Supercruise Without Delta Wing, page 1

reply to post by Eastpolar Commander

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Well supercruising is all about having enough engine power to overcome the high drag rise encountered around Mach 1 without using afterbuners. Many aircrafts can supercruise in "clean" configuration, i.e. without external stores. Some examples are the F-14, YF-17, F-15, but in fact also the F-16XL and the Mirage 2000. Then come the 4th and 5th generation aircrafts: the F22, Eurofighter, Rafale and Gripen, which can supercruise with (sometimes limited) external stores.

So the trick of the trade is to minimize supersonic wave drag, while maximizing engine dry thrust.
Delta wing configurations are used because they have a lower supersonic wave drag then more conventional layouts. But supercruise is without doubt possible without delta wing. A good example is the F-22. But much older aircrafts without delta wings could also achieve supercruise. The first to achieve such a performance was the English Electric Lightning, with conventional swept wings.

Hope the answers were clear enough, if not, I'll try to answer the other questions you may have on the subject.

Greets!

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