What The F-47’s Canards Say About The Rest Of Its Design
The most surprising feature on the F-47 Next Generation fighter are canard foreplanes that aren't conducive to extreme degrees of stealth.
Tyler Rogoway
Posted 19 Hours Ago
The puzzling canards on the F-47 could be an indicator of what the aircraft's design goals are.
We actually learned quite a bit about the F-47 during the Oval Office presser and statements that came after it. So far, these have included two official renders of it, which are the source of many of the most pressing questions about Boeing’s winning concept, its design goals, and its relevance to future conflicts. Arguably its most prominent and puzzling feature depicted are canard foreplanes. For an aircraft that was thought to be optimized for low observability (stealth), range, payload, and speed, not maneuverability, this is a surprise. Its potential implications are numerous.
To catch up on everything we know about the F-47, as well as our initial analysis, click here.
By most indications, the NGAD fighter was going to optimize stealth, speed and especially endurance, not maneuverability, with large tailless delta wing configurations becoming commonplace in concept art related to the program. (Lockheed Martin)
By most all assumptions, the F-47 remains a tailless design — a stealthy configuration that is challenging to impart stability upon, especially for a tactical jet designed to operate over a very wide performance envelope. This design challenge can be overcome, but, as with any aircraft design, sacrifices must be made. This would likely come in the form of maneuverability, above all else. Thrust vectoring can potentially solve some of this deficiency, but adding that feature increases weight and cost, and makes the aircraft more complex. Considering the presence of canards, it would seem that agility may have remained a primary design driver for Boeing’s F-47. If this is indeed the case, and the renders are not a misdirection, it would explain other interesting aspects of the design while also pointing to broader decisions that have been made in secret for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) ecosystem, of which the F-47 acts as a centerpiece.
https://www.twz.com/air/what-the-f-47s-canards-say-about-the-rest-of-its-design
