AirSkyBuster : Aircraft and Airplane

image dimensions : 1092 x 682

Mitsubishi F-2 (Wallpaper 4)
4. Photo wallpaper gallery of Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft. 4. Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft pictures and images collection.
The F-2's maiden flight was on 7 October 1995. Later that year, the Japanese government approved an order for 141 (but that was soon cut to 130), to enter service by 1999; structural problems resulted in service entry being delayed until 2000. Because of issues with cost-efficiency, orders for the aircraft were curtailed to 98 in 2004. On 31 October 2007, an F-2B crashed during takeoff and subsequently caught fire at Nagoya Airfield in central Japan. The jet was being taken up on a test flight by Mitsubishi employees, after major maintenance and before being delivered to the JSDF. Both test pilots survived the incident with only minor injuries. It was eventually determined that improper wiring caused the crash. On 12 March 2011, 18 F-2s based at the Matsushima Airbase in Miyagi Prefecture were swamped by the tsunami caused by an 9.0 scale earthquake. General Electric (engine), Kawasaki, Honeywell, Raytheon, NEC, Hazeltine, and Kokusai Electric are among the other larger participants to varying degrees. Lockheed Martin supplies the aft fuselage, leading edge slats, stores management system, a large portion of wing boxes (as part of two-way technology transfer agreements), and other components. Kawasaki builds the midsection of the fuselage, as well as the doors to the main wheel and the engine, while forward fuselage and wings are built by Mitsubishi. Avionics are supplied by Lockheed Martin, and the digital fly-by-wire system has been jointly developed by Japan Aviation Electric and Honeywell (formerly Allied Signal). Contractors for communication systems and IFF interrogators include Raytheon, NEC, Hazeltine, and Kokusai Electric. Final assembly is done in Japan, by MHI at its Komaki-South facility in Nagoya. The F-2 has three display screens, including a liquid crystal display from Yokogawa.

image dimensions : 1092 x 682

Mitsubishi F-2 (Wallpaper 3)
3. Photo wallpaper gallery of Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft. 3. Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft pictures and images collection.
Japan’s F-2 looks like the F-16 from which it was derived. When placed side by side, however, it is noticeably bigger, with a 17” longer fuselage, larger horizontal tails, 25% more wing area, more internal fuel storage, and 2 more weapon store stations than the F-16. Weapons carried include the AIM-9L Sidewinder and MHI AAM-3 short range air-air missiles, the AIM-7F Sparrow medium range air-air missile, MHI’s Type 89 ASM-1 and ASM-2 anti-ship missiles, rocket launchers, and bombs including GPS-guided JDAM weapons. The centerline and inner-wing hardpoints are “wet,” and can carry drop tanks with up to 4,400kg of fuel for long range combat air patrols. The aircraft is powered by GE’s uprated F110-129 engine generating 17,000 pounds of thrust, or 29,600 pounds with afterburners on. The F-2’s increased range is very useful to Japan, given their need to cover large land and maritime areas. Nevertheless, as a result of design decisions and meddling from Washington, the resulting aircraft ended up costing almost as much as an F-15J without delivering the same performance. As a result, production ended early. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was the prime contractor for the F-2, with partnerships in Japan and America. Lockheed Martin in particular is a major subcontractor, and their releases offer a window into the larger F-2 program Japan already produces F-15J Eagle aircraft under license from Boeing, and in 1987 they selected Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet as the basis for a “local” design that would replace its 1970s era F-1s. The aim was to produce a less expensive fighter to complement its F-15s, receive key aerospace technology transfers, and give Japan’s aerospace industry experience with cutting-edge manufacturing and component technologies. The US Congress proved to be a significant program obstacle, however, raising many questions about technology transfer issues. That delayed the program by at least 2 years, and also led to a better but more expensive design. The F-2 delivered on the technology front. Its heavy use of graphite epoxy and co-cured composite technology for the wings encountered some teething problems, but proved to be a leading-edge use of a technology that provides weight savings, improved range, and some stealth benefits. This technology was transferred back to America as part of the industrial partnership.

image dimensions : 1092 x 682

Mitsubishi F-2 (Wallpaper 2)
2. Photo wallpaper gallery of Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft. 2. Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft pictures and images collection.
The F-2 features a new wing of 25 per cent greater-area and co-cured, all-composite construction, with radar absorbent material on the leading edges. In order to house additional mission avionics that include an integrated electronic warfare system, the F-2's fuselage has a lengthened forward section when compared to the F-16C. Other features include a longer nose to accommodate an active phased-array radar, a larger tailplane, a brake chute and a strengthened canopy. Mitsubishi is the prime contractor responsible for airframe assembly as well as manufacture of the forward fuselage section, while the other major assemblies are produced by Lockheed Martin, Kawasaki and Fuji. With either wing tip-mounted AIM-9 or Mitsubishi AAM-3 air-to-air missiles, the F-2 still has 11 hardpoints available for other stores, including the ASM-2 anti-ship missile as one of the principal weapons. The F-2 programme has suffered long delays, cost escalation and a number of structural problems including wing cracking and severe flutter. Four prototypes have been built comprising two single-seat XF-2As and a pair of two-seat XF-2B. The first XF-2A recorded the type's maiden flight on 7 October 1995. In late 1995 the Japanese government approved a programme for the manufacture of 130 aircraft with an entry into service scheduler for 1999. Delays resulting from modifications to cure structural problems delayed the F-2's entry into operational service until 2001. The current production programme calls for production of 83 F-2A single-seaters and 47 F-2B two-seaters. Retaining full combat capability, these have a fuel capacity reduced by 685 liters. The F-2Bs will be used for conversion and proficiency training, replacing Mitsubishi T-2s.

image dimensions : 1092 x 682

Mitsubishi F-2 (Wallpaper 1)
1. Photo wallpaper gallery of Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft. 1. Mitsubishi F-2 Jet Fighter aircraft pictures and images collection.
The Mitsubishi F-2 is a multirole fighter manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, with a 60/40 split in manufacturing between Japan and the USA. Production started in 1996 and the first aircraft entered service in 2000. The first 76 aircraft entered service in 2008, with a total of 94 airframes under contract. In FY2005, Ministry of Defense changed the category from Support Fighter to Fighter. Work started in the FS-X program, and began in earnest with a memorandum of understanding between Japan and the United States. It would lead to a new fighter based on the General Dynamics (post 1993, Lockheed Martin) F-16 Fighting Falcon, and in particular the F-16 Agile Falcon proposal. Lockheed Martin was chosen as the major subcontractor to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the two companies co-developed and co-produced the aircraft. Some of the early developmental works were actually done under General Dynamics, who sold its aircraft division to Lockheed Martin in 1993. It is essentially an execution of the F-16 Agile Falcon proposal: a late-1980s plan for an enlarged F-16 which was passed over by the U.S. in favor of an all-new fighter program (Joint Strike Fighter). The F-2 used the wing design of the F-16 Agile Falcon, but much of the electronics were further updated to 1990s standards. The overall concept of the enlarged F-16 by General Dynamics was intended as a cheap counter to the then emerging threat of Su-27/MiG-29. In October 1987, Japan selected the F-16 as the basis of its new secondary fighter, to replace the aging Mitsubishi F-1 and supplement its main air superiority fighter, the F-15J as well as the F-4EJ. The programme involved technology transfer from the USA to Japan, and responsibility for cost sharing was split 60% by Japan and 40% by USA. Also during the 1980s, General Dynamics (who developed the F-16) had proposed its F-16 Agile Falcon to the USAF. While the US would pass over the design concept in favor of all-new types (F-22/JSF) and upgrades to its existing fleet, the enlarged F-16 would find a home in Japan. The F-2 program was controversial, because the unit cost, which includes development costs, is roughly four times that of a Block 50/52 F-16, which does not include development costs. Inclusion of development costs distorts the incremental unit cost (this happens with most modern military aircraft), though even at the planned procurement levels, the price per aircraft was somewhat high. The initial plan of 141 F-2s would have reduced the unit cost by up to US$10 million per unit, not including reduced cost from mass production. As of 2008, 94 aircraft were planned.[1] Also controversial is the amounts claimed to be paid to American side as various licensing fees, although making use of the pre-existing technology was much cheaper than trying to develop it from scratch. The Japanese may eventually make up to 94, at a cost of roughly US$ 110 million each in 2004 dollars. Much of the F-16 technology used in the F-2 was the subject of some political debate in the U.S. and Japan in the early 1990s. The technology transfers were authorized however, and the project proceeded.