Current designs extended to one-offs hypotheticals

The current crop of 4th and 5th generation fighters are generally shoe-horned designs for a particular market or customer and built around a single type of engine. Hypothetically speaking, if the same aircraft manufactured were to offer a full line of models, what would some of these choices look like? Let’s not worry about the competition and how such hypotheticals would be a bunch of redundant copies. Rather, use your imagination to just speak what you would see happening if they did such nonsense.

Take the Gripen NG for example. What if the next generation of Gripen was offered in its current incantation AND also in a dual-engined model? What would Saab offer in its twin-engined model? What roles would the new version do that could not be done by the older version. You don’t have to stick to the smaller theme of the Gripen NG when thinking about a twin-engined model.

The same could be applied to other companies, like how Sukhoi has built many models of the Flanker all in twin-engined models. What if they decided to do a single engined fighter, what would it look like? Maybe you think they should go three engines…

How about Rafale and Dassault making a single-engined version? Would it have tvc?

The possibilities go on and on. It would be interesting to hear what people could foresee in these hypothetical versions and maybe if you could draw up a concept version of photoshop something that would add to the discussion.