Jet fighter with good concept and design

 

F-15 SE

F-15SE Silent Eagle is an upgraded version of the F-15 Strike Eagle aircraft, being developed by Boeing for international customers. The F-15SE features an innovative design which reduces its radar cross section. A prototype of the F-15SE Silent Eagle aircraft was first unveiled in March 2009.

F-15SE is 63.6ft (19.4m) long, 18.5ft (5.6m) high and has a wingspan of 42.8ft (13m). The basic design of the F-15SE is similar to that of the F-15 Strike Eagle aircraft with new components added. The new components include the conformal weapons bay (CWB) instead of the standard conformal fuel tanks.

The CWB significantly increases the internal carriage capacity of the aircraft and also reduces its radar signature. Two additional weapons stations have been included to enable the aircraft to carry an additional four air-to-air missiles.

The Silent Eagle also features twin vertical tails canted 15° outward. Canted tails provide rear lift to the aircraft and reduce ballast usage, while increasing the range by 75 to 100 nautical miles. Coatings will also be applied to various areas of the aircraft to minimise the radar signature.

The F-15SE has also been designed to function as a non-stealthy, multirole aircraft. The CWBs can be removed and the aircraft can be reconfigured to include conformal fuel tanks based on mission requirements.

The F-15SE can carry air-to-air missiles, such as AIM-120 and AIM-9, and air-to-ground weapons including precision-guided weapons, JDAM and globules admire. The F-15SE can fly at a maximum speed of 2,655km/h. It can climb at the rate of 15,240m/min. The aircraft will have a range of 3,900km and a service ceiling of 18,200m. The empty weight of the aircraft will be 14,300kg and the maximum takeoff weight will be 36,741kg. The aircraft can carry a payload of 11,748kg.

F-15 EX

Boeing quotes a flyaway cost for the F-15EX of $80 million a copy—about the same as the F-35A. But operating costs are a differentiator. Recently retired Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein said USAF has been leery of the F-35’s cost per flight hour, still about $35,000, which is well above the F-15’s $27,000 per hour. The Air Force also wants its fleet to be mostly of the Block 4 version of the F-35, which is not yet in production. That jet will have more advanced sensors and can carry a greater variety of weapons. By waiting, USAF can get a greater number of jets in the more advanced configuration and spend less on retrofitting earlier ones.

The F-15EX will be almost identical to the F-15QA being built for Qatar. Now in testing, that aircraft builds on the F-15SA developed for Saudi Arabia, the first to trade the old hydraulic actuators and cables for a digital, fly-by-wire system. 

It can carry 12 air-to-air missiles, and on the new stations, either the AIM-120 or AIM-9 can be carried.

Boeing received the first payment of $1.2 billion for the F-15EX on July 13. The cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus incentive contract set a ceiling of $22.89 billion for up to 200 aircraft, although USAF has only spoken of buying 144. Separately, the Air Force awarded GE Aviation a $101.4 million contract for the first 19 GE-F110-129 engines to power the EX test fleet—the same engines that power the F-15SA and the QA. They will be provided as government-furnished equipment. The Air Force will allow Raytheon Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney unit to offer a competitive power plant for the production program, though, as long as Pratt certifies its engine on the F-15EX, at its own expense.

YF-23 Black Widow II

Two YF-23 prototypes were designed and built by the contractor team of Northrop and McDonnell Douglas as part of the demonstration and evaluation phase of the US Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter selection program, which concluded in 1990. According to the Air Force, factors in the selection for production of the F-22 were a better designed for maintainability, greater potential for future development, and slightly lower cost. A popular view is that the decision reflected a preference for maneuverability over stealth, and it is universally held that the YF-23 was by far the better looking aircraft.

During the ATF program, one YF-23 was powered by twin Pratt and Whitney YF119 turbofan engines, while two General Electric YF120 turbofan engines were installed in the other prototype. Featuring a diamond-shaped planform, two large, sharply-canted ruddervators, and a serrated aft profile, the high performance aircraft was larger than the F-15 it was designed to replace. The YF-23 employed stealth characteristics and was capable of supersonic cruise flight without afterburner.

Contractor	Northrop / McDonnell Douglas
Mission	Competitor, along with YF-22, in the ATF competition
Length	67 feet, 5 inches (20.6 meters)
Wing span	43 feet, 7 inches (13.3 meters)
Height	13 feet, 11 inches (4.3 meters)
Maximum takeoff weight	64,000 pounds (29,029 kilograms)
Propulsion	2 Pratt and Whitney YF119 turbofan engines, or 2 General Electric YF120 turbofan engines
Speed	Mach 2
Range	865-920 miles (750-800 nautical miles) unrefuelled
-Armament	4 AIM-9 Sidewinder - internal bays in engine intake duct sides 4 AIM-120 AMRAAM - internal bays underneath air intakes
Crew	One
Unit Cost	Unknown
Inventory	Two (in storage a Edwards AFB)