Most definitely.

Good design.

Thanks.

Ah, nice, cranked-arrow. The design influence from the Lavi and Gripen is quite prevalent.

Also note the tri-axial TVN --- it's pure X-32.

Ayuh. I don't recall any plans for TVN on the X-32 with the exception of its lift jets...

Nice, reminds me of the Saab Viggen!

It does bear an unmistakable resemblace to the J-37 Viggen, with a few points of difference; 1-the Viggens wings have a positive crank, the Machete has a negative onw. 2-the Viggen's canards are static, the Machete's are all-moving. 3-the Viggen carries it's guns in a belly-mounted gunpack (2x30mm), while the Machete has a single internal gun(1x23mm). 4-the Viggen has a high-bypass turbofan engine (a weird propulsion system for a fighter), while the Machete has a more traditional low-bypass turbofan. 5- the viggen has a thrust-reverser, the Machete has none. 6- lastly, the viggen has a parbolic-reflector pulse-doppler radar, while the machete has an "Active Electronically Steered Array" (a.k.a., "Phased Array") radar.

There are more subtle differences, but I don't want to wear out my keyboard that quickly. :)

Well, you certainly know your aircraft specs! Anyway, great profile picture!

Nice. I have a the Viggen for X-plane. By Crank are you refering to the wings Dihidral (Upaward/Downard angle from the body)? I notice you have a Negative Dihidral, and an aggressive Sweep.

Not sure about the ugly part, looks sleek to me, not ugly. Deadly maybe, but not ugly.

Nice design.

The "crank" to which I refer is the arrow-wing design --- from the roots out, the sweep is steep (highly positive), then just before the wingtips, it is shallow (slightly positive).

Looks like it could give just about every production fighter out there a run for its money. I'm hesitant to say all of them, because of the F/A-22. It'd be a toss-up in a dogfight which would win, I think. Depends on the pilot.

On the other hand, I doubt any fighter from the generation before the most recent (F-16 anyone?) could keep up with it. :P The thrust-vectoring alone would put it out of the F-16's envelope.

Over all, I have to say, good job. One mistake in the description: I think you mean "ventral" when you said "dorsal." :P But other than that, cool. :)

Against every production figher? Hmm, let's see...

The F-22's surprise (due to it's stealth) could wipe the skies with the Machete in BVR combat, but in a dogfight it would be the reverse; the F-22's thrust nozzles vecor thrust in 2-dimensions (up and down, + or - approximately 25 degrees) but have a fixed axis, so both nozzles vector in the same direction at all times. The Machete's nozzle vectors thrust in three-dimensions (up to + 20 degrees off-main axis) in ALL direction, allowing for lots of maneuvers that even the F-22 cannot perform. The F-22 may have a 25% higher thrust-to-weight ratio than the Machete (2-to1 versus 1.6-to-1), but that only means the F-22 can accelerate faster --- if you can't out-turn, you BURN.

BTW, I did mean dorsal. :)

Well, the -22 was kind of designed with BVR combat in mind. The hope was that the F/A-22 would be stealthy enough and have a good enough radar of its own that it could engage enemies long before it was ever spotted. However, that compromised its potential effectiveness in a dogfight. While it can out-turn many current fighters, the next-generation ones will leave it in the dust.

This is a perfect example. Even if you forced the dogfight into the vertical (which would give the higher power-to-weight ratio more of an advantage), the simple fact that the Machete could turn in ways the -22 can't hope to match would give it the edge.

I see only one dorsal fin - the vertical stabilizer. :P

Uh... *ahem*, I meant "ventral" fins.

*goes to correct*

XD Sorry, I'm a bit nitpicky. It comes from being a writer, I guess.

Don't worry about it. There's too many people in the world who actually think that .50cal and 50mm are the same thing!

Thanks. And, wow, that's a big mistake waiting to happen right there. XD They're mixing their measurement systems, and we all know how bad that can be (glances at NASA).

'Nother good design, why 23mm fer the gun?

Because it gives the Type 373 Machete a more "Eastern-Block" feel. There's no technical reason not to use, say, 20mm rounds. I simply wanted to design an early 5th-generation-styled Tactical Fighter similar to those being deveoped in the East in the present day.

Copy, thanks.