Lockheed Martin F-21 (Fighting Falcon)

History of the Lockheed Martin F-21 (Falcon)

The F-21 is an advanced version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter jet offered by Lockheed Martin and is designed to meet the total needs of the Indian Air Force (IAF), totalling about 110 fighter jets. The aircraft is a direct offshoot of the Fighting Falcon series, but is a major evolution of the series, incorporating all modern qualities and enhanced performance and capabilities.

The aircraft is being touted along with a local manufacturing program to build fighter jets in India (under the national slogan "India, for India"), with Lockheed Martin partnering with local Indian group Tata Advanced Systems (TAS).

Lockheed had previously offered the IAF its F-16IN (Block 70) Fighting Falcon variant - the F-21 replaced that offer. The main competitors for the 110 IAF fighters are the US Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, the French Dassault Rafale (India has signed another request), the Euro-centric Eurofighter Typhoon . , the Swedish Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen, the Russian Mikoyan MiG-35 Fulcrum (India already uses the older MiG-29) and the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker (India already uses the Su-30 to promote the current There are designs (such as those offered by Mikoyan and Sukhoi - under the umbrella of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)) that will certainly simplify the logistics of the service in the long run and further develop the Indo-Russian military relationship - but all of them enable a fourth 0th /4th 5th battle mount independent

As proposed, the F-21 has no less than three underwing hardpoints attached to the main wing elements, with the two innermost hardpoints for jettisonable fuel tanks (increasing combat range). The wingtip missile mounts of the original F-16 remain in the F-21 design and support the AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile). Another major addition is the "triple launcher" pictured, which is equipped with three AMRAAMs on each mid-wing hardpoint - equivalent to firing a total of ten air-to-air missiles (AAMs) at any point in the air: 8 x AIM-120 AMRAAM and 2 x AIM-9 "Sidewinder" short-range AAM types.

Several breakpoints are reserved under the fuselage for various mission support pods for targeting, search, pursuit and engagement.

An equipment fairing at the rear of the aircraft and compliant fuel tank fairings on both sides of the rear (another feature that increases the aircraft's operating range at the expense of increased drag). The retractable fuel probe, a key requirement for the IAF, is mounted on the starboard side and exits from the right compliant fairing.

As shown in a Lockheed marketing video, the F-21 can deploy a decoy device behind it to improve survivability against incoming missile threats. The nose is said to house an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which is now common on most modern aircraft types, providing superior search and tracking capabilities from the cockpit and aiding in weapons management and control . Additionally, some of the technologies developed for the USAF's 5th generation Lockheed F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II programs are designed to help the F-21 become an advanced, modern...solution to create an improved IAF - All based on the proven, history-making airframe of the F-16 Fighting Falcon (originally a General Dynamics product in the 1970s).

Inside the aircraft, the instrument panel will feature a large-area full-color touchscreen display, and other expected features such as boost and zero-zero ejection seats will be incorporated into the design. The IAF will look for single-seat and two-seat aircraft types in order.

What retains the original F-16 Fighting Falcon is the nose radar adaptation, long-range canopy, single-engine mount (which limits survivability and range, but reduces complexity and cost), oval shape under the fuselage Air intakes and monoplane rear wing. Large ventral struts under the tail provide stability and control and improve the angle of attack.

A parachute landing will be deployed to significantly delay the approaching aircraft taxiing down the runway on its tricycle landing gear.

Like other aircraft offered by the IAF, the F-21 remains a strong candidate. The IAF is seeking to replace the aging MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighter/attack aircraft fleet with a single foreign solution that can be built locally on a budget.

At least 85% of the entire new aircraft fleet must be built on Indian soil.

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