Aviation Pictures: A-Seven-th Thread--CorsAirin' Through Time and Airspace

[I am Belch II]

How about some overwing tanks

[Daryk]

Now that's just weird...

[Hellraiser]

Now that's just weird...

Makes total sense.

Gravity assisted & stuff.  :)

[PsihoKekec]

Australian version.

[Euphonium]

Now that's just weird...

The Lightning's landing gear retracts into the wings, so there's not really any space for underwing pylons, hence the missile rails being mounted on the fuselage rather than the wings.

[Garrand]

The BAC lightning was designed to do one thing, & one thing very well: fly in a straight line as fast as possible. As a consequence, there were a lot of compromises in the design to do this.

And yes, I do have the Airfix kit of this aircraft!

Damon.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Looks a lot like a MiG.

[Gorgon]

Speaking of the Antonov AN-72 and weirdness, the AN-71, the late Soviet attempt at a tactical AWACS

[chanman]

So some truly cyberpunk-level commercialization here.

This is a fictional craft from the 'Nantianmen Project' sci-fi IP. Except the property is created by AVIC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_Industry_Corporation_of_China). Like if Lockheed had created Wing Commander or something like that.

[glitterboy2098]

the ace combat fandom is really enjoying the pics of those

[chanman]

the ace combat fandom is really enjoying the pics of those

Lot of overlap with some of the Macross designs too.
Halloween VF-19


Also found a new photo of the Su-57 from head-on and slightly above, illustrating just how much of a wideboi it is. The earlier photo of its bottom shows there's a good chunk of fuselage flange/wing strake between the edge of the engines and the start of the more distinct wing (where you see the slats and control surfaces start)

[Gorgon]

Personally, I could go for a new Wing Commander style game and props for building that prop. I don't think it's enough for me to subsidize the chinese defense industry. Appreciate the hussle, though.

[glitterboy2098]

Lot of overlap with some of the Macross designs too.
Halloween VF-19

Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze (Battle fairy yukikaze) too, which many of the pics of the larger scifi project resemble, especially the giant flying wing sky carriers and alien invasion plotline.

more details about the "AVIC Universe: Nantianmen Project" (from [here] )

The "geological disaster crisis" and the invasion of alien aircraft that began in the 2030s were the first time that human society realized that the survival of civilization would face an unprecedented threat. Human beings have achieved victories again and again by virtue of their superb combat command art and tenacious fighting spirit, but in the face of threats, they need a long-term plan. Therefore, China proposed the "Nantianmen Plan" in the 2040s to build a unified international society. military power.

flying carrier:




drone fighter with copied alien space drive and plasma guns



short version: china is advertising a space fantasy film/game setting like its a real future military project, at a convention meant to showcase real world future aviation proposals.
which to anyone who can read chinese, is probably obvious. to western observers, especially the bloggers who are largely only getting the photographs and brief overviews of the content, it generates a ton of "china has plans for super advanced aircraft in the near future" articles.

case in point, this video of a CGI space fleet from the 'project' being touted like it's a legit chinese future space program goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDvpDhVxGo0

[chanman]

C-17 hauling ass


Just a poster-worthy shot of the SR-71 Blackbird


There's a difference between hearing that the F-14 was a maintenance hog and finding that the fuselage spine seems to contain a steam plant's worth of piping


I can't decide whether this Rafale shot is amazing or just way overly post-processed. CGI has gotten increasingly photo-realistic, but photo filters, post-processing, and HDR photography also make photographs look less like photos and more like CGI. I mean, HDR night photos are closer to what you see, but it's also very different from what a photo looks like (because it's more like several photos stitched together, natch)


Two of the KF-21 test aircraft in formation. With the lack of DSI bump or forward raked intake and a more traditional rear-hinged one-piece (albeit bowed) canopy, it looks even more like a mini-F-22 than the J-35A


F-35As and their complex dorsal geometry. I assume it was the F-35B related weight limitations that prevented them from filling out the bottom of the fuselage to get simpler flat profile like on the F-22

[ANS Kamas P81]

A two-seater?  I always wished to see a GIB on an F-22 allowing for someone to handle the superior electronic warfare and ELINT capabilities of the aircraft.  I'm hoping the Koreans put this version into service.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

All those bumps on the underside of the F-35 look like they'd ruin its stealth characteristics.

[Goose]

Lot of overlap with some of the Macross designs too.
Halloween VF-19

Seems like the VF-31, but I'm out'a my depth, here. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-29/macross-delta-tv-anime-unveils-teaser-staff-characters-valkyries/.94760

[glitterboy2098]

Seems like the VF-31, but I'm out'a my depth, here. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-29/macross-delta-tv-anime-unveils-teaser-staff-characters-valkyries/.94760

it is a VF-31 Seigfreid. looks like a VF-31F model, going by the combination of the two head guns and the forehead comms-horn.

[chanman]

I am not at all familiar with Macross, other than having a VF-19 model, so I'll take your word for it :D

[chanman]

A two-seater?  I always wished to see a GIB on an F-22 allowing for someone to handle the superior electronic warfare and ELINT capabilities of the aircraft.  I'm hoping the Koreans put this version into service.

I'm not sure the F-22 actually had much EW or ELINT ability as part of its remit at all. They were certainly part of the F-35's deal, but the F-22's origins are Cold War, when those were missions handled by dedicated and often larger platforms because 1980s electronics and all. Ironically, the F-22's singular focus on the air dominance mission and small fleet size (and expensive flight time) likely all combined to push it to the back of the line for electronics upgrades. Especially during GWOT, when you run through the list of USAF platforms where improved comms and datalinking would be most beneficial, I'm not sure there were many tactical aircraft behind the F-22 in line.

Just like during the Vietnam War, you'd expect F-4, F-105, A-7, F-111, etc. to be the priority for urgent upgrades over the F-106s on the home front.

[I am Belch II]

Ive been always surprised that the EF-111 was never really fully replaced with a plane. I know the AF don't want an Navy plane like the EA-18G, but a F-15E or F-16 would of been a good plane to upgrade.

[chanman]

Ive been always surprised that the EF-111 was never really fully replaced with a plane. I know the AF don't want an Navy plane like the EA-18G, but a F-15E or F-16 would of been a good plane to upgrade.

There are joint Navy-Air Force "Expeditionary" EA-6B and now EA-18G squadrons. The Air Force provides some aircrew but the Navy provides the aircraft. In the grand tradition of budget turf fights, don't expect the USAF to spend procurement on capabilities the Navy is already paying for.

Also, the USAF budget is especially squeezed right now, especially* due to the new ICBM project and a lot of infrastructure work that seems to have been initially unexpected.

Things like replacing all the wiring in a silo field or needing to redesign facilities because areas that were safely dry when the facilities were first built decades ago are now flood-risk areas.

*But also the maintenance costs of a fleet that contains some very old airframes, ongoing F-35 issues, B-21 procurement, F-15EX procurement, NGAD going around in circles...

[Hellraiser]

I'm not that familiar with capabilities level, but, isn't the F35 supposed to have significant EW systems?

No idea how they compare to a Prowler/Growler or the EF-111.   But I got the impression it was pretty big.

[glitterboy2098]

Ive been always surprised that the EF-111 was never really fully replaced with a plane. I know the AF don't want an Navy plane like the EA-18G, but a F-15E or F-16 would of been a good plane to upgrade.

my understanding is they moved the SEAD/"wild weasel" parts of the EF-111's role to the F-16CJ/DJ back in the 90's, while the more general ECM and Ewar support stuff was moved to the EC-130H Compass Call. the latter of which is going to be replaced soon with the EA-37B Compass Call (a Gulfstream G550 fitted with all the EWAR gear)

[chanman]

Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze (Battle fairy yukikaze) too, which many of the pics of the larger scifi project resemble, especially the giant flying wing sky carriers and alien invasion plotline.

more details about the "AVIC Universe: Nantianmen Project" (from [here] )
flying carrier:




drone fighter with copied alien space drive and plasma guns



short version: china is advertising a space fantasy film/game setting like its a real future military project, at a convention meant to showcase real world future aviation proposals.
which to anyone who can read chinese, is probably obvious. to western observers, especially the bloggers who are largely only getting the photographs and brief overviews of the content, it generates a ton of "china has plans for super advanced aircraft in the near future" articles.

case in point, this video of a CGI space fleet from the 'project' being touted like it's a legit chinese future space program goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDvpDhVxGo0

On the one hand, having the slightest understanding of aircraft, those sci-fi fantasy designs are going to fail the sniff test as easily as anything from Star Wars, but news and 'news' sites are an eyeball-driven business, and weird looking aircraft and sensationalist headlines will draw more clicks than another stealthy fighter that looks like all the other stealthy fighters, because it turns out physics works the same everywhere.

While I don't think that kind of fictional setting is common modern MICs now, speculative futuristic art used to be pretty common during the Cold War wasn't unusual. It's just that commercial media/IP hadn't made that final leap into persistent settings/IPs that can be reused, added to, and commercialized via merchandise yet.

On the other hand, maybe it's just the unstoppable cultural juggernaut that is anime, transforming everyone's reality in its wake.

[chanman]

[Fat Guy]

All F-35 variants have now seen combat.

Marine F-35Cs flying from the USS Abraham Lincoln hit Houthis targets in Yemen.

[Fat Guy]

The Sikorski SB>1 Defiant prototype has been put on display at the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel in Alabama.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

That looks like a movie prop, honestly.

[chanman]

JASDF fighters

F-15 in test colours


F-35A from its most photogenic angle


Mitsubishi F-2s