Message posted by Magoo on July 08, 2000 at 11:31:42 EST:

Hi Al

The photo panel concept is probably a feasible one in theory, but being able to adapt it to the aerodynamic and stealthy shaping of a modern fighter aircraft is quite another thing! This concept would really only ever have a beneficial application in close-in WVR dogfights, which is exactly what modern fighters are moving more and more away from these days with more advanced 'first see, first shoot' BVR radars and missiles.

I can't agree that high (i.e. Mach 2+) speed is necessary for the next generation of stealthy aircraft, as the heat, wake, noise and signature problems that accompany this capability can effectively nulify any advantage that a LO design may give you. Modern IRST systems can passively track and shoot at a hot speeding airframe from 40+ miles, and these will proliferate in the near future as the technology becomes cheaper, and may even be retro-fitted to older but upgraded aircraft.

On the contrary, I believe the next generation 'top shelf' fighter will have an optimum speed range of between 400 and 600 knots on relatively low power settings, but will retain a supercruise or supersonic dash capability of around Mach 2 for transit or egress flight profiles only.

The SR-71 was indeed a remarkable aircraft, but it was only able to do what it did because of the its sheer size (107ft long, 120,000+ lbs), which gave its designers a much freer hand in shaping and engine design. The next strategic recon jet (ASTRA?, Aurora?, whatever?) may also have to be as large or even larger to be able to retain this capability.

For a fighter aircraft to have maneouverability and flexibility, it must be smaller and lighter (<65ft, <70,000lbs), and therefore have either a stealthy LO shape (a la F-117), or outright grunt (F-15, F-4), but I suspect it will remain difficult if not impossible to combine the two operationally in the near future.

Magoo

In Reply to: Re: working on posted by Al on July 08, 2000 at 07:44:15 EST:

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