thrust vectoring f15,16, and 18

open topic here folks ...been watching NASA videos of the f15, f16, and f 18 with thrust vectoring technologies( all different types) my question to throw out there is. with a little modification do you think and latest models of the f15, f16 and f 18 could be upgraded to thrust vectoring capable ?... also note the planes i saw in the videos were early models of the jets
www.youtube.com...
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Hi,

The F-15 in the first video isn't using Thrust Vectoring. It's using a Canard wing to improve manouverability, so it's a Test aircraft with modifications.

The F-16 in video number two is a Test aircraft modified with experimental Thrust Vectoring. It's a mule in the same sense that car manufacturers often use older models to test upcoming possible driveline/engine/suspension packages.

The F-18 is doing Tests to see how the airframe and control system handles the situation it's Pilot put it into. I noticed it took him a little longer than he may have thought to catch it and gain control again as it slewed and dropped towards the ground. Takes some testicular fortitude to purposely put an aircraft into an out of control situation.

reply to post by Tayesin


the F-15 ACTIVE S/MTD flight demonstrator was a testbed for various technologies involving canards as well as two-engine thrust vectoring. notice the different nozzle configurations i pointed out in the following post.

Originally posted by toreishi
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Link to old thread

reply to post by toreishi


Thanks T, I appreciate the information.

I didn't see the thrusters in the video linked to here.

reply to post by standupamerica32


It's certainly possible to incorporate Thrust Vector Control into just about any airframe currently in service. The problem is whether or not it will really be all that necessary. TVC is usually seen as a boon to air superiority designs - so only aircraft like the F-15, F-14, F-22 and some of the Sukhoi models would potentially be in a real position to benefit.

For other aircraft, it would be adding weight while making the airframe more maintenance intensive with only a very small potential for it being a gainful addition.

Now, if TVC could be made lighter, cheaper, and much more practical to maintain - it would only be logical to start incorporating it into more airframes. Personally, I'd start with the 3d TVC on single-engine aircraft like the F-16 and F-20. Designs like the F-18 with closely spaced engines will likely not benefit all that much from any TVC technologies.

I did, however, like the F-16 XL - I wouldn't mind having one of them. It didn't have TVC, if I remember correctly, but it was a hell of an interesting airframe.

The F-14 was retired in 2006, dont think it will be getting thrust vectoring.
F-14 wiki

reply to post by tonystark


Whether the aircraft was retired or not doesn't really affect how thrust-vectoring would impact its performance.

None of the aircraft in service without TVC will ever get TVC as part of the standard arsenal. The F-16 will never get it. The F-15 will never get it. Neither will the F-18. Any talk of TVC is purely hypothetical as it's not going to be seriously invested in until post 2020 by any of the large military contractors around the world.

That relegates TVC to 'special' technology demonstrators, research airplanes, and 'gold birds' like the F-22. Those are privately funded endeavors, most often - so the modification of retired and canceled airframes is more plausible than a discussion of incorporating TVC into the present arsenal.

The F-20 is a 'dead' airframe - canceled after decades of fighting pork&barrel. Would have made a great export fighter and a candidate for cost-effective TVC solutions, particularly considering how a number of its handling features could have been radically improved by it. Northrop-Grumman could still be convinced to build you one if you had enough capital to throw their way. Same with the F-14, or the F-23 for that matter. Per-unit costs would be in the hundreds of millions to billions for such a small contract order; but that's nothing for a moderately industrial country to pull together.

Originally posted by Tayesin
reply to post by toreishi

 

Thanks T, I appreciate the information.

I didn't see the thrusters in the video linked to here.

The F-15S/MTD was equiped with 2D thrust vectoring (rectangular shape nozzles), and F-15 ACTIVE with 3D thrust vectoring (round nozzles)

en.wikipedia.org...