Purpelia wrote:The Akasha Colony wrote:
It's evidently pretty maintenance intensive to maintain though, since at least for older aircraft it's a tinted coating on the interior rather than integrated into the glass itself. It could only be washed with water (chemicals could damage the tinting), which made it time-consuming to fully clean without residual streaks. However, on the F-16 the effect of the tinting contributed to a 15% reduction in RCS. I don't know if the F-22 solved any of these issues with the legacy tinting though.
Basically what I am doing is making a 4.5 generation fighter. Here is the full story:
The year is 2008. My 5th generation fighter project is running with delays and we can reasonably expect it to enter service in 2020. Meanwhile my existing 4th generation fleet is aging to obsolescence. However, a lot of the 5th generation equipment, avionics, radar etc. are complete or nearing completion and are being tested on a number of modified 4th generation frames to prototype them. This gives me access to what basically amounts to a number of 4.5 gen prototypes. So I have decided to take these and mass produce them. I'd basically be building the equivalent of a Su-35 (compared to Su-27) but from scratch with new airframes using all the modern latest and greatest materials, avionics and other equipment and end up with a rather modern 4.5gen fighter jet that looks like my old 4th gen but is actually brand new. And I'd use them to replace my old air force. Than, when and if my 5th generation fighters come along I can supplement the 4.5s with them in smaller numbers. I can get the 4.5 into production by early 2009 and service by 2010.I see many advantages to this approach none the least of which is establishing infrastructure for 5th gen production later on, working out teething issues with new electronic equipment, materials etc, smaller training costs, smaller production costs than if I had waited and built a bunch of 5th gens.
This is exactly what I want to do.
Like Silent Eagle but built from scratch.
And stuff.
EDIT: So I'll have something like a lo-mid-high arrangement, think F-CK-1 -> MiG-29 (up to MiG-35) -> F-15E (up to F-15SE)
Basically I want everything to be two-seat and two-engine. I've already made up my mind.
Gen 4.5, compared to Gen 4, is to add supermaneuverability (or at least increase maneuverability) through 2D TV (and possibly canards) ; + AESA ; it is also to feature improved, integrated avionics. Gen 5 is to add stealth features like modified form, special materials and CWB (conformal weapons bay) ; also, it is to feature 3D TV and be fully supermaneuverable w/o needing canards ; + advanced avionics. Gen 6 (which is somewhat like Gen 5 only starting later) is to feature full supercruise (so with significant fuel+weapons for significant time).