Bilal Khan (Quwa)
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I can't speak to the Americans (not too informed on it), but I'm increasingly believing in KISS.Hi,
The more you dig deeper into it---the more surprises you may find in the fighter aircraft skin material---. More of it to be aluminum.
Years ago I posted a picture of an F22---going re-surfacing---its skin was being chiselled away to remove the putty covering the skin and you could see the rivets in the aluminum skin attached to the frame.
That putty that covered the F22 aircraft skin was made from a material that made the aircraft invisible and it was not the composite materials that did it as much---.
I personally thinks that the americans have tried to confuse their enemies by diverting them to composite materials while still using aluminum skin and radar absorbing putty material covering the skin for ultimate stealth projection---.
The Boeing 787 I believe has been ground due to the failure of composites---.
What do you think @Bilal Khan (Quwa)
Basically, if we can get the required performance and capability parameters by keeping the materials simpler (and in turn less prone to sanctions, complications, flaws, etc), we'll save more in money and time. We would also avoid supply-side issues.
That said, composites may have their value for small applications, such as attritible drones (e.g., ALCM, decoy, loyal wingman, etc). The key is commoditizing the production chain to the point where the parts are generally on the simpler side while also cheap and quick to roll-out.