Your Nation's Air Force [MKI]

[Oaledonia]

Last I checked, the airborne laser project had been canned. USAF said that we don't have the tech to power it to an even remotely useful power level.

The YAL-1 got cancelled. Which wasn't just a failure of the laser, but also due to the fact that to for the YAL-1 to be of any use you need to keep several of them in the air 24/7 within the airspace of a hostile country. The YAL-1 however was not the USAF's only laser carrying aircraft. There is also the Advance Tactical laser. An air to ground weapon mounted in a C-130. To my knowledge the Advanced Tactical Laser has not seen the ax, and has the firepower needed to be a practical weapon.

Lasers, pew pew.

[Oaledonia]

Sparkbat.

[Bressuire]

Presently the Air Force maintains a fleet of eighty Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighters. They are divided into four squadrons under the current organization scheme.

We also maintain varying numbers of NH90 helicopters, C-130 transports, trainers, and various other aircraft. The overall purpose of the Air Force is defense.

[San-Silvacian]

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit 100
B-1B Lancer Stealth Bomber 20

Everyone just think about this for a bit.... Let it sink in...

My eyes were tricking me telling me 20 B-2s and 100 B-1Bs.

Then I looked it over again.

"Wait what the fuck?!"

[The Corparation]

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit 100
B-1B Lancer Stealth Bomber 20

Everyone just think about this for a bit.... Let it sink in...

Also that more than a third of that Air Force is composed of an aging ground attack aircraft.

[Atlantica]

(Image)
Sparkbat.

Nice design. Looks a bit like the MiG-31 Foxhound: such an awesome interceptor.

[Imperializt Russia]

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit 100
B-1B Lancer Stealth Bomber 20

Everyone just think about this for a bit.... Let it sink in...

It almost happened IRL.
Reagan instead decided to have strong investment in both the B-1A/B and the ABT which later became the B-2.

Or are you commenting on "B-1B stealth bomber" which I only now just saw?

(Image)
Sparkbat.

Nice design. Looks a bit like the MiG-31 Foxhound: such an awesome interceptor.

It's a modified MiG-25 for electronic warfare, hence "Sparkbat" rather than "Sparkhound"

[Purpelia]

Is the D-30 used in the Mig-31 a good engine for a general purpose high energy fighter jet? My gut feeling says no. And if that's the case (hope not) what would be the best way to derive one from it that would be. It's not really about performance you see as much it is about the lineage.

[Virana]

Is the D-30 used in the Mig-31 a good engine for a general purpose high energy fighter jet? My gut feeling says no. And if that's the case (hope not) what would be the best way to derive one from it that would be. It's not really about performance you see as much it is about the lineage.

The MiG-31 is a really big and heavy fighter, and thus it required equally big and powerful engines (the D-30F6). If your fighter is smaller or lighter than the MiG-31 but has an engine housing and intakes large enough to accommodate the D-30, then yes, I think it should be a good engine for a "high energy" fighter (by which I'm assuming you mean high speed, high T/W fighter).

[Kaledy]

Fighter aircraft

Vehicle:

Killer Bird II-2

Number

62x

Origin

Kaledy

Type

Multi-role fighter

In service

01-07 1983

Notes

Replacement of the Killer Bird I-1

Top speed of Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph or 1,915 km/h at 40,000 ft or 12,190 m). It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground, supplemented by a cannon.

[Sevvania]

Original art by dan338

I had my friend edit the twin-fuselage bomber I posted previously to the best of his ability, in order to create a slightly more practical aircraft. He was unable to remove the forward-facing machine gun turret (which is where I'd hoped to position the bombardier), but could the guns be hooked to an interrupter to keep them from shooting the propellers? Would I be able to fit a bombardier in the right-side fuselage between the two gunners?

[-the Ukrainian SSR-]

You could just install a timer like every propeller fighter ever.

[Sevvania]

You could just install a timer like every propeller fighter ever.

Right, I was aware of the interrupter mechanism used by most propeller fighters with forward-facing guns, but was unsure as to whether or not this device could also work on machine guns mounted in a moving turret, or if it could only be hooked to fixed machine guns.

[-the Ukrainian SSR-]

You could just install a timer like every propeller fighter ever.

Right, I was aware of the interrupter mechanism used by most propeller fighters with forward-facing guns, but was unsure as to whether or not this device could also work on machine guns mounted in a moving turret, or if it could only be hooked to fixed machine guns.

Hm, duly noted. I'm not sure of that either, apologies.

[Imperializt Russia]

You could just install a timer like every propeller fighter ever.

Right, I was aware of the interrupter mechanism used by most propeller fighters with forward-facing guns, but was unsure as to whether or not this device could also work on machine guns mounted in a moving turret, or if it could only be hooked to fixed machine guns.

I don't think it would be possible, especially in the era.

What would be possible is a system that prevents the guns from being fired across an arc of the propeller - but then, with the gun turret being so close to the propeller, it would prevent a lot of forward-firing capability. Which seems to be what the turret is primarily capable of.

[Purpelia]

Is the D-30 used in the Mig-31 a good engine for a general purpose high energy fighter jet? My gut feeling says no. And if that's the case (hope not) what would be the best way to derive one from it that would be. It's not really about performance you see as much it is about the lineage.

The MiG-31 is a really big and heavy fighter, and thus it required equally big and powerful engines (the D-30F6). If your fighter is smaller or lighter than the MiG-31 but has an engine housing and intakes large enough to accommodate the D-30, then yes, I think it should be a good engine for a "high energy" fighter (by which I'm assuming you mean high speed, high T/W fighter).

I am worried about things such as engine life, fuel consumption etc. Given that the engine was made for hyper fast quick dashes I am not sure how it would perform in a completely different mission profile.

[Canuckland]

Seeing as there is only a couple of places I could ask this, might as well ask it here.

Would a flying saucer be aerodynamic and/or practical? I'm making a stereotypical alien race as a part of a collective of races in future tech.

[Purpelia]

Seeing as there is only a couple of places I could ask this, might as well ask it here.

Would a flying saucer be aerodynamic and/or practical? I'm making a stereotypical alien race as a part of a collective of races in future tech.

No and maybe. A disc shape will newer be remotely aerodynamic. But you could make some funky story up about how it's supposed to be stealth from all directions via geometry or some other stupidity.

As for practicality it depends entirely on your propulsion system. If you have some sort of magical anti gravity drive that lets you hover and fly without regard to aerodynamics than it's useful. Hell even a ducted propeller in the middle to make it fly like a helicopter would make it semi useful. But if you intend to use jet engines you might as well catch a ride home in the Avrocar.


This said, a giant alien Avrocar from space powered by some funky engine system would be immensely cool.

[San-Silvacian]

Fighter aircraft

Vehicle:

Killer Bird II-2

(Image)

(Image)

Number

62x

Origin

Kaledy

Type

Multi-role fighter

In service

01-07 1983

Notes

Replacement of the Killer Bird I-1

Top speed of Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph or 1,915 km/h at 40,000 ft or 12,190 m). It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground, supplemented by a cannon.

Are those... Windows?

[Kaledy]

Do you mean those blue bumps? If so; no, they are blue bumps.

[Purpelia]

Do you mean those blue bumps? If so; no, they are blue bumps.

Why are there blue bumps on your aircraft?

[Kaledy]

Do you mean those blue bumps? If so; no, they are blue bumps.

Why are there blue bumps on your aircraft?

All Kaledian vehicles and craft have blue bumps on them. As the regular, normal, out of the ordinary human beings we are, we naturally have have a strong sense of esthetics.

And esthetics of objects is judged on how many blue bumps are on it and how the blue bumps are arranged.

[Canuckland]

Seeing as there is only a couple of places I could ask this, might as well ask it here.

Would a flying saucer be aerodynamic and/or practical? I'm making a stereotypical alien race as a part of a collective of races in future tech.

No and maybe. A disc shape will newer be remotely aerodynamic. But you could make some funky story up about how it's supposed to be stealth from all directions via geometry or some other stupidity.

As for practicality it depends entirely on your propulsion system. If you have some sort of magical anti gravity drive that lets you hover and fly without regard to aerodynamics than it's useful. Hell even a ducted propeller in the middle to make it fly like a helicopter would make it semi useful. But if you intend to use jet engines you might as well catch a ride home in the Avrocar.


This said, a giant alien Avrocar from space powered by some funky engine system would be immensely cool.

Roger dodger.

But yeah, I'm making a stereotypical little gray men with flying saucers. Thanks for assisting me.

[Pharthan]

-snip-

Why the blue-bumps? Or the ringlets around the base of the nose-cone?

Also, your wings look a little far forward or a bit large, unless most the the weight of your engine sits more forward than typical.

Kinda looks like you tried to marry a M-21 with a fictional space-ship design from the 1940's.

EDIT:

En esthetics of objects is judged on how many blue bumps are on it and how the blue bumps are arranged.

Then just use Daleks and paint them blue.

Everyone else just judges the appearance of a fighter being cool on whether or not it looks like it's not going to get shot down, not if it's going to win a fashion show.

[Celritannia]

While the Imperial Commonwealth has no independent Air Force, the Imperial Army Aerial Corps and the Imperial Navy Aerial Unit form the Joint Imperial Aerial Command. A semi-independent force, designed to work side by side with one and other, while having different tasks.

Have some (Need of Updating) Aerial Command uniforms



Army on the left, Navy on the right.