I’ve often been harassed by claiming that I could design a better fighter jet than the F-22. Perhaps what I meant was I could design one that doesn’t completely ignore the history of air combat and exactly what it is that makes a fighter jet win. To that extent, I’ve scribbled down some criteria that I think would make the most badass fighter jet we’ve seen. This is solely for air-to-air and none of that fighter/bomber bullshit. All numbers are assumed to be with a full load on takeoff.
- First, the weight. Since we know that weight is a bad force when flying, let’s keep it low. Instead of an 80,000lb monstrosity (ehem, Raptor), I’m keeping this one under 30K. Lighter if at all possible.
- To give it the advantage in range, I’m putting the floor of the fuel fraction at .35. The lift/drag should be nice and high as well.
- As for the thrust/weight, I’m shooting for a 2.
- The sensors are where I’m a little unsure. While I would prefer it to have an emphasis on passive sensors, I know nobody would even touch it if it didn’t have a decent radar on it. That’s why I’m thinking AESA, just because they can get a decent amount of power into a smaller device. Hopefully that should save on weight.
- I’ve been really intrigued by the X-29 and the results of forward swept wings with vortex flow control. High angle of attack capabilities without thrust vectoring? I like it.
- Of course it’ll have a bubble canopy, and the agility will be incredible.
So for anyone who knows anything about fighter design, what do you think? I don’t really put any emphasis on stealth or top speed or service ceiling but all those are inherent in the design so long as it is kept small, quick, and isn’t aerodynamically sloppy. The Raptor is none of those things, so I’m already a step ahead. Plus, the cost of this fighter will be much less and therefore allow more of them, another key ingredient to winning in an air-to-air battle. So long as it’s not polluted by the current process of acquisition we have running, this would destroy anything flying today in an even cost analysis.
Real fighter pilots probably just had their wet dreams come true.
