Joint post-war European combat aircraft projects (part of 8)
After a period of uncertainty in the fate of the "European fighter" project participants decided to continue the program of its creation. Looking at the future, the governments of Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, despite the need for significant financial injections, were aware that the continuation of work would contribute to the development of national high-tech industries.
At the end of 1992, at a meeting of defense ministers of the countries participating in the EFA consortium, a number of important moments for the further development of the program were identified. Problems addressed by the consortium, such as the coordination of research work among the participating countries and the organization of the final assembly, were considered. The adopted memorandum voiced the approximate time of the aircraft’s entry into service. In the British Air Force from 2000, in the Luftwaffe - from 2002. The life cycle of an aircraft subject to modernization should be at least 30 years. At the same time, the program received a new name - EF 2000.
The parties also decided on the distribution of the production program for the aircraft. In Great Britain, the manufacture of the nose of the fuselage and the main fire station were carried out, in Germany - the central part of the fuselage and the keel. Wings were jointly produced at BAe and Aeritalia enterprises. At the first stage, the final assembly was decided to be conducted in all countries - participants of the consortium at a rate of up to 10 aircraft per month. It was not very rational from an economic point of view, but it did not infringe upon the interests of any of the countries.
Taking into account the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the reduction of the risk of global war, in order to reduce the cost of the project, the developers went to a slight decrease in the combat characteristics of the fighter. The design of the airframe, cabin and engines remained the same. The requirements for flight range and flight duration, as well as for take-off and landing characteristics have changed. The main changes affected the electronic filling. It was decided to abandon the front-view optoelectronic station, somewhat simplify the radar and jamming system. Radar now instead of ten can only accompany six targets at a time. The protection of the aircraft’s electronic systems against the electromagnetic impulse of a nuclear explosion was considered unnecessary. The guaranteed order book of the Eurofighter consortium has also decreased. Now he compiled 607 airplanes: Great Britain - 250, Germany - 140, Italy - 130 and Spain - 87.
The flight of the first prototype of the EF 2000 took place on March 27 1994, at the test airfield of the DASA company near Munich. The plane was missing a number of onboard systems and weapons. Due to the lack of readiness of the standard EJ200 engines, the plane flew with Rolls-Royce RB.199-104D TRDDF. In the same year, experienced aircraft built in Britain and Italy took to the air. In total, the tests were designed to use 7 prototypes. The use of flying laboratories has significantly saved finances and reduced the number of flight hours and test flights. For example, the radar for the Eurofighter was tested on a flying laboratory created on the basis of a short-range airliner BAC 11-1.
A fighter with a normal take-off weight of 16000 kg is equipped with two Eurojet EJ 200 TRDDFs with a total forcing load of 18400 kgf. At an altitude of 10000 meters the aircraft is able to reach speeds of 2495 km / h, the maximum speed at the ground is 1530 km / h. When performing air defense tasks with 4000 liters of fuel in the internal tanks + 1000 liters on the external sling, the combat radius is 1400 km. In shock missions with a maximum take-off mass of 23000 kg, the combat radius depends on the combat load option and the flight profile from 600 to 1300 km without refueling in the air.
The order for serial production of fighters was signed on 30 on January 1998 of the year. 2 September 1998 of the year in the British Farnborough hosted the ceremony of assigning the aircraft its own name - Typhoon, which was a continuation of the "storm" line launched by PANAVIA Tornado. However, this caused dissatisfaction with representatives of the Federal Republic of Germany, since it reminded of the Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber used by the British Air Force for attack targets in Germany during World War II.
Test flights generally went quite smoothly, but 21 November 2002 of the year not far from the Spanish airbase Getafe because of a failure in the engine management system crashed a double pre-production aircraft. Both pilots successfully ejected.
After the pre-production tests were completed in 2000, a permit was issued for the start of flight operations. The deliveries of Eurofighter Typhoon, according to the preliminary schedule, should be divided into three tranches. In addition to the countries involved in the development, Typhoons ordered: Austria - 15 aircraft, Kuwait - 28, Oman - 12 and Saudi Arabia - 72. As of July 2016, a total of 599 aircraft have been ordered, delivered - 478. The British contractor BAe is the executor of export orders; aircraft build on assembly lines in other states - members of the consortium only for their own Air Force. That is the same with “Typhoon” story, as with other European joint projects, Jaguar and Tornado: their export deliveries were also carried out only from the United Kingdom.
In parallel with the single-seat fighter in the ratio 1: 10, the construction of double combat training Typhoon T.1 is underway. Initially, the flight life of the aircraft was defined in 6000 hours, but due to some improvements and results obtained during the operation of pre-production aircraft, the life of the machines of the last tranche (series) was extended to 10000 hours. "Typhoon" is in many ways a unique combat aircraft. It is available in four versions, in accordance with the national preferences of each member of the consortium, at the same time, all the contracting companies produce units for each of the ordered aircraft.
In 2003, the operation of the first tranche fighters, designated as EF 2000 Tranche 1 countries of the consortium, began. Aircraft of different trenches have significant differences in avionics. On the "Typhoon" of the second tranche - EF 2000 Tranche 2 installed improved avionics, a more sophisticated weapon system, which allows effectively destroy ground targets and a new on-board computer. The aircraft navigation system includes inertial navigation equipment based on ring laser gyroscopes and satellite navigation receivers. The pilot has a helmet-indicator-indicator, a system for recognition, analysis and prioritization of external threats.
Detection of air targets is carried out by the multi-mode coherent pulse-Doppler radar ECR-90. The PIRATE front-view infrared station is integrated into the weapon control system. It is installed on the external suspension assembly and is intended for searching and tracking air and ground targets. At the moment, the EF 2000 Tranche 3 modification, which is characterized by engines with increased load capacity, more capacious fuel tanks, advanced on-board computer complex, as well as a new E-Scan radar with a phased array, is being mass produced. According to advertising data, this synthetic aperture radar, installed on 3-th tranche aircraft, is able to detect an American F-22A at a distance of at least 60 km.
Antenna radar E-Scan under the protective cover
One of the most complex and expensive electronic components of the Eurofighter was its defense system. It is jointly developed by the companies: Airbus Group, Elettronica, Galileo Avionica and Indra Sistemas SA. The DASS system consists of numerous sensors and computer analyzing information. Sensors are capable of detecting not only radar, but also laser radiation. DASS manages a number of passive and active elements of protection, a set of countermeasures for air defense missiles and air-to-air missiles include tunable jammers, towed decoys, IR trap tapes and dipole reflectors. The containers from the EW system are located on the wing consoles. At present, on the EF 2000 Tranche 3 modification aircraft, multichannel EW equipment with an extended frequency range is installed, which makes it possible to simultaneously interfere with several radar detection and anti-aircraft missile guidance stations.
Containers of electronic warfare equipment on wing consoles of double UBS Typhoon T1
The cost of one set of DASS equipment exceeds $ 1 million. In countries that are not participants of the Eurofighter program, this equipment is supplied incompletely.
Eurofighter Typhoon Fighter Weapon Suspension Units
Built-in armament consists of 27-mm cannons, in the root of the right wing. Up to 6500 kg of combat load can be placed on the thirteen nodes of the external suspension. The armament set includes: AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-132 ASRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder, IRIS-T, MBDA Meteor, air-to-surface missiles AGM-65 HARM, Brimstone, Тaurus KEPD 88, Storm Shadow / Scalp EG, PCR Sea Killer Marte-ERP, guided bombs Paveway II / III / IV, JDAM. Litening III and AN / AAQ-350 Sniper suspension containers are used to target guided weapons.
However, the composition of the armament of aircraft of different countries can be very different. Thus, RAF became the first customer of MBDA Meteor medium-range air-to-air missiles. In the British Air Force "Typhoons" in the air defense squadrons replaced the interceptors "Tornado". For the first time, the British Typhoon F.95 of August 2 of the year went up to meet the Russian long-range bomber Tu-17MS.
In September 2009, four “Typhoons” were transferred to the RAF Mount Pleasant air base on the Falklands, where they replaced the F.3 Tornado. In this regard, the Argentine government declared an official protest.
Google Earth Satellite Image: British “Typhoon” on Mount Pleasant Airfield Runway
Initially, the Typhoon fighters were supposed to be used mainly for air defense and gaining air superiority. This was fully consistent with the British standard car Typhoon F2 Tranche 1. However, after the decommissioning of the Jaguars and Harriers and the planned early decommissioning of the Tornado drums, the RAF had an urgent need for a multi-purpose aircraft.
The “anti-terrorist” operation in Afghanistan that had begun demanded the modernization of the Typhoon in order to expand its shock capabilities. In July, after the revision of the avionics and armament, the Typhoon was declared a multi-role fighter, which is capable of effectively destroying both airborne and ground targets.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Typhoon FGR4 at Wharton Airfield
The aircraft of the British Air Force adapted for percussion tasks were designated Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4. As in the case of the Tornado, the British became pioneers in improving the fighting qualities of international fighters. The tests of the modernized Typhoon FGR4 were carried out at the factory airfield of BAe Wharton. The two-seater machine, with dual control, which has been modernized in order to expand the shock capabilities, was designated Typhoon T.3.
Google Earth satellite image: Typhoon British planes at Konengsbi airbase
The “Typhoon” combat premiere took place in March 2011, after RAF Typhoon FGR4 fighters redeployed from British Konengsbi and Lewars airbases to the Italian airbase Gioia del Colle in southern Italy. Italian “Typhoons” flew there from Grosseto airbase.
Google Earth satellite image: Typhoon Italian aircraft at Grosseto airbase
Italian and British combat aircraft took part in the "patrol" of Libyan airspace. During the "patrol" "Typhoons" provided aviation support for anti-government forces using 454 kg Paveway II laser-guided UAB and ALARM anti-radar missiles.
In 2014, 12 British Typhoon Tranche 2 was upgraded to use UAB Paveway IV. Soon for these machines work was found in the Middle East. Six Typhoon FGR4 5 December 2015 was launched in Cyprus. Working together with the Tornado, from the Akrotiri air base, they attacked targets in Iraq and Syria.
The RAF management plans to decommission all the remaining early versions of the Typhoon Tranche 2020 in 1. The least worn fighters will be upgraded and offered for sale to foreign buyers. These plans are contrary to previous statements that the service life of "Typhoon" will be at least 30 years. Apparently, in the British budget there are no funds to maintain the entire fleet of Typhoons in the flying state while simultaneously purchasing in the US F-35A fighter jets.
Fighters "Typhoon" Air Force Saudi Arabia
Another country that used the "Typhoons" during the fighting was Saudi Arabia. Upgraded RSAF aircraft of the Typhoon Tranche 2 standard along with the Tornado and F-15SA actively participated in raids on objects of the Housits in Yemen. In February, 2015, the Saudi "Typhoon", first used the Paveway IV bombs when attacking targets in Syria. Currently, Saudi Arabia and BAe Systems are negotiating the supply of an additional batch of 48 Typhoon Tranche 3.
A certain commercial success of the Typhoon of the British assembly is primarily due to their rather high impact potential and competent marketing policy of BAe Systems. Despite the statement of the manufacturer that the Typhoon in close combat is not inferior to other modern combat aircraft, this is not confirmed. Of course, the European fighter is a very decent machine, equipped with the most modern avionics and has good capabilities when used as an air defense interceptor.
During training air battles with American fighters, "Typhoon" without external hangers often strung up over F-15C / D and F-16C / D. American cars due to the characteristics of the aerodynamic scheme "duck", in some cases unable to repeat the maneuvers "Typhoon". However, the Soviet MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters in the middle of the 80-s raised the "bar" of maneuverability characteristics to a new height unattainable for the "Typhoon". The aircraft, created by the standards of thirty years ago, is currently not fully in line with modern requirements and cannot fight against modernized Russian 4 + fighter jets in close air combat.
British Typhoon FGR4 repeatedly visited foreign air bases during joint international exercises. So in July, 2007, with the Indian Air Force held joint maneuvers "Indra-Danush". On the Indian side, the Typhoons were opposed by Su-30MKI. At the same time, the Indian command did not allow its pilots to use the 011M Bars BRLS. The Indian Air Force voluntarily abandoned the advantage that the Su-30MKI has thanks to a more powerful radar, which, moreover, uses electronic beam scanning technology.
The results of the training air battles by mutual agreement of the parties are not commented, however, the British media published informal statements by the pilots of the “Typhoons” who participated in the exercises. According to the British, in order to counter on an equal footing Su-30MKI in close combat, Typhoon requires engines with variable thrust vectoring.
Prototype engine EJ230
In the same year, 2007 became aware of the creation of a prototype engine EJ230 with a deflected thrust vector. In India's 2009, the Typhoon was offered with this engine option. However, it has not been mass-produced until now and is not part of the armament of combat units.
At a cost of about $ 120 million, the Typhoon Tranche 3 cannot compete with the heavy Russian fighters Su-30MK and Su-35С, whose export price is $ 80-90 million. Comparison with the "classmate" MiG-35, whose value is estimated at $ 50 million, also turns out to be in favor of Typhoon. The fierce competition in the armament market to Eurofighter is rendered by the French Rafale. These machines are very similar in appearance and conceptually, which is not surprising. Their common roots grow from the creation of the European EFA fighter.
Comparing the British and French fighters, it can be noted that the mass of the empty “Rafal” is a ton less, while its maximum take-off weight is a ton more. The French fighter has more suspension units and payloads by about 2 tons. That is, the weight perfection of the "French" above. But the Typhoon has great maximum speed and armament, which gives it an advantage when intercepting, besides, the Meteor long-range rocket is part of the Eurofighter’s weapons. Otherwise, both fighters are close, they can be adapted by the same sighting, search and reconnaissance suspension systems of Western development and similar strike armament. However, Rafal is cheaper, it is offered to potential customers at a price of $ 85-100 million, which gives a certain advantage. In addition, the French are not so scrupulous in the restrictions on the transfer of modern technology. One of the reasons for the victory of "Rafal" in the Indian tender of the MRCA was the readiness of France to establish a licensed assembly of a fighter in India.
However, it can be stated that the "Typhoon", created according to the technical conditions of the 4 fighter generation, despite the high-tech avionics was late, by about 20 years. At the time when the decision was made to put the EF 2000 into operation, the first fighter of the 5 generation F-22A was already flying.
A joint European fighter would look very nice in the 90, but in the 21 century it is perceived as a “dinosaur” of a bygone era. Such a significant delay in adopting the Eurofighter is due to the lag of the European design school from the USSR and the USA, as well as the contradictions between the participants of the consortium and the chronic underfunding of the program.
Based on:
https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/british-aerospace-eap-prelude-to-typhoon/
http://militaryarms.ru/voennaya-texnika/aviaciya/eurofighter-typhoon/
http://www.deagel.com/Aircraft-Protection-Systems/EuroDASS_a001493001.aspx
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/raf-typhoons-patrol-libyan-no-fly-zone
Information