--- title: "This Is What A Boeing F-32 Would’ve Looked Like If Lockheed Lost The JSF Competition" description: "To this day the X-32 is lambasted for its atrocious looks, but Boeing's final vision for its F-32 fighter was markedly different in appearance." date: "2018-05-19" modified: "2018-05-19" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/20971/this-is-what-a-boeing-f-32-wouldve-looked-like-if-lockheed-lost-the-jsf-competition" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "Military Aviation History" - "News & Features" - "Procurement" - "U.S. Air Force" tags: - "Adam Burch" - "Boeing" - "Concept Art" - "Delta Wing" - "Design Change" - "F-32" - "F-35" - "F-35 Saga" - "Hangar-B" - "Intake" - "Joint Strike Fighter" - "Must Read Features" - "renderings" - "Technology demonstrator" - "X-32" --- # This Is What A Boeing F-32 Would’ve Looked Like If Lockheed Lost The JSF Competition ![]() *www.twz.com* In 2001, Boeing's X-32 stood off against Lockheed's X-35 in a fly-off for the massively lucrative Joint Strike Fighter contract. Making a stealth fighter capable of carrying a significant payload while also having a version that can take off in short distances and land vertically was quite the task, and both companies went about solving the problem very differently. In the end, the X-32 lost to the X-35 for a number of reasons that we will get into in a future post, but many who were taken aback by the X-32's 'unique' looks didn't realize that Boeing had already planned a number of very significant design changes for their production F-32. Now, thanks to our friend Adam Burch over at [Hangar-b.com]() we can take another look at what this aircraft would have become. ![message-editor%2F1526772718431-jja91xc.jpg]() **Adam Burch/[hangar-b.com]()** ![message-editor%2F1526772733907-jjd9131.jpg]() **Adam Burch/[hangar-b.com]()** ![message-editor%2F1526772759308-jdj91cx.jpg]() **Adam Burch/[hangar-b.com]()** ![message-editor%2F1526772776817-jjd01c.jpg]() **Adam Burch/[hangar-b.com]()** ![message-editor%2F1526777345906-jjajdu1.jpg]() **Adam Burch/hangar-b.com** Partially as a result of the Navy pushing for performance changes late in the game—too late to integrate those changes on their X-plane demonstrators—Boeing's design refinements included an entirely new wing concept. Gone was the big modified delta wing and in its place was a more traditional fighter wing configuration that also included separate, fully articulated 'tailerons.' ![message-editor%2F1526775816835-jaj91.jpg]() *The X-32 demonstrator with its massive delta planform. , *Boeing/JSF program** ![message-editor%2F1526773568043-boeing-x32-jsf\_16.jpg]() *X-32 production configuration mockup., *Boeing** The aircraft's nose was also remolded as well to accommodate a radar and its notorious inlet design would become a bit less 'gaping' and included a more refined forward-swept 'underbite.' The cockpit canopy also changed, losing the bow and going to an unobstructed bubble configuration. There were many other smaller changes made to the jet's original mold-line as well. https://twitter.com/_/status/890383897531301888 Overall the F-32A was a less exotic and more attractive design that retained a lot of internal volume for fuel and weapons. Its remodeled wing retained much of the wide chord and camber of its delta-wing predecessor. The aircraft's inlet design was still an issue but with the alterations, less of the engine face would have been visible to radar from front hemisphere aspects and the design always intended to incorporate a variable geometry baffle on the engine face to greatly reduce the aircraft's critical head-on radar cross-section. ![message-editor%2F1526773604046-x-32\_jsf-boeing-chart2.jpg]() **Boeing/JSF program** ![message-editor%2F1526773681551-jaj0131.jpg]() **Boeing/JSF program** ![message-editor%2F1526775702211-asda1x.jpg]() **Boeing/JSF program** ![message-editor%2F1526775752660-jjaj91131.jpg]() **Boeing/JSF program** So even though it still might have deserved to lose to the X-35, the F-32 concept is largely misunderstood because the X-32 demonstrators really didn't represent the baseline design configuration. At least aesthetically, the F-32 was miles ahead of its proof of concept progenitors, and that probably would have helped its bid to become the largest military aircraft program ever. https://youtube.com/embed/hrB66MW9hzE https://youtube.com/embed/Ryvv0Qn-Wk8 *A huge thanks again to Adam Burch for these awesome renderings. Make sure to check out his other killer art at [Hangar-B.com](). The man literally paints space stations and rockets for a living, how cool is that!?* *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()