Japanese 'stealth'

[elmayerle]

I'd venture an estimate that this deisgn is circa-1990, in which case it's a reasonable desicription of "state of the art" for a supersonic stealthy fighter.  From the size of the canopy, I'd estimate something in the size-range of the first generation F-18's or a Typhoon.   Absent drawings, I'd hazzard a guess at YF-23''style inlets and two F404's or equivalent for propulsion.  I think I would go along with the analysis that the final version would hae outwardly canted vertical surfaces as, among other things, it makes for better load paths.

[overscan]

Yeah, I think its from 1991 or somewhere thereabouts. I agree with Evan's analysis about size.

[elider]

Does this help?

[elider]

Another pic but not much better as it is basically the same prospective in a mirror image.

[elmayerle]

Assuming that's dry thrust being quoted for the engines, they're pretty close to the F404.  If that's the "wet" rating in full afterburner, that more equivalent to the F125 engine in the Chung-Kuo.  Dimensionally, this aircraft appears to have about a little over a foot greater span than the Chun-Kuo and to be a couple feet shorter.  I can see either engine approach and the size is certainly compact, helping reduce the RCS.  Those canards, though, need some redesign as what's depicted there has some nice reflective corners built in.

[TsrJoe]

aha...cheers chaps...im in the process of putting on paper a provisional drawimg based upon what we have here...ill post it up for comment and correction!

id also read that Northrop were involved in design work with Mitsubishi on certain aspects of aircraft design...no further details avaliable as yet tho, altho there is a sort of ND.102 feel to this design!!?

cheers, joe    

[overscan]

Hmm did someone say ND-102?

[TsrJoe]

nice piccie paul...i remember seeing that model at my first Farmbrough (as well as an orange painted one on the Dornier stand!)...cool...
def looks sleeker than the only drawing i have of it shows it to be, from Gunston's 'Future Fighters' (altho virtually every drawing in that volume is pretty usless!)

Hmmm..im wondering if the Japanese aviation press picked up on their LO. proposals...

so far iv the drawing box drawn up and am starting to draft in the sketches salient points, it should suffice till we get a 'real' one...

happy researching, cheers,    

[overscan]

I've got two Bill Gunston Future Fighters books by Salamander. One is small, called "Future Fighters and Combat Aircraft" and the other is an large format expanded version from a few years later called "Warplanes of the Future".

A lot of the artwork and pictures is common to both, but as I picked them up for £2 and £2.49 respectively I don't mind too much

(I've had a lot of luck in Oxfam Bookshops recently)

[elider]

This is a "stumble on" I found surfing the net, and I don't know who to give credit, but it is Japanese stealth