Until it gets to an airshow where people can step it off I’m leaning towards it being 70-75 feet in length. We don’t even know the dimensions of the J-10 yet and people are already saying its such and such, as if they know the exact length.

I’m all for a big head version of an F-5F. But replace the two engines with a single F125. Expand the front half to optimize clearing through the transonic region by pigybacking on the SSBD research courtesy of NASA. This will give it the volume necessary to have an internal bay, no external loads on the typical flight. Create tomorrow’s Freedom Fighter, a trainer that can also be bought as a fighter. The virtualized cockpit readouts are all fine and dandy for training, but give them the ability to carry live ordnance and use onboard electronics to carry out the training/combat mission. If you’re pushing for virtual then you may as well leave out the cockpit.

How about an F125-powered F-50 two-seater? Light fighter version equipped with an AESA, EODAS, three-barrel 20MM cannon, internal bay for a single 1000-pound class bomb (complete with guidance kit) or two AIM-9X/AIM-120C.

The drawback with the Draken in comparison to the Starfighter is that the latter had missiles earlier in its history. The 20mm Vulcan against 2-4 of the Draken’s 30mm guns might be worth comparing in a high speed and high altitude intercept. The Draken eventually has Falcon and Sidewinder, but the Starfighter in Italian service had Sparrow/Aspide, right? The Starfighter probably was the superior interceptor between the two. The Delta Dagger definitely had an edge over both as an interceptor. The question is was it really all that much?

I’ve wondered how the Draken would have stacked up against the F-104 and F-106A when it came to the high altitude intercept mission.

Let’s seriously consider the idea of a Nipponized Typhoon. What might it look like?

Probably the same externally.

What radar?

Probably indigenous.

What engines?

Probably limited Eurojet-made with Mitsubishi taking over production at some point.

What weapons?

They would probably be identical to what the F-2A uses, only more.

Ultimately the Typhoon would be just a bigger F-2A. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

For some reason if they had purchased Rafale and had used them to attack protestors I don’t think anyone would have been any more impressed. At least we are not reading about F-16’s attacking protestors. What a pie in the face that would have been.

This is directly related to the Libyan jet fighters in Malta thread. Look there for much more discussion on the matter.