MWF’s expected first flight is 2022 and induction from 2025: HT

Let’s look at other medium-weight fighter’s “same class as MWF” which will be serving till 2050 and later

Swedish SAAB Gripen-E/NG variants

Design:- Gripen having delta wing, canard configuration with relaxed stability design coupled with a digital fly-by-wire system The Gripen is a multirole fighter aircraft, intended as a lightweight and agile aerial platform with advanced, highly adaptable avionics. It has canard control surfaces that contribute a positive lift force at all speeds, while the generous lift from the delta wing compensates for the rear stabilizer producing negative lift at high speeds, increasing induced drag.

Being intentionally unstable and employing digital fly-by-wire system controls to maintain stability removes many flight restrictions, improves maneuverability, and reduces drag

In picture Gripen using her airbrake along canard to reduce speed faster.

Avionics and Weapon system:- Raven ES-05 AESAR (Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar) coupled with Skywards IRST (Infrared Search & Track) for Air to Air, Ground, Sea searching, tracking & engagements and capable of carrying

BAE Systems Cobra HMD Helmet Mounted Display

Representative Image of Striker II HMD by BAE

Simulator Training of Target Lock & Tracking

1. Cannon: Mauser BK-27 single-barrel revolver cannon capable of firing 27x145mm rounds at 1000–1700 RPM (Variable rate of fire) internal cannon
2. Air-To-Air Missiles: US-made AIM-9X, German-made IRIS-T, South African A-Darter for WVR/CCM A2A engagements and US-made AIM120C7, European Meteor for BVR A2A engagements
3. Air-To-Ground/Ship Weaponry: US-made laser-guided bombs like Paveway 2, various unguided bombs, ALCM like Swedish RBS-15 which can be used as anti-ship missions as well
4. Various other weapons, SPJ, Fuel Tanks (To increase the range further without refueling) I didn’t mention, you can find those in the picture below, and future weapons Swedish or export partners like Brazil, South Africa, and future customers want to integrate.

Complete Weapon Package along with various pods of Gripen-E in 2018

Specifications:-

Gripen E KEY DATA

• Length overall 15.2 m
• Width overall 8.6 m
• Basic mass empty 8000 kg
• Internal fuel 3400 kg
• Max takeoff weight 16500 kg
• Max thrust 98 kN
• Min takeoff distance 500 m
• Landing distance 600 m
• Max speed at sea level > 1400 km/h
• Max speed at high altitude Mach 2
• Supercruise capability: Yes
• Max service altitude > 52.500 ft
• G-limits -3G / +9G
• Hardpoints 10
• Engine General Electric 414G

Credit: Saab, BAE Systems

American Lockheed Martin F16 Block 70

Design: The F-16 incorporated a number of advanced technologies that had not been used in previous operational fighters and, when coupled with design innovations, produced significant payoffs in terms of combat performance and cost.

The blended wing-body, or lifting body concept, was achieved through a smooth fairing between the wing and fuselage rather than the conventional angular intersection. This blending provided lift at high angles of attack. The thickening of the wing at the fuselage joint actually resulted in a weight savings of about 250 pounds.

The blending also results in high volumetric efficiency. A conventional wing-body would require a foot-longer fuselage to get the same volume, adding to the structural weight.

In addition, blending made up for the cola-bottle effect of transonic drag area-rule by removing volume around the center of gravity right in the area where it is desirable to have volume for fuel, payload, and the main landing gear. Wind tunnel tests verified that wing-body blending did indeed provide increased lift with increasing angle of attack.

Controlled vortex flow proved to be the key to attaining maximum usable lift and excellent handling qualities for the YF-16. Sharp-edge forebody strakes, located on the forward fuselage ahead of the wing, generated strong vortices with increased angle of attack.

To generate the same amounts of lift, an equivalent wing without a strake would need both a higher aspect ratio and more area. Wind tunnel testing verified additional lift and a significant improvement in pitching moment. Similarly, the wind tunnel results verified the directional stability improvement and maneuvering at the maximum lift with only mild buffet effects.

Automatic variable camber was the key to defining a wing planform that provided a balance between subsonic and supersonic maneuver conditions and acceleration while maintaining outstanding handling qualities and tracking precision throughout the Mach 0.8 to Mach 1.6 combat arena.

The use of leading-edge flaps is not new. In this instance, plain, single in-chord flaps were selected instead of slotted types because of their simplicity and because this flap could be used throughout the flight envelope and could be scheduled to provide the best flap position (camber) for the desired flight condition. The flaps were automatically programmed for best position/deflection as a function of Mach number and angle of attack.

Leading-edge-flap deflection reduced the pitching moment at high-lift coefficients, yielding much higher trimmed lift and lower trim drag for increased turn rates. For supersonic flight, the leading and trailing flaps were deflected up two degrees to reduce camber drag penalties. The flap control was tied-in with the gear retract handle so that the flaps were fixed in the takeoff and landing position when the gear was down and set to the automatic mode when the gear was retracted.

Perhaps the biggest step made in the application of advanced technology was the decision to use an all-electronic fly-by-wire flight control system instead of a conventional hydromechanical system with linkages and cables. The reduced lags and overshoots afforded by the better kinematics inherent in the fly-by-wire system resulted in greatly improved and expanded flying qualities.

The flight control system was a high-authority command and stability augmentation system. A roll-rate and g-command maximized response in the pitch and roll axes throughout the flight envelope. The g-command also provided constant stick force per g in the pitch axis. Static and dynamic stability augmentation was provided in the pitch and yaw axes, with damping augmentation in the roll and yaw axes. Spin/stall prevention was achieved through angle-of-attack limiting.

Turn coordination was provided through an aileron-rudder interconnect and a roll rate-to-rudder feedback. This arrangement improved turn performance at high angles of attack and reduced the risk of departures.

The high reliability and redundant features of the fly-by-wire flight control system’s stability augmentation made a relaxed static stability design possible. In a conventional configuration design approach, the center of gravity, or c.g., is generally located forward of the aerodynamic center, or a.c., to provide positive static stability. The horizontal tail deflection required to balance the moment resulting from this relationship causes trim drag and creates a down-load on the horizontal tail. The technique used in the YF-16 of locating c.g. aft of the a.c. allowed a reduced or negative static margin (relaxed static stability) in the longitudinal axis.

The advantage of this technique was that the horizontal tail size or the tail deflection angles required for high-g maneuvers and supersonic flight were reduced, with a resulting reduction in trim drag. In a highly maneuverable fighter, trim drag at high-g is a significant parameter.

Avionics and Weapon system:- Northrop Grumman AN/APG-80 for Air to Air, Ground, Sea searching, tracking & engagements and capable of carrying

1. internal cannon: General Electric M61-Vulcan A2 six-barrel hydraulically operated cannon capable of firing 20x102mm rounds at 6600 RPM with 1050 m/s muzzle velocity.
2. Air-To-Air Missiles: American AIM-9X, German IRIS-T, Isreali Python 4,5 for WVR/CCM and US-made AIM120C, D, BVR A2A engagements
3. Air-To-Ground Weaponry: US-made laser-guided bombs like Paveway 2, Maverick, Harm, Harpoon, various unguided bombs, ALCM like AGM-158 JASSM which can be used as anti-ship missions as well
4. Various other weapons, SPJ, Fuel Tanks (To increase the range further without refueling) I didn’t mention, you can find those in the picture below, and future weapons US, export partners and future customers want to integrate.

• F-16 BLOCK 70/72 Length 49.3 ft/15.027 m
• Height 16.7 ft/5.090 m
• Speed 2,414 kmph (Mach 2+)
• Wingspan 31.0 ft/9.449 m Empty
• Weight 9,207 kg
• Engine Thrust Class 127 kn
• Maximum TOGW 21,772 kg
• Design Load Factor 9 g

Chinese Chengdu J10C

Design:- Chengdu J-10 was the pinnacle of indigenous Chinese fighter design. It is a single-engine delta-canard agile multirole fighter which was alleged to be a clone of the IAI Lavi design, enhanced through alleged access to Pakistani F-16A examples. Even cursory comparison of the J-10 and Lavi indicates that 'Lavi-cloning' is not the case, even if the fighters share the same general configuration. The nose and vertical tail shape are however near enough to the F-16 to raise serious questions.

Development of the J-10 commenced in 1988, with the first prototype flying in 1996, and production planned to commence in 2005. The J-10 occupies the same niche as the F-16C/D/E/F and the Rafale, being smaller than the F/A-18E/F and Eurofighter. It is to form the low end of a hi-lo mix with the Su-27SK/J-11/Su-30MKK and be used for air combat and strike roles, replacing the J-6, Q-5, and J-7 in frontline combat regiments.

Early models are powered by the Russian AL-31F common to the Su-27/30, with Chinse sources claiming the indigenous WS-10 fan introduced later. The design is claimed to use a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system, a glass cockpit similar in layout to the Gripen is employed, and a Helmet Mounted Sight is expected to be used. Chinese sources claim indigenous JL-10 to be the likely candidate radars for production.

The J-10 represents an important milestone for China's industry - it is modern combat aircraft competitive in cardinal parameters with current EU production technology and is clearly a unique indigenous design despite the comments of Western critics. Just like the Su-27/MiG-29 blended the best ideas in the teen series types, the J-10 blends the best ideas from the Eurocanard series and the F-16, to produce a high-performance low-cost mass production fighter.

Later variants such as J10C has improved WS10B engine with improved thrust and 2 dimensional Thrust Vectoring Nozzle (TVC) for super maneuverability, locally made AESA radar which is evidently superior to Zhuk radar used in early J10s, Divertless intake to mask engine blades, Stealth coating (thanks to experience learned from J20), better electronics, avionics, weapon package.

Avionics and Weapon system:- Unknown AESAR coupled with IRST for Air to Air, Ground, Sea searching, tracking & engagements and capable of carrying

1. Internal Cannon: Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 twin-barrel gast principle cannon capable of firing 23x115mm rounds at 3000–3400 RPM internal cannon with 715m/s muzzle velocity.
2. Air-to-Air Missiles: Chinese PL-8, PL-10 for WVR/CCM A2A engagements and Chineses PL12, PL-15 for BVR A2A engagements
3. Air-to-Ground/Ship Weaponry: Chinese laser-guided bombs like LT-2, General Purpose Bombs, NGARM YJ81 (Anti Radiation Missile) ALCM like KD88 and YJ83K as an anti-ship missile
4. Various other weapons, SPJ, Fuel Tanks, future weapons Chinese or future customers want to integrate.

Credit: Sinodefence, Ausairpower

Indian ADA Designed & HAL produced MWF aka Tejas Mark 2

Design:- MWF having delta wing, canard configuration with unstable design coupled with an advanced fly-by-wire system Canards add lift ahead of the CG, increasing the requirement for trim force, which in the case of statically unstable tailless delta wings, is achieved by increased downward deflection of the elevons. But this also increases the lift produced by the wings, as the elevons act as flaps in this case. Consequently, with the addition of lift from the canard, increased lift by the wing due to favorable wing-canard interaction and an increase in lift on account of downward elevator deflection at trim, there is a significant increase in the total trim lift produced at any given angle of attack (AoA). As a result, a close-coupled canard delta aircraft can be trimmed at a lower AoA for an equivalent amount of lift as compared to a tailless delta without canards. This leads to lower trim drag and better Lift to drag ratio across the flight envelope. It has canard control surfaces that contribute a positive lift force at all speeds, while the generous lift from the delta wing compensates for the rear stabilizer producing negative lift at high speeds, increasing induced drag.

S-duct intake to mask engine blades, stealth coating, composite material airframe to make it stealthier and lightweight at the same time.

Avionics and Weapon system:- Uttam AESAR coupled with IRST for Air to Air, Ground, Sea searching, tracking & engagements and capable of carrying

1. Internal Cannon: Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 twin-barrel gast principle cannon capable of firing 23x115mm rounds at 3000–3400 RPM internal cannon with 715m/s muzzle velocity.
2. Air-to-Air Missiles: Russian R74E (E for export variant), British ASRAAM aka AIM132, Israeli Python-5 for WVR/CCM A2A engagements and Indian ASTRA, ASTRA-2, SFDR (Solid Fuel Ducted Rocket), European Meteor, Israel made I-derby ER (ER for extended range) for BVR A2A engagements
3. Air-to-Ground/Ship Weaponry: American laser-guided bombs like Paveway 2, SDB (Small Diameter Bomb), Israeli Spice Series, Indian Sudarshan, SAAW (Smart anti airfield bomb), NGARM (NextGen Anti Radiation Missile) various unguided bombs, ALCM like Russian KH59, Indo-Russian Brahmos-NG which can be used as anti-ship missions as well
4. Various other weapons, SPJ, Fuel Tanks (To increase the range further without refueling) I didn’t mention and future weapons Indian or future customers want to integrate.

Bonus

T/W Ratio of the following fighters

J10A: With full fuel 0.96, With max take offload 0.65

JF17B: With full fuel 0.93, With max take offload 0.65

LCA MK1: With full fuel 0.96, With max take offload 0.69