Overviewing the U.S. Air Force’s Hundred series of fighter jets and a series of Bird and Zerg fighter jets, it can be found that, except for a few designs that use delta wings and variable sweep wings, most of the U.S. aircraft currently in service are conventional aerodynamic design. On the other hand, the three European fighters, the Chinese J-20 and J-10 fighter jets, all use what the US military considers a canard-wing layout. So, why does the US military not use canards, and what are the reasons why Europe and China use canards?

The picture shows the US F-15 three-wing demonstrator aircraft

China and Europe are not the pioneers of canards. The United States also explored the aerodynamic layout of canards in the 1980s. The advantages and disadvantages of. As we all know, the F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets currently in service in the U.S. Air Force were all born in the 1970s. At that time, the fly-by-wire control system was not very reliable, and the complexity brought by the canards had been proven by the F-15 three-wing test aircraft.

The picture shows the F-119 engine

In the 21st century, the progress of the fly-by-wire control system has obviously easily solved the pitching moment problem of the canard, and the maneuverability of the canard at high and low speeds Sexual superiority is also recognized in the United States. However, the conceptual designs of the F-22 fighter and F-35 are both based on the fly-by-wire control level of the 1990s, and it is very difficult to change them. The United States is actually very optimistic about canard wings at the moment. Both Boeing and Lockheed Martin's sixth-generation PPT aircraft use canard wings. It can be seen that the fact that a large number of American fighter aircraft do not use canard wings is only limited by the times and experimental data from the 1980s.

The picture shows the concept of the sixth-generation American aircraft

In addition to the reasons for fly-by-wire control, the American engine is still as strong as ever, which also led to the United States not delving into the aerodynamic layout. The United States was once the leader in aerodynamic layout, but after the F-404, F-414, and F-119 series engines took over, it became clear that the United States no longer needed aerodynamic layout to supplement aircraft performance. The latest F-135 experimental data has reached 22.4 tons of thrust, almost one generation ahead of the world. It is possible that after the variable cycle engine project is completed, the canards on the Boeing Lockheed Martin sixth-generation aircraft will also be canceled due to absolute thrust.