I think what frustrates European fighter aviation enthusiasts is that you don’t think that the will is there either.

You are correct in thinking that 🙂

Great the general mold lines MIGHT be set. I’d wager that none of these mockups have had tests against full size iron bird models with doors, maintenance hatches, antenna apetures, panel joins, etc. realistically modeled. Getting those details right plays a critical role in RCS. Those details take work, and that work will take time.

The Replica program did take these details into consideration, I believe it had working weapons bay doors.

I think the Replica program is why the UK are upset over technology transfer issues. With Replica, the UK thought they had proven to the US that they were near equals in stealth technology.

Some Replica and Lampyridae info here http://www.lowobservable.com/Protos.htm anyone have better info?

Any multinational fighter program which doesn’t include the US will have to develop stealth technology from scratch. This is guaranteed to add years to the aircraft development process. If the UK was to pull out of the JSF. It would take at least a decade before they or any other European country could field a stealth fighter aircraft.

Europe has a lot more experience with stealth than you give it credit for. Faceted stealth with the Lampyridae (which got as far as aerodynamic testing and presumably radar-echo-tests), curved stealth with projects like the Dassault Grand Duc… The technology is definately there.

If the will and the money was there and if they followed the example of the F-117 and designed a stealth airframe and equipped it with ”off the shelf” components. I believe alot of european countries could produce a stealth combat aircraft in a couple of years.

If I remember correctly the UK Replica program produced a full sized airframe with flight representative skins and external mould lines for aerodynamic and radar cross section testing. It seems to me that alot of the work has already been done for a EuroStealthFighter 🙂

Unfortunately, Replica could be labeled both British and European, so history tells us it has no chance of getting airborne 🙁

hawkdriver05,

The US Navy and Marine National operate nuclear carriers, they don’t have to worry about intakes and exhausts for their proplusion system.

The Invincible class has a single island that takes up huge amounts of flightdeck and hanger space due to the gas turbine proplusion system taking up lots of below deck space. The 2 island design will be a great improvement.

I wish the STOVL requirement had been kept a seperate program.

The USAF and USN could have got a cheaper/better mini F/A-22 and the UK would have had more justification in asking for a better deal on a pure ASTOVL program where they would be buying about 25% of the aircraft.

I sometimes think the JSF should be designated a business jet 🙂

I guess the reason for the Ticonderoga class’s bulky appearance is that it has the Aegis system jammed into the Spruance class hull.

According to the History channels Battlestations program on the F/A-22, 5x F-15s flown by F/A-22 pilots where beaten by 1x F/A-22.

The first Typhoon vs Raptor play fight will be interesting 🙂

F-35 Omegafighter.