Reminds me slightly of one of the ASTOVL designs from the 90’s.
It reminds me of the Boeing F32.
Who is going to pilot it? Skynet?
looks like it has variable canards?
And, of course, what the final price will be per unit...
” the drones won’t require constant directions from the manned aircraft – they’ll follow orders, of course, but still show initiative.”
Of course!
Don’t know if it is true, but if it pulls greater than 10 g’s during a turn, then not even g suit can prevent the pilot from blacking out....wonder what turning radius and speed the fighter will achieve...or will it be an airborne joystick controller for the faster, more maneuverable drones? Maybe carry small JDAM like nukes? Like 10 kiloton?
Not a fan of National Interest. I remember a recent article indicating the F-22 was going to be retired in the 2030s, but the USAF received $11b to modernize and extend service life into the 2050s. 2 years ago, the outlet headlined that news, and are back to contradicting it again.
They have to replace the F-22 already? What happened?
We still have all the old Fs as mainstays. Love ‘em. Love F-16. But can’t believe the newer things haven’t “taken off”?
The exhaust will be a rainbow.
Let’s hope that Boeing does a whole lot better job building the thing than Lockheed has in just about anything they have done since Kelly Johnson died and the stream of bidenites joined the company in a succession of drones. Maybe someone in the US can show we still have people who can do something right besides Space X.
>P>
The 18 is a McDonnel-Douglas airplane so wouldn’t this be one of the first Boeing airplanes for the Navy since the FB series?
Get rid of Naval Air.
Bring back the Thud.
stealth wi canards? i thought they wrecked a RCS...
I am not an aeronautical engineer, just Electrical.
But my father was a pilot, my uncle and instructor, and I was flying a plane (no, not taking off or landing) before I could drive a car.
No way a plane with no vertical stabilzer could jig & jag with modern fighters without one (or two). Even with thrust-vectoring. As most modern fighters have that as well.
IMHO.