JamD
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This is long overdue but here it is my best guess of Ra'ad II measurements based on pixel counting:
For comparison Ra'ad I:
@Bilal Khan (Quwa) IMHO this change to X-tail is purely driven by a drag reduction reason because:
1. We have already seen the plaque with Ra'ad-I on JF-17 so my initial conjecture was wrong and Ra'ad-I can indeed fit on the wing pylon. Of course there have been other hindrances in its integration but that is besides the point.
2. Ra'ad II doesn't seem to be any smaller in terms of its fins covering a large area.
Why is there a drag reduction? Well, first of all the ventral fins have been removed. This reduces drag. Next, the H-tail presented many more surfaces (and thus a total larger surface area) to the air, which has been replaced with an X-tail. Designing a control system for X-tail (which is like a missile) is slightly more difficult than that for an H-tail (which is like a conventional aircraft) but only slightly. I am glad we got there on the Ra'ad. It's not like we couldn't do it given we have x-tails on all sorts of ballistic missiles and artillery rockets. It probably also reduces mechanical complexity since now you just have 4 body mounted servos, whereas previously you probably needed a complicated system of servos and link rods.
@Bilal Khan (Quwa) IMHO this change to X-tail is purely driven by a drag reduction reason because:
1. We have already seen the plaque with Ra'ad-I on JF-17 so my initial conjecture was wrong and Ra'ad-I can indeed fit on the wing pylon. Of course there have been other hindrances in its integration but that is besides the point.
2. Ra'ad II doesn't seem to be any smaller in terms of its fins covering a large area.
Why is there a drag reduction? Well, first of all the ventral fins have been removed. This reduces drag. Next, the H-tail presented many more surfaces (and thus a total larger surface area) to the air, which has been replaced with an X-tail. Designing a control system for X-tail (which is like a missile) is slightly more difficult than that for an H-tail (which is like a conventional aircraft) but only slightly. I am glad we got there on the Ra'ad. It's not like we couldn't do it given we have x-tails on all sorts of ballistic missiles and artillery rockets. It probably also reduces mechanical complexity since now you just have 4 body mounted servos, whereas previously you probably needed a complicated system of servos and link rods.
