Stavatti Aerospace showcased the SM-39 Razor, which they hope will eventually replace the US Navy’s Carrier Air Wing mainstays. The Stavatti team genuinely believes their aircraft should be capable of filling the roles currently occupied by the F-22 in air superiority, the F-15 in long-range strikes, the F/A-18E/F in multi-role carrier duties, and even older designs such as the F-14 Tomcat, the venerable SR-71 Blackbird in intercept mode, and the A-6 Intruder in attack mode.
However, the designers have taken a pretty unusual approach, designing the aircraft with a triple-fuselage layout, which appears to have been jammed together to fit inside the wing. Its cockpit, key avionics, nose gear and front armament are all crammed into the central fuselage section. Externally, you have two outboard fuselages designed to house the engines, main landing gear, and some cleverly-positioned intakes below to ensure maximum airflow in high-G turns. This design is supposed to reduce drag during high-speed flight while also giving the plane a pretty distinctive ‘bat-like’ look. The designers have tried to make the airframe as light as possible using a titanium foam sandwich so it can stay cool while it’s in the air.
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Power comes from 2 advanced variable-cycle afterburning turbofans of the NeoThrust type. The engines should give the aircraft a lot of thrust when it really needs it, but also be reasonably fuel-efficient for when it’s just cruising over long distances. According to the figures, the aircraft will have a top speed of over Mach 4 at altitude (with a bit of an afterburner helping it along), will be able to ‘supercruise’ at Mach 2.5 and beyond without needing the afterburners. It will also have a service ceiling of over 100,000 feet, an ascent rate of 60,000 feet per minute, and a tactical radius of 1,400 nautical miles with internal fuel for all those long-low-high missions.
The true highlight of this airplane is its tremendous cargo capacity, which is an eye-watering 25,000 pounds. You also get two internal weapon bays, allowing you to carry stealthy armaments discreetly. One of those bays in front can hold up to 5,000 pounds of missiles, while the other is larger and can handle additional ordnance, such as 2,000-pound bombs put onto rotary launchers. There are also four hardpoints on the wing that can be used to attach anti-ship missiles, extra fuel, or standoff bombs, though they make working around the radar much more difficult. You also have a fixed 20mm M61A2 gun with 1,000 rounds that provides similar firepower, and if things proceed as planned, you may wind up swapping it out for a directed energy laser in the future.
Given that it must fit aboard an aircraft carrier, the jet’s proportions are rather compact: 53 feet wide, 70 feet long, and 13 feet 8 inches high. Let’s be honest, the empty weight of 44,500 pounds isn’t exactly light, but that’s before you consider the weight of fuel and armaments; at that point, things change dramatically, raising the maximum takeoff weight to over 100,000 pounds. Stavatti estimates that each jet will cost $85 million, which is far less than the cost of another current fighter, and they intend to deliver up to 600 units between 2031 and 2037. They also plan to build new factories, create a lot of employment, and set up a training program with dozens of fully mission competent simulators.
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