Technically feasible for a variable fighter?

Link to video since it may not be embedded by the owner.
www.youtube.com...

Another video fighter jet to battleroid.

F-14 look alike, notice the Jolly Rogers
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Battleroid
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Gerwalk mode, allows them to move fast while manuever, but can't go fast like in full jet mode.
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In the future can fighter jets be allowed to have legs to fight on ground as well as in air? Is it feasible to built such a fighter? I figure defense companies can think outside the box and design such a fighter if they do so. With the Japanese advancing in robotic technology, combining the robotic legs to a fighter may be possible.

[edit on 17-8-2009 by deltaboy]

There are 2 major problems that make mechs - variable or otherwise - extremely impractical - materials and power.

On fighter planes materials have to be strong and lightweight. On variable mechs the stresses imposed would be even greater and the load paths more complex meaning the materials it's made up of need to be either bigger or stronger. If they're bigger the mech is going to be chunkier which limits its range of motion an increases its weight. Current materials just aren't strong enough for a variable mech to have any sought of fatigue life. They may last a couple of years and then scrapped ( and given the cost of a mech no ones going to buy one that lasts only a couple of years)

As for power, while we have engines capable of lifting a mech vertically ( see the f119 and f135 engines ) they don't produce enough electrical power to power all the servos and motors a mech needs. That means a secondary power source is needed which is going to eat into your already precious internal space, most of which has already been lost in making a mech fit into the space of a plane. This leaves the problem of fuel. While modern engines are more efficient than ever they still require lots of fuel. A variable mech would probably have enough space of maybe 5 minutes of flight. This could be remedied but a new type of engine - I believe in Macross the used nuclear fusion engines - but currently none exists and there are none on the horizon.

Materials and power are the 2 main issues but there's hundred of others like fuel lines, powerful enough motors, wiring, weapons, emergency procedures, etc. That said I still want one and I can't watch that first transformation sequence from Macross Zero only once, so if you ever overcome the materials and power issues I'll be the first to sign up to help you build a variable mech.

reply to post by dragon72


But as I mentioned perhaps in the future it could be feasible with new materials that are brought out. The F-35 engine that you mentioned that converts to hover mode allows a mech to hover and back to jet mode, sure its not for mech, but perhaps in the future. Yes the engines currently aren't built for such vehicle that won't last long in flight, as you mentioned that in Macross Zero, the new variable fighter were equipped with highly tuned engines but was non-nuclear until the future fighters later on that would be equipped with nuclear. And on the dicussion of nuclear power on fighter jets/bombers...

www.military.com...

After that came three lasers: a hybrid high-energy laser based in the U.S. and directed by spaceborne mirrors to destroy soft-to-medium ground targets; a space-based, solar-charged solid-state laser for missile defense; and a future airborne laser (FAL).

FAL is a huge nuclear-powered flying wing with a range of 80,000 naut. mi. that is capable of engaging soft targets like missiles at several hundred kilometers. Geis accepts that airborne nuclear power could be a political nonstarter, but says FAL would also be feasible with advanced conventional propulsion.

Impossible with current or foreseeable future technology. We have enough trouble building capable fighters as it is and then the end result of this would be an object which is neither optimized for flight or the ground and would furthermore suck at both.

[edit on 18/8/2009 by C0bzz]

reply to post by C0bzz


I have to watch more anime If there is any nation interested in building one of these then sure it is Japan.
Cant imagine any nation aproving a research budget for this.

If it is allowed to fantasize with you then I would build it this way:

-Replace the servo motors with gravitional magnetic junctions.
-Get rid of the aerodinamic problems by transforming at high speed with first hand shield dynamics.
-Get rid of the old standard U:N: Spacy missiles and replace with Federation Quantum Torpedos ( One bellow each wing of course)
-Replace Gun Pod with Pulse-Phaser mashinegun.
-Ablative Armor instead of Titanium.
-Replace Fusion reactors with UFO antigrav control.
- Super Valkyries addons replace with warp 9.9 pod

A squadron of this would let the Reman Scimitar flee like with the Devill in pursue.
Sorry for mixing Trek with Anime could not resist.

Thank you for letting me be childish again, now I can go on playing adult.

Hello there Deltaboy,

I love your threads because you think outside the box and post some interesting stuff.

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A jetfighter that can change into a mech? That is way, WAAAAAAAAY out of our scientific league yet. The materials required to withstand such an extreme forces do not exist yet. Maybe Grafeen but that substance is extreemly hard to produce and if you want to build a whole plane out of it, then the costs for a single mech-jet fighter would run into the hunderds of billions of dollars. The entire project would run in the trillions.

Asides from problems with materials and required funding, you also have maintainance problems because of the huuuge range of different parts required of doing 2 functions in 1 machine.

Other problems are that the RCS value of such a fighter would be incredibly large and you would appear on radars all over the world. Considering the ever increasing speed of missiles today, even the supposedly added maneuverabillity of the mech form, would be nullified since the missiles are going to be speeding at you at Mach 6 at the very least. (If it isnt too far in the future that is. If it is, prepare for Mach 15+ missiles.)

To be short: Not practical, economic armageddon for any country, easy target in the BVR range.

reply to post by James R. Hawkwood

To be short: Not practical, economic armageddon for any country, easy target in the BVR range.

I agree with you by 100%. But if I where in a high position in some advanced country and would have a budget for spending in black project etc. I would spend it on a research for this aircraft. But thats me, I grew up in the eighties and we loved robots.

Remember that all advanced technology in the begining looks almost impossible.
We cant think right now in the advances in technology we could have in 50 years.

reply to post by deltaboy


Hi deltaboy,

I have dreamed of this since I was a child. Macross is what got me into the entire Aerospace thing. I'm not sure if we will ever see a real life VF-1S anytime soon but an SDF-1...now that may be more probable.

[Walks off to admire Macross collection]

I don't really see a practical function for an aircraft that can shift into a 'mecha. Now - for an armored vehicle (tank) - that might be an interesting idea (Tank traps? pick them up and move them out of the way. Mountain? That is what feet are for).

The exception would be for extra-planetary activity - exploring other planets, for example. Something that could navigate within an atmosphere and also handle rugged terrain with no prefabricated structures/facilities. Of course, oxygen-rich atmospheres seem to be in rather short supply, so you'd be looking at a form of engine/propulsion that doesn't 'breathe' and can function in a vacuum, as well.

Not to mention structural challenges.

A lot of work, considering you could drop a powered-armor suit and retrieve via a VTOL drop-ship.