WI: The German stealth program continued?

[The Odyssey]

In the 1980s, West Germany had an active stealth project, lead by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm, which succeeded in actually making a real design, called the MBB Lampyridae. They succeeded in making a mock-up for wind-tunnel testing. Plus, the RCS (radar-cross section, for those who don't know) of the aircraft was rumored to be lower than that of the F-117 that was developed earlier. For some reason, they canceled the project.

So what if West Germany continued on with the project and eventually mad it a real combat aircraft? Could it affect the aircraft industry greatly? Could the U.S. lose its dominance in stealth technology with its introduction?

Here is some info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBB_Lampyridae

http://www.f-104.de/exponates/english/exp_lampyridae_eng.html

http://www.rp-one.net/lampyridae/lampy.html

 

[CalBear]

All it takes is money, big piles of it. The BDR, wealthy as it was, didn't have that kind of money to spend on a shot in the dark program. Even if it did, it didn't have $200-250 million to spend per plane (once the program costs are included).

The BDR could have built the prototype or it could continue the social programs that the population demanded. Of course, once the Wall fell, it wouldn't have the money since it had to rebuild the DDR.

 

[Rubicon]

Baaah and here I thought this was about Nazi stealth planes nuking New York......

 

[The Odyssey]

All it takes is money, big piles of it. The BDR, wealthy as it was, didn't have that kind of money to spend on a shot in the dark program. Even if it did, it didn't have $200-250 million to spend per plane (once the program costs are included).

The BDR could have built the prototype or it could continue the social programs that the population demanded. Of course, once the Wall fell, it wouldn't have the money since it had to rebuild the DDR.

Couldn't they at least have the project semi-active during that time, using minimal funds allocated by the government?

 

[CalBear]

Couldn't they at least have the project semi-active during that time, using minimal funds allocated by the government?

There is no such thing as minimal cost when it comes to Stealth. The material is so expensive that it is heart stopping, the manufacture is exceptionally complex, and the tooling to build a prototype would bankrupt most countries.

There is a reason that every country doesn't build its own combat aircraft (not just stealth platforms, but all aircraft). The costs are breath-taking, the chances of failure are extreme. Most aircraft don't make it. Those that do often turn out to be failures.

There is also the fact that the target keeps changing. The 1980's BDR program may have had a better RCS than the F-117, maybe because the F-117 was an early 70's U.S. program, but how did it compare to the ATF(F-22/23), which was the 1980s U.S. program (F-117 had an RCS of 0.025 SM, the Raptor had 0.0001 SM)? How did it compare to the B-2, another bit of 70's/early 80's tech?

The devil is in the details.

 

[The Odyssey]

There is no such thing as minimal cost when it comes to Stealth. The material is so expensive that it is heart stopping, the manufacture is exceptionally complex, and the tooling to build a prototype would bankrupt most countries.

There is a reason that every country doesn't build its own combat aircraft (not just stealth platforms, but all aircraft). The costs are breath-taking, the chances of failure are extreme. Most aircraft don't make it. Those that do often turn out to be failures.

There is also the fact that the target keeps changing. The 1980's BDR program may have had a better RCS than the F-117, maybe because the F-117 was an early 70's U.S. program, but how did it compare to the ATF(F-22/23), which was the 1980s U.S. program (F-117 had an RCS of 0.025 SM, the Raptor had 0.0001 SM)? How did it compare to the B-2, another bit of 70's/early 80's tech?

The devil is in the details.

Didn't think of that....