternatively, it could fly with eight air-to-air missiles and 28 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs), or up to 7 2,000lb bombs and 8 air-to-air missiles.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
It is going to be extremely hard to kill the jaded F35. But 6th gen is all the possible guns aiming at.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ ... page=0%2C2
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ ... page=0%2C2
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
https://amp.businessinsider.com/watch-a ... war-2018-8
In "Beast Mode", exploiting the internal weapon bays, the F-35 can carry 2x AIM-9X (pylons), 2x AIM-120 AMRAAM (internal bomb bay) and 4x GBU-31 2,000-lb (pylons) and 2x GBU-31 PGMs (internal bay).
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Fabulous details about blackbird, from whom flew them.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
X Posted from the Terroristan thread.
Reality that the LHTEC engines have the involvement of a US company, namely Honeywell, dawns regards the T129 ATAK deal .
The Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan is financing the deal by taking on debt from Brotherly Turkey who themselves are racing against Pakistan to see who will be the first to borrow from the IMF . IMF should keep a close watch to ensure IMF Funds are not used to finance this deal by either Turkey or Pakistan.
Is it any wonder that that a Turkish contestant on the Turkeys version of KBC thought the Great Wall of China was maybe in India ( Where is The Great Wall of China? Woman on Turkish Version of KBC Used 2 Lifelines for This : Is it... India? ) when “Turkish defense official” thinks Pakistan is “a country that has friendly relations with America “ :
Diplomatic row jeopardizes $1.5B helicopter deal between Turkey and Pakistan
Reality that the LHTEC engines have the involvement of a US company, namely Honeywell, dawns regards the T129 ATAK deal .
The Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan is financing the deal by taking on debt from Brotherly Turkey who themselves are racing against Pakistan to see who will be the first to borrow from the IMF . IMF should keep a close watch to ensure IMF Funds are not used to finance this deal by either Turkey or Pakistan.
Is it any wonder that that a Turkish contestant on the Turkeys version of KBC thought the Great Wall of China was maybe in India ( Where is The Great Wall of China? Woman on Turkish Version of KBC Used 2 Lifelines for This : Is it... India? ) when “Turkish defense official” thinks Pakistan is “a country that has friendly relations with America “ :
From Defense News:Diplomatic row jeopardizes $1.5B helicopter deal between Turkey and Pakistan
By: Burak Ege Bekdil 11 hours ago
ANKARA, Turkey — An escalating diplomatic crisis between NATO allies Turkey and the United States may risk suspending a $1.5 billion deal between Turkey and Pakistan for the sale of 30 Turkish-made T129 ATAK helicopter gunships.
The T129 is being produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland.
“The problem is related with the U.S.-made parts for which TAI will need U.S. export licenses in order to materialize the deal,” a Turkish aerospace official said.
The T129, based on its predecessor A129 Mangusta, is a twin-engine multirole attack helicopter. The T129 is powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. Each engine can produce 1,014 kilowatts of output power. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC is a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce.
“Apparently we shall need U.S. export licenses to go ahead with the T129 deal,” a senior procurement official said. “This is not a technological or financial matter but is purely political at the moment.” ………………………..
“This is a commercial deal (with Pakistan) with a country that has friendly relations with America . For Washington what matters should be the recipient of the systems, not who produces it and if relations are bumpy with the producer country,” a Turkish defense official said. “Why should the Americans punish Pakistan for their disagreements with Turkey?”
A TAI official said a U.S. embargo on the chopper deal was unlikely because it would also hurt a U.S. company as well as two British companies and one Italian. “These are not enemy producers,” he said. “They are on the ally side. And we (TAI) are not being sanctioned by the U.S. or any other ally country.”
A U.S. diplomat in Ankara refused to comment. …………………….
To finance one of the country’s largest defense and aerospace export contracts, Turkey offered Pakistan a $1.5 billion credit line in 2017, but the deal’s payment terms are unknown. ………….
Diplomatic row jeopardizes $1.5B helicopter deal between Turkey and Pakistan
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
^^^ Well there goes a promising MIC in Turkey.
Wow, Trump is clobbering the currencies of the two biggest Amreeki rivals, Cheen and Roos, AND collapsing a major muzzie one at the same time for good measure. LoL
Wow, Trump is clobbering the currencies of the two biggest Amreeki rivals, Cheen and Roos, AND collapsing a major muzzie one at the same time for good measure. LoL
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
If the Turks have the drive (like Iran) and the intelligence derived from such a long association, they may yet have something good come out of this. OTOH if it goes down the more Islamic route (more likely), then their MIC, such as it is, will be probably devolve over time (which will be good for us).
Either ways bad news for the Pakis.
Either ways bad news for the Pakis.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
15 mins of takeoffs and landings in Ex pitch black darwin australia - some 150 planes and 16 nations...as big as red flag minus the heavy bombers
1st of August was my First day in Darwin for Ex Pitch Black 2018. In this video you will see Aircraft from Different Air Forces from world as like Australia, France Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Malaysia and the United States with Aircraft like Boeing F/A-18A/B/F Hornets Boeing E/A-18G Growlers, Lockheed Martin F-16C/D, Dassault Rafale's , Saab JAS 39 Gripen and the Sukhoi's Su-30MKIs, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules ,Airbus KC30A MRTT Lockheed Martin KC135R Tanker and Alenia C27J Spartan in this video
1st of August was my First day in Darwin for Ex Pitch Black 2018. In this video you will see Aircraft from Different Air Forces from world as like Australia, France Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Malaysia and the United States with Aircraft like Boeing F/A-18A/B/F Hornets Boeing E/A-18G Growlers, Lockheed Martin F-16C/D, Dassault Rafale's , Saab JAS 39 Gripen and the Sukhoi's Su-30MKIs, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules ,Airbus KC30A MRTT Lockheed Martin KC135R Tanker and Alenia C27J Spartan in this video
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Israeli Spice 250 smart bomb closing in on service debut
Rafael’s Spice 250 electro-optical/infrared-guided glide bomb is on course to achieve initial operational capability with the Israel Air and Space Force next year, following a third test campaign earlier this year that saw the 100-km (62-mile) range weapon successfully engage moving, maritime, and time-critical targets. A few more qualification tests are due to be undertaken, with low-rate production just getting under way. At Farnborough 2018, the weapon is being displayed as an option for both the Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen.
Spice 250 is the latest member of a family of guided bombs that employ inertial midcourse guidance and a sophisticated scene-matching seeker, rendering them immune to GPS jamming or denial and offering single-pixel accuracy. With a circular error of probability (CEP) of less than three meters (10 feet), the Spice 250 has a two-way datalink that allows the pilot to override the weapon’s autonomous systems, which feature algorithms for automatic target identification and prioritization. Spice-250 can even auto-abort if the weapon determines it is heading toward the wrong target.
Rafael (Chalet B15) has also devised a Smart Quad Launcher for the Spice 250 that has the datalink embedded to facilitate integration with the carrier aircraft. Four weapons can be carried on each launcher, allowing an F-16 to carry 16 and an F-15 up to 28. An attack by a four-ship of F-15s could theoretically release 112 independently targeted weapons, sufficient to put a wide-area target set such as an entire airfield out of action in one strike.
Whereas the larger, combat-proven Spice-1000 and -2000 are guidance/wing kits applied to existing 454-kg (1,000-pound) and 907-kg (2,000-pound) warheads, the Spice-250 has a new multi-purpose warhead that can be employed against soft targets such as radar sites, yet has a penetration capability against concrete up to a meter (3-feet) thick.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Nice competition to aasm and sdb
The kh59 needs a separate comms pod
The kh59 needs a separate comms pod
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
^ What happened to the Qaher F-313 ?
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Received by email pertaining to the seizure and onward flight of the aircraft out of Seattle last week. A bit sad.
"This is the tower recording for the flight of the Stolen Horizon Air Q400 at Sea-Tac [with ATC audio]"
https://youtu.be/xD5sFrTGFnw
"This is the tower recording for the flight of the Stolen Horizon Air Q400 at Sea-Tac [with ATC audio]"
https://youtu.be/xD5sFrTGFnw
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
what did the turks and the pakis expect??arun wrote:X Posted from the Terroristan thread.
Reality that the LHTEC engines have the involvement of a US company, namely Honeywell, dawns regards the T129 ATAK deal .
The Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan is financing the deal by taking on debt from Brotherly Turkey who themselves are racing against Pakistan to see who will be the first to borrow from the IMF . IMF should keep a close watch to ensure IMF Funds are not used to finance this deal by either Turkey or Pakistan.
Is it any wonder that that a Turkish contestant on the Turkeys version of KBC thought the Great Wall of China was maybe in India ( Where is The Great Wall of China? Woman on Turkish Version of KBC Used 2 Lifelines for This : Is it... India? ) when “Turkish defense official” thinks Pakistan is “a country that has friendly relations with America “ :
From Defense News:Diplomatic row jeopardizes $1.5B helicopter deal between Turkey and Pakistan
By: Burak Ege Bekdil 11 hours ago
ANKARA, Turkey — An escalating diplomatic crisis between NATO allies Turkey and the United States may risk suspending a $1.5 billion deal between Turkey and Pakistan for the sale of 30 Turkish-made T129 ATAK helicopter gunships.
The T129 is being produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland.
“The problem is related with the U.S.-made parts for which TAI will need U.S. export licenses in order to materialize the deal,” a Turkish aerospace official said.
The T129, based on its predecessor A129 Mangusta, is a twin-engine multirole attack helicopter. The T129 is powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. Each engine can produce 1,014 kilowatts of output power. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC is a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce.
“Apparently we shall need U.S. export licenses to go ahead with the T129 deal,” a senior procurement official said. “This is not a technological or financial matter but is purely political at the moment.” ………………………..
“This is a commercial deal (with Pakistan) with a country that has friendly relations with America . For Washington what matters should be the recipient of the systems, not who produces it and if relations are bumpy with the producer country,” a Turkish defense official said. “Why should the Americans punish Pakistan for their disagreements with Turkey?”
A TAI official said a U.S. embargo on the chopper deal was unlikely because it would also hurt a U.S. company as well as two British companies and one Italian. “These are not enemy producers,” he said. “They are on the ally side. And we (TAI) are not being sanctioned by the U.S. or any other ally country.”
A U.S. diplomat in Ankara refused to comment. …………………….
To finance one of the country’s largest defense and aerospace export contracts, Turkey offered Pakistan a $1.5 billion credit line in 2017, but the deal’s payment terms are unknown. ………….
Diplomatic row jeopardizes $1.5B helicopter deal between Turkey and Pakistan
free bana bana, garam garam halwa??
of course, they need a US export licence which will never be forthcoming.
even a kindergarten kid knows this.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Swedish Air Force Gripen fighter crashes, pilot safe
A Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft crashed near an air base in southern Sweden Tuesday after striking several birds while it was about to land, Sweden’s Armed Forces said.
The incident occurred at about 9.45 a.m. (0745 GMT) north of Ronneby, near Karlskrona — 160 kilometers (99 miles) east of Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city.
The pilot of fighter aborted the landing after the birdstrike and ejected, said Col. Lars Bergstrom, head of the Blekinge Air Force Wing near Ronneby in southern Sweden. “The pilot is in good spirits and is doing fine,” Bergstrom told a news conference, adding he was taken to a nearby hospital for checks. “We could see the whole thing from the control tower.”
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority will investigate the crash of the aircraft.
Last year, a Royal Thai Air Force pilot died when his JAS 39 Gripen jet crashed at an air show in southern Thailand after suddenly losing altitude and crashed in a ball of fire.
..
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Of interest to us, since it is the Elta 2052 that will feature on the KF-X fighter
From AW&St
From AW&St
TEL AVIV—The Israeli radar developed for South Korea’s KF-X fighter is based to a great extent on the operational experience of the Israeli Air Force, with prototypes now being tested with the help of Israeli experts.
Last year, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) subsidiary Elta was selected to develop the ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for KF-X under a contract with South Korea’s state-run Agency for Defense Development.
According to the contract, Elta is providing technology support for operational testing of the radar. “It’s about technology support related to the operation test of a prototype radar, not the development itself,” South Korea’s defense procurement agency said. But sources in South Korea say the agreement includes much more than “technology support.”
The contract is said to be valued at more than $37 million, and sees Elta closely cooperating with South Korean company Hanwha Systems.
The ELM-2052 was developed by Elta based on years of supplying radars of all types to the Israeli Air Force.
A South Korean source said in recent test flights the ELM-2052 has proved its “generic capabilities,” but would not elaborate.
Seoul launched the KF-X program in 2015, and plans to manufacture more than 120 fighters to replace its aging McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-4s and Northrop F-5s.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
They seem to stuck on cloning the F-5. This is their second. Their first is the Saqeh which looks exactly like the single seat F-5 but has an extra tail fin.
It’d be interesting to see if they could ever clone a F-4 or F-14 in their inventory. I suspect the F-5/MiG-21 and their turbojets are the last RE’able systems.
The F-14 and its F110 turbofan must be the Holy Grail for reverse engineers. But no word of any copy of those.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
^ Sorry. I was a bit hasty. Or the Iranians are being shifty/cagey as usual.
The next day they seem to have 'leaked' to their press that the aircraft shown is just the demonstrator for the sensor systems which will go into the 'Kowsar' and that the 'Kowsar' airframe will be revealed later.
The next day they seem to have 'leaked' to their press that the aircraft shown is just the demonstrator for the sensor systems which will go into the 'Kowsar' and that the 'Kowsar' airframe will be revealed later.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
F-35A Nose Gear Collapses After Parking Following Emergency Landing At Eglin Air Force Base
The F-35A experienced an in-flight emergency and returned to base. The aircraft landed safely and parked when the front nose gear collapsed.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
US offer for a new F-22 variant for Japan. This after the Japanese pursued an indigenous 5th gen design after the US had refused to sell F-22s. Typical behaviour- when the client seems ready to go down the path of developing their own solution, the US will jump in and offer something they previously might have refused. And they'll want to then piggy back on the Japanese requirement and re-start production for their own needs, which has been deemed to be very expensive.
SYDNEY—Lockheed Martin has proposed a F-22 derivative with a new wing and great range for Japan’s requirement for a fighter for the 2030s, the Nikkei newspaper said.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) would develop and build the wing, the IHI XF9-1 turbofan would power the twin-engine fighter and avionics from Mitsubishi Electric would be fitted, Nikkei said. Japanese weapons would be used as far as possible.
The paper attributed its information to Lockheed Martin but did not saying exactly how it was obtained.
Japanese content would reach at least 50%, or more than 60% if the XF9-1 were used.
Radius of the F-22 derivative would be 2,200 km (1,400 mi.), the Nikkei said, without defining the mission except to say that the distance would be enough for defending remote islands. Such performance, if it included a reasonable time on station and allowance for air combat, would be most unusual.
Long range and endurance is a high priority for the defense ministry as it seeks a design for this program, called Future Fighter. Japan needs to replace the 92 MHI F-2s in its inventory, among 94 built, after 2030. The F-2s are strike fighters, but for their replacements the ministry has put priority on air superiority at a great distance from the home islands.
Japan also has sought proposals from BAE Systems and Boeing. The defense ministry’s acquisition and technology agency has separately prepared a concept design for a large indigenous fighter. A decision is due this year.
The cost of Lockheed Martin’s proposal would be ¥6 trillion ($54 billion) including support, the paper said. That presumably includes the cost of decades of service life. The unit cost would be ¥21–24 billion.
Japan would begin by buying aircraft made in the U.S., including engines and combat systems, and gradually increase local content. The point of transition is unclear, the Nikkei said. A non-operational F-22 would be sent to Japan at an early stage.
The newspaper illustrated its report with a crude picture of a tailless F-22 derivative with a huge wing extending aft of the vertical stabilizers. The trailing edge was swept forward.
Japanese media previously have reported that Lockheed Martin would offer a fighter combining F-22 and F-35 features. The latter most likely would include avionics. The company has said its offer would be a “5th-gen derivative,” meaning something based on the F-22, F-35 or both.
U.S. costs for the F-22—presumably support costs—would be reduced if Japan chose the Lockheed Martin proposal, the paper said.
Re: International Aerospace Discussion - Jan 2018
Yeah right after the Qaher F313 5th Gen fighter 5 years back