Meet the concept of a promising light fighter F-36 Kingsnake. According to experts in the field of aircraft engineering, in the future, such a machine will be able to replace the legendary F-16.
Recently, the chief of Staff of the US Army, General Charles Brown, announced the desire of the Air Force to get a conditional alternative to the F-16 fighter, made at a qualitatively new level and taking into account modern trends. It is assumed that such an aircraft can be something like an addition to the F-35 of the fifth generation.
What would such a car look like? Obviously, we will not know the answer to this question soon. Nevertheless, some assumptions can be made. This is exactly what the Hush-Kit publication did, and its staff spoke with experts in the field of aircraft engineering-Stephen Mcparlin and James Smith, who helped develop such aircraft as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Eurofighter Typhoon. Then illustrator Andy Godfrey of Teasel Studio took their ideas and created a concept called the F-36. This is described in detail by Popular Mechanics.
F-36
Image source: ANDY GODFREY/TEASEL STUDIO
Based on the requirements expressed earlier by Charles Brown, the experts presented the concept of a light, inexpensive aircraft, which in a broad sense would be a development of the ideas laid down in the F-16. The main principles of the F-36 are the speed of development, availability and the possibility of introducing new technologies in the future. "The F-35 is a Ferrari, the F — 22 is a Bugatti Chiron, the US Air Force needs a Nissan 300ZX," Joe Coles of Hush-Kit said in a commentary for Popular Mechanics.
F-36
Image source: ANDY GODFREY/TEASEL STUDIO
The aircraft will be able to carry bombs and missiles on internal and external suspensions. At the same time, the car will not be stealth in the usual sense. Among other things, the aircraft is proposed to be armed with a gun that would allow it to work more effectively on ground targets.
Will something like this appear in the future? It is difficult to answer this question. Now the Americans operate a large fleet of F-16 fighters. According to open sources, the US Air Force today has more than 400 F-16C fighters and more than 100 F-16D. These machines will have to be replaced with something in the future. Meanwhile, the United States continues to implement the F-35 program, increasing the production of these machines and giving them all new capabilities.
F-35
Image source: Lockheed Martin
In addition, the US Air Force recently received the first F-15EX, which in the future will be able to replace some of the fourth-generation fighters that were retired.
F-15EX
Image source: Boeing
We can see something similar in the country's Naval Forces, which want to operate new fourth-generation fighters on a par with the carrier-based F-35C. Last year, the [...] F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet — the final version of the F/A-18E/F-took to the skies for the first time.
