Kowsar Ver II - Possibilities !

[Aizad Hussain Sayid]

The Iranian "Kowsar" is an ancient F-5E aircraft that was designed in 1950's. It is virtually impossible to turn 1950's technology into a 4+ generation aircraft! The Iranian copy of F-5E mainly serves propaganda purposes. The aircraft nose cone precludes the use of a high powered Radar. The aircraft has a low thrust powerplant that cannot be replaced with latest variants of high powered Turbofan engines. It possesses limited weapon carrying ability and has a very short range. The conclusion: you cannot turn it into an F-16 on Steroids! There is no place for such aircraft on a modern battlefield.

 

[SOHEIL]

The aircraft has a low thrust powerplant that cannot be replaced with latest variants of high powered Turbofan engines.

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Cheapest and fastest way is a tiger shark with a RD-33 engine !

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[Ultima Thule]

Cheapest and fastest way is a tiger shark with a RD-33 engine !

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yes sir you're absolutely right sir upgrade you're this jet as F-20 standard

 

[SOHEIL]

The Iranian copy of F-5E mainly serves propaganda purposes.

BS ... It's for demonstrating technology !

 

[hussainb72]

But this kind of automatic interception can easily be Jam by long range ECM aircraft like US J-star or J-8 @hussainb72

Preventing jamming signals is an impossible thing, but there are some ways to make this harder, by constantly changing the frequency used to establish this connection.

Cheapest and fastest way is a tiger shark with a RD-33 engine !

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But wing and intakes modification is a must to increase the payload.

 

[Ultima Thule]

The Iranian "Kowsar" is an ancient F-5E aircraft that was designed in 1950's. It is virtually impossible to turn 1950's technology into a 4+ generation aircraft! The Iranian copy of F-5E mainly serves propaganda purposes. The aircraft nose cone precludes the use of a high powered Radar. The aircraft has a low thrust powerplant that cannot be replaced with latest variants of high powered Turbofan engines. It possesses limited weapon carrying ability and has a very short range. The conclusion: you cannot turn it into an F-16 on Steroids! There is no place for such aircraft on a modern battlefield.

don't insult Iranians bro, they are our brother and neighbor not only neighbor but very good neighbor, at least they are trying to manufacturing/innovating by themselves without any foreign help @Aizad Hussain Sayid

Preventing jamming signals is an impossible thing, but there are some ways to make this harder, by constantly changing the frequency used to establish this connection.

You mean frequency hoping

 

[hussainb72]

You mean frequency hoping

Yes

 

[SOHEIL]

 

[Englishman]

Crop duster

 

[PeeD]

The big strong point of the F-5E is its ease of maintenance: It was built to be easy to maintain, F-5A already was but F-5E improved that significantly. The F-5E was marketed to require 4(!) times less man hours to maintain than the F-4.
The F-20 was a ideal solution, much cheaper in cost and lifetime costs than the F-16 with close performance.

Changing wingposition may not be worth the effort and bring the design out of its minimum cost concept. Twin tail fin, the same, may not be worth to change this maximum efficiency design.
This aircraft would compete with the JF-17 and needs to be more cost effective than this already very cost effective design.
Fighter based airpower in general makes not much sense for a missile and drone power like Iran so to make some sense it must be extremely economical.

A F-20 as Kowsar II with an AESA and IRST to further push down lifetime operation costs would make best sense.
RD-33 would make best sense: Cheaper than the JF-17's import RD-93 and in same class as the EJ200, M88 and F404 (Gripen). J79 variant would be less fuel economic and outdated without future.
The manufacturing price tag must be in the 15m USD range (20-25m export price) to beat JF-17 in the export market.
Chinese offer no AESA radar on the export market and as said have to buy the RD-93 from Russia at export price.

As said, this would be a tool to keep the IRIAF alive and trained for the future plus open up a export market. It does not add any significant added power to the Irans war fighting capacity.

However I have the bad feeling that it's impossible to reverse engineer the RD-33 plus increasing its reliability for single engine use. This would require complete re-engineering. So Iran may has opted for coping the much simpler J79 for which it might even has bought the blue prints during the Shah era.

 

[Ultima Thule]

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Wings of F-20 is almost same as F-5E, your this jet need bigger wing area for more lift and to carry heavier payloads

 

[SOHEIL]

This is the plane that almost beat out the legendary F-16
You may know Chuck Yeager as the man who broke the sound barrier, but back in the 1980s, he was also pitching a new fighter jet — one that arguably would have been on par with some of today's fighters.

The Northrop F-20 Tigershark. (USAF photo)

That jet was the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. First known as the F-5G, it was a program to give American allies an advanced multi-role fighter to replace older F-5E/F Tiger IIs. The Tiger was a good plane, but arguably at a disadvantage against jets like the MiG-23 Flogger. The Soviet Union was also widely exporting the MiG-21 Fishbed and the world needed a response.

A Soviet Air Force MiG-23 Flogger. (US Air Force)

American allies had a problem, though. Under President Jimmy Carter, the United States would not release the F-15 Eagle or F-16 Fighting Falcon to many of them. Israel got lucky, and was able to buy the planes, but most other allies had to settle for something less capable. Northrop's privately-funded venture fit the bill.

An F-16 Fighting Falcon refueling over Afghanistan (Photo US Air Force)

The F-20 replaced the two J85 turbojet engines typical of the F-5E with a single F404 turbofan, like those used on the F/A-18. It also had the ability to fire the AIM-7 Sparrow, a semi-active radar-guided missile. Northrop also got Chuck Yeager to serve as the pitchman.

Yeager wearing his star. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

The F-20 proved to be very easy to maintain, was cheap (aviation historian Joe Baugher notes that a $15 million per plane price tag was quoted), and had a number of advances that made it a capable interceptor. MilitaryFactory.com notes that the F-20 had a top speed of 1,500 miles per hour and a range of 1,715 miles. Three prototypes were built, and a fourth would have had more fuel capacity and the ability to use drop tanks.

A F-20 Tigershark fires an AGM-65 Maverick missile. (USAF photo)

The problem was, even with Chuck Yeager pitching it, the Air Force and Navy didn't want the plane. The last chance for this plane's success came and went when the Air National Guard declined to replace F-106 Delta Darts and F-4 Phantoms with it, opting instead for modified F-16s.

 

[SOHEIL]

However I have the bad feeling that it's impossible to reverse engineer the RD-33

 

[PeeD]

Some engine models beyond Tolue mini-jets were shown at MAKS-2019, but haven't reached the internet yet.
I love the RD-33 basic design and that video still from 5 years ago gives hope.

 

[Iskander]

we can look at F20 tigershark