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How good would a fighter plane made from off-the-shelf parts be?

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  • #16
    Textron has decided to enter the T-X competition with the Scorpion.

    T-X program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    It's up against some very tough players: T-50 (in service), Hawk (1000+ world wide), M-346 (possibly the weakest player due to Russian roots).

    T-50 has the best performance numbers but is still new.

    Hawk is a proven machine and the gold standard.

    M-346 is even newer than T-50.
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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    • #17
      M-346 is the only one of them with any real sales success in the last five years.

      Then again we're talking about a US competition. Neither performance nor standards nor sales success is of any real significance. Where the thing would be built is. And in that pretty much all have similar chances considering the US general contractors who'd build them.

      It'll be interesting which path the German Air Force decides to go replacing its Talons costationed in the US, especially if the USAF chooses something other than the M-346.

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      • #18
        Originally posted by kato View Post
        M-346 is the only one of them with any real sales success in the last five years.

        Then again we're talking about a US competition. Neither performance nor standards nor sales success is of any real significance. Where the thing would be built is. And in that pretty much all have similar chances considering the US general contractors who'd build them.

        It'll be interesting which path the German Air Force decides to go replacing its Talons costationed in the US, especially if the USAF chooses something other than the M-346.
        USAF: Plane XYZ is the winner of our competition. All we need is to tailor it for our purposes. We'll change the engine, avionics, add extra fuel, lengthen the fuselage, increase wing span, a different set of ejection seats, strengthen the landing gear to cope with higher weight, re-write the software for the flight control system....and let's move the pitot tube from right side of the nose to the left side.
        "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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        • #19
          IMHO, a version of the T-45C would probably be the best bet; proven technology combined with a well-established logistics tail (although the USAF WOULD be buying a Navy airplane; I know how much they hate that!).
          "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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