By TOM KINGTON, FARNBOROUGH, UK – In a bid to stop fighter-seeking nations from thinking they can choose between the Typhoon and the Joint Strike Fighter, officials from Eurofighter are arguing that the JSF is not a fighter at all.
In a briefing given at the Farnborough Air Show, the officials said Lockheed Martin’s JSF was a straightforward strike aircraft, albeit one which would complement the fighter capabilities of the Eurofighter.
In the briefing, entitled ‘What is a 5th Generation Fighter? Reality or just a commercial slogan?’ the officials drew up a definition of such a fighter. Their criteria included supercruising, sustained supersonic operations, extreme agility, high thrust-to-weight ratio, high-altitude operations and extensive missile loadout.
They said these are all capabilities that the Typhoon and the F-22 have, and the JSF lacks.
The officials argued that the JSF was an Attack Strike aircraft, heir to the A-10 instead of the F-16.
Moreover, while a fighter “actively looks for and engages the opponent’s fighter force, strike aircraft avoid engagements with other fighters,” a Eurofighter presentation said.
“The idea of firing and running away does not happen,” said former Eurofighter test pilot Craig Penrice.
“If people are going to put up hundreds of fighters against you, the JSF will not be sufficient,” said Laurie Hilditch, head of future requirements at Eurofighter.
As a strike aircraft, they said, the JSF was the perfect partner to the F-22 and the Eurofighter.
