Kalistan

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KalMilInCo hits developmental snag in new air superiority fighter
"Budget will be astronomical" says Project manager
Sulu AFB, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 20, 5702


The declassified conceptual design of the new F/A 12 which is expected to over run budget by ₭60 Billion

Tasked with modernizing Kalistan's air defense assets, KalMilInCo is just finishing the first rounds of testing and evaluation with the new KA-11 CAS attack planes. The KA-11 proved to receive a high B rating, with the initial pilots noting difficulty in take-off and landing (especially stopping after taxi, due to weight characteristics of the plane) and the lack of long distance radar systems which would make shifting to new mission priorities difficult mid flight, but excellent handling in the air, excellent attack characteristics and top marks in survivability and sheer destructive combat force of the main cannon and ordinance deployed from the plane's hardpoints.

The other project that KalMilInCo was tasked with was a new modern hypersonic Air Superiority fighter. KMC teamed once more with AeroKal and KalMD to develop a sophisticated new plane with the following specs: Could engage above mach 2, could confuse or avoid enemy radar, and could match the newest planes currently available on the planet. Thought the KA-11's program is moving quickly toward deployment, the Air Superiority program is stalled.

"The plane we are tasked with designing is too expensive, and will likely not meet the required specifications, no matter how much money we throw at it," said project designer Raul Ebersole, of KMC. "Kalistan does not possess a magic wand, regrettably. We cannot handwave a plane out of thin air, especially at the budget we were provided. We understand there are limitations of what the Government is willing to spend on this program, but I can assure you, the budget for this, if we ever are able to design the plane, will be astronomical, just in testing, let alone actually building something like the Defense Ministry would want. That doesn't even include many of the necessary materials to build it, some of which Kalistan does not have easy access to."

Ebersole predicted that the program will easily run over budget by ₭60 Billion before they ever get a testable model. "The technology is just too advanced to do it cheaply. You can't have it both ways, you either spend money and get something that MIGHT work, or you don't put money behind it and nothing ever happens. I think our Government belongs to the second group of not throwing a ton of money at a project that has a low chance of actual success."

Ebersole said that countries who do design these sort of planes have done so by prioritizing military spending, and spending borrowed money. "Kalistan is, however, allergic to deficit spending. We can do it: Its easy to design a plane. We know how to build mach 1.5, and even conceptually how to build mach 2 planes. But they are also asking for some degree of stealth, and the electronics for that alone would put us billions of Imperial Rubles over budget, and to be completely honest, we aren't even sure that sort of technology actually exists in the real world. All we have is claims that it does. But modern radar is really good, and the best way to make your plane invisible to modern radar is to make it look like not an airplane to radars. Problem is, of course, making it look like not an airplane also makes it fly like not an airplane, and that is a tough and expensive nut to crack."

Ebesrole did note that nations to Kalistan's north have officially claimed to have cracked it nonetheless. "Well, what can I say: other nations seem to do this sort of thing every day. So called stealth planes have existed for a very long time in Terra. Kalistan, however has never had to design one from nothing, so, since the Government refuses to increase the budget due to its anti-deficit mentality, and the estimated costs are quickly overrunning budgetary projections, I think this design itself may be headed for the circular file. We will be meeting with the Defense Ministry again to continue discussions about next steps with the F/A-12 program, but if the Defense Ministry's previous statements on the question are any indication of where Her Imperial Majesty's mind is on this plane, they may be revising their ask, rather than going ahead with this design."

Money has plagued the Government's push for modernization quite often recently. The Military Budget is considered very efficient in that it tends to produce only what is absolutely needed, works very hard to keep costs down, and strives to use existing assets rather than go on spending sprees to procure weaponry that Kalistan doesn't specifically need. "We do have an existing multi-role fighter," said Ebersole. "Its design is old, but the Empire is not exactly naked." But Ebersole believes that the desire to modernize reflects a desire to keep up with our neighbors in terms of security. "Many nations around us have unlimited access to new fighters. But many nations around us don't pay too much concern to the amount they spend on defense."

The fate of the F/A-12 up in the air for the time being, Ebersole did praise the modernization efforts nonetheless. "I think Her Imperial Majesty's heart was in the right place. But the bright side, we did get one new system out of the process- The KA-12 is a fantastic plane, for what its mission is. It may not be the prettiest belle at the ball, but we know from our preliminary and subsequent tests that is does its job and then some, a job which will save lives on the ground. It can blow up a tank, or deliver HE bullets into troop concentrations. It will definitely more than serve its mission in conventional regular attacks on our nation. But the missile defense program which was cancelled last year and likely this plane too are just too expensive, and won't do enough damage where we need them to to justify the cost."

If the F/A-12 program is officially abandoned, Ebersole said he may propose modernizing the KA-10 plane to include new radar and new ordinance. "They'll have to toss out the survivability point to do it though," said Ebersole. "Through the whole process, that has been a main shorctoming: you can't make a plane like this highly survivable, because that would literally slow it way down. The CAS-11 plane is basically heavy armor in the sky, so it can afford to be heavier and more lumbering, stalking, and attacking. A supersonic fighter, if its hit, its more or less destroyed, but you could blow off one of the CAS-11's two engines and it could still comfortably fly back to base. So instead of building a brand new plane, it'll probably be more cost effective to tweak the design and modernize the planes we already possess."

Comment from the Defense Ministry said they still are interested in continuing the program, but also noted budget overruns and any sort of spending outside the budget would require Imperial approval.

@TheRepublic