WF-27 Firebolt

• Production cost: $31.5 million (USD) or $32.8 million (USD, WF-27C carrier variant)
• Price: $48 million (USD) or $51 million (USD, WF-27C carrier variant)

Specifications

Primary Function

• Multirole fighter

Builder

• Wingarde Aerospace Corporation

Power Plant

• Norton Power G*SF*88A

Thrust

• 13,225 kg (single engine)

Length

• 12.4 meters

Wingspan

• 8 meters

Speed

• 1,603 km/h (Cruise)
• 2,710 km/h (Maximum)
• 2.2 (Maximum Mach)

Ceiling

• 15,525 meters

Range

• 3,975 km

Maximum Takeoff Weight

• 13,480 kg

Crew

• Two

Armament

• Internally*mounted 27mm gun.
• Advanced medium range air*to*air missiles.
• New generation short range air*to*air missiles.
• Sea*skimming anti*ship missiles.
• Advanced dispenser weapon systems (DWS).
• Air*to*Ground missiles and/or rockets.
• Active/passive Electronic Warfare (EW) systems.
• Internal and external reconnaissance systems.
• Three external fuel tanks.

Combat Systems

• AN/APG*66 PULSED*DOPPLED RADAR
• AN/AAQ*13 LANTIRN NAVIGATION POD
• AN/AAQ*14 LANTIRN/SHARPSHOOTER
• AN/AAQ*20 PATHFINDER NAVIGATION POD
• AN/AAS*35 LASER SPOT TRACKER POD
• AN/ASQ*213 HARM TARGETING SYSTEM POD
• AN/ALQ*178 INTERNAL ECM
• AN/ALQ*184 ECM POD
• AN/ALR*56M THREAT WARNING RECEIVER
• AN/ALR*74 RADAR WARNING SYSTEM (RWR)
• AN/ALE*47 CHAFF/FLARE DISPENSER

By the mid-90s, and in sight of recent aerodynamics breakthroughs by national scientists, the Wingardian government realized the country’s potential to develop remarkable airplanes. Purchasing military equipment from other territories was taking a large part of the military spending, and it was becoming a liability. So, in 1995, the first project to build an all-around, highly maneuverable and Mach-speed capable multirole fighter was born. The prototype, built by the newly founded Wingarde Aerospace Corporation, was named WX-27. After three years of extensive experimentation and after being approved by the Air Force, the WF-27 Firebolt entered mass production.

The Firebolt surpassed all expectations not long after being fully implemented to service (1999). The aircraft proved to be extremely reliable in every situation, performing admirably in every mission, from ground strikes to Combat Air Patrols (CAP). The WF-27 was reluctantly deemed able for export in 2003, after several arguments in the Ministry of Defense.