The Air Force has embarked on a course to replace the most numerous and versatile fighter aircraft in its inventory, the F-16. The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) may evolve from the tri-Service Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) Program to replace the F-16 and perhaps other Air Force ground-attack aircraft, as well as air-to-ground fighters for the Navy and Marines. As the JAST Program proceeds to a hardware demonstration phase, the Air Force is drafting statements of mission needs and operational requirements for the new aircraft. The Air Force asked RAND to analyze fighter inventory levels, affordability, and mission needs for the new fighter, to augment Air Force and contractor studies. The RAND study, documented in a forthcoming report, found that the constraints of future budgets will severely circumscribe Air Force options for the JSF. Without a sharp reversal in defense budget trends and/or allocating more of the Air Force budget to fighter modernization, the JSF will need to be a relatively low-cost, moderate-performance aircraft to fit within Air Force budget constraints. The good news is that an aircraft with a combat radius of 650 mni, moderate stealth, and a turn-rate comparable to that of today's multirole aircraft can probably meet most of the Services' needs in future regional conflicts.
Developing an Affordable Fighter for the Future
1997
4 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
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