Mitsubishi F-2

The Mitsubishi F-2 is a Japanese fighter aircraft manufactured by Mitsubishi. It is based on the American F-16.

History

In October 1987, Japan selected the F-16 as the basis of its new fighter, to replace the Mitsubishi F-1. The F-2 programme has been controversial, because the unit cost is roughly 4 times that of a Block 50/52 F-16, but this demonstates Japan's commitment to its aerospace industry.

Some differences in the F-2 from the F-16:

a 25% larger wing area
radar absorbent materials have been used on the leading edges
longer nose to accommodate a phased-array radar
larger tailplane

The F-2's maiden flight was on October 7, 1995. Later that year, the Japanese government approved an order for 130, to enter service by 1999; structural problems resulted in service entry being delayed until 2001.

Because of issues with cost-efficiency, orders for the aircraft were severely curtailed in 2004.

Characteristics

Role: single seat fighter
Powerplant: General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofan giving 76 kN (17,000 lbf) military thrust and 131 kN (29,500 lbf) maximum thrust with afterburner
Size:
- Length: 15.52 m
- Height: 4.69 m
- Wingspan: 11.13 m
- Wing area: 34.84 m²
Weight:
- Empty: 9,527 kg
- Normal Takeoff: 15,000 kg (?)
- Maximum: 22,100 kg
Speed: Mach 2.0 at altitude
Ceiling: about 18 km.
Range:
- on anti-ship mission: 834 km
- Ferry: ? km
Wing Loading: 430 kg/m² at weight of 15,000 kg
Thrust/weight ratio: 0.89 at weight of 15,000 kg
Armament: 20 mm JM61A1 cannon, plus maximum weapon load of 8085 kg:
- AAMs: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, Mitsubishi AAM-3
- air-to-ground weapons include: ASM-1 and ASM-2 anti-ship missiles, various free-fall bombs with CGS-1 IIR seeker heads
Cost: if an F-16 is USD 25 m, an F-2 is probably about USD 100 m (However the UAE paid 8 billion US-Dollar for 80 F-16 Block 60, so if all cost are combined the F-2 and the latest version of the F-16 are not that far away.)
First flew: 1995
In service date: 2001

Mitsubishi F-2

History

Characteristics

See also