Shamshir 4 + is catching up with Su-34. The ambitious program of modernization of the British-Indian "Air Defense Killers" in the final stage
One of the main drawbacks of tactical fighters of the Jaguar family (including the Indian ones) is the practical ceiling, ranging from 11000 to 14500 m (depending on the modification): this does not allow the machines to safely “bypass” the high-altitude lines of the interception of medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems HQ-16, which today are becoming the main component of Pakistan air defense
In the XNUMXst century, numerous ambitious programs for the modernization of tactical, strategic, patrol and reconnaissance aircraft became a rather important segment of the defense sector of most developed countries aviationthat have come close to the deadline for the exhaustion of their operational resource. To our disappointment, both in the West and in China, this vector of the work of the leading aerospace giant corporations and research institutes of the Air Force is positioned as the main direction, as well as the development of promising 5th generation fighters or hypersonic aircraft, at that time how this sphere is noticeably “slipping” in our country. They continue to “trumpet” us that the specialized high-performance computing subsystem SVP-24 “Hephaestus” is almost the crown of high-precision technologies for tactical and strike aircraft, and at that time almost all tactical fighters of the US Air Force F-15C / E Eagle / Strike Eagle are already equipped with modern radars with active AN / APG-63 (V) 3 phased arrays, which are 1,8 times superior to H001 (Su-27 / SM) radars in range and several times in noise immunity and target channel. Established H001 “Sword” without the corresponding auxiliary elemental base does not even have an “air-to-surface” mode.
Moreover, if our front-line Su-27CM is still at the level of the early F-15C, the updated Needles / Strike Needles has long reached the performance of the Su-30M, equipped with the Н011М Bars radar. Multipurpose tactical fighter F-16C Block 52 + US air force will also be equipped with new AFAR-radar type AN / APG-83 SABR, which are close to one of the most advanced radar systems - AN / APG-81. We continue to observe only the technological demonstrator of promising radar "FGA-29" and "Beetle-AME", as well as listen to promises about their possible integration into the MiG-29 avionics; in fact, MiG-29CMT / М2 are on duty with the “ancient” radars H019MP Topaz and H010MP Zhuk-ME, which in the DVB will not oppose anything to the modernized Falcons. In terms of the modernization of tactical aviation, even the Celestial Empire was able to get ahead by updating the avionics (including the information field of the pilots) of multi-purpose fighter jets J-11B / D. Thus, numerous J-11Bs were equipped with advanced holographic HUDs, as well as at least 4 LCD MFIs for displaying tactical information from the radar and tactical information exchange module, while the J-11D received a modern AFAR radar capable of “firing” with such station, as H011 "Bars" in range, as well as with H035 "Irbis-E" - in noise immunity and channel.
From this an unambiguous conclusion follows: until the operational combat readiness of the multi-purpose 5 generation fighters is achieved, the necessary combat potential of the air force can be maintained solely on the 4 + / ++ fighter jets; and this component should be presented by both new machines of the type MiG-35 and Su-35С, and deeply modernized MiG-29С / СМТ. Let us hope that in the near future, our Ministry of Defense will still deal with the issue of a comprehensive upgrade of tactical aviation of the 4 generation, but for now we will consider a rather interesting program of revision of SEPECAT "Jaguar IS / IM" tactical fighters-bombers in service with the Indian Air Force.
UNIQUE FIGHTING OPPORTUNITIES OF IMPROVED INDIAN "JAGUARS" WILL CHANGE THE BALANCE OF FORCES IN SOUTH ASIA. The DARIN-III PROGRAM WILL TURN VETERAN TACTICS INTO MODERN SHOCK TRANSITIONAL GENERATION AIRCRAFT COMPLEXES
Many military experts and amateurs became convinced that tactical fighter-bombers / interceptors of the F-4C / E / F “Phanton II” family became one of the most popular and successful multi-purpose 3-generation air complexes. In part, this is true: “Phantoms” for the first time were able to use short / medium range guided missiles (12 km) AIM-7C with semi-active radar seeker, which were later upgraded to AIM-7E2 with a radius of 50 km. The use of URVV data became possible due to the installation of a parabolic radar AN / APQ-120 radar capable of detecting a target with an 5 2 EPR at a distance of about 60 km and “capture” at a distance of 50 km. In addition to the above, back in 1968, the 36 F-4C was converted into an electronic warfare modification of the EF-4C Wild Weasel, which was able to detect and “capture” radio sources with further targeting for the AGM-45 “Shrike” anti-radar missiles ". The key device for issuing target designation to the Shrikam, which allows the EF-4C to suppress enemy air defenses, was the ER-142 passive direction finding complex, which was later replaced with the more accurate AN / ALR-53. At the end of 80-x - in the beginning of 90-x. The “phantoms” of the F-4F, which are in service with the Luftwaffe, underwent a deep modernization under the ICF program, thanks to which the 3 + fighter aircraft of the “120 +” generation was adapted to the use of modern medium-range long-range air combat missiles AIM-XNUMXC AMRAAM. At this point, the upgrade program for one of the most successful tactical fighters of the 20th and 21st centuries was closed.
Meanwhile, there is another equally interesting tactical fighter of the light class of the “Phantomov” times, which fate has prepared for a much longer service life side by side with the tactical aviation of the transitional and 5 generations in the upcoming network-centric conflicts of the 21st century. It can be noted that despite the attempt to successfully implement several multibillion-dollar programs related to the development of the promising low-profile 5 generation fighters AMCA and FGFA, as well as upgrading the super-maneuverable Su-30МКИ to the Super-30 version, Delhi is in no hurry to reduce the tactical fleet 3-th and 4-th generations. Moreover, some aircraft are considered by the Indian Air Force Command as air platforms for building advanced multipurpose aviation systems that can significantly change the existing balance of power with the PRC and Pakistan before entering the 5 generation combat vehicles. One of such tactical fighter-attack aircraft was the well-known SEPECAT "Jaguar", which entered the fighter squadrons of the Indian Air Force immediately in 3-s modifications: "Jaguar IS" (single), "Jaguar IT" (double, "Sparka") and " Jaguar IM ”(anti-shipping). The armament control complex (KUV) of the “Jaguar IM” (“Indian Maritime”) modification received a hardware-software adaptation to the Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 110 km. The Indian Air Force urgently needed a Jaguar anti-ship variant to counter the rapidly developing surface components of the Chinese and Pakistan fleets.
At the moment, the Indian Air Force has at its disposal more than 130 operating Jaguar IS / IT / IM attack fighters, which are regularly upgraded through the DARIN-II / III programs, named after the DARIN aiming and navigation system. The latter was developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited specialists on the basis of the French INS Sagem ULISS 82. One of the stages of updating the Indian Jaguars avionics took place in 1996, when the anti-ship versions of Jaguar IM were equipped with modern at that time Israeli EL / M-2032 airborne radars with planar antenna arrays. From this point on, the 5 Squadron of the Indian Jaguars became a modern attack unit, which gained the ability to detect remote surface / hired targets at a distance of about 150 km (without using DRLO and anti-submarine aircraft), to carry out low-altitude flights in the following terrain mode and low-altitude flying over the water surface. Moreover, the option “opened long-range air combat” was possible thanks to the EL / M-2032's ability to detect air targets with EPR 3м2 at a distance of 75 - 80 km, but in 90-ies the Indian Air Force command inspired by the future supply of our fighters of air superiority gain Su-30K, did not rely on the anti-aircraft capabilities of the Jaguars, which is why the integration of medium-range anti-aircraft missiles into the “Jaguar IM” ammunition unit did not follow.
In addition to installing the multifunctional radar from Elta EL / M-2032, Jaguar IM was also adapted to the use of the container AN / AAQ-28 (V) "Lighting-ATP" optical-electronic complex, due to which the machines received new passive reconnaissance of the ground infrastructure of the enemy, as well as the possibility of laser targeting to numerous high-precision missile-bomb weapons weapons, for example, GBU-12 / 16 "Paveway II", Mk.13 / 18, etc. It is known that the modification of "IM", in accordance with the requirements of the air force of the Indian Air Force, received a decent reservation of the lower fuselage projection for protection from anti-aircraft artillery complexes and large-caliber machine guns of the enemy during flights with rounding of the terrain. Splinter durability of the cockpit canopy protects the pilot from 7,62-mm rifle and machine-guns. Indian functionality. But as it became clear even in the spring of 2017, the Indian HAL does not plan to stop there.
In particular, on June 7, 2017, with reference to the French portal "Defens'Aero", it became known that unofficial French-Indian negotiations were under way to sell 30 fuselages of SEPECAT "Jaguar" tactical fighters to the Indian side. The main purpose of their acquisition is the withdrawal of structural elements suitable for further operation to extend the service life of the Jaguars already in service, equipped with a DARIN-III PNS. What is hidden behind the contours of the glider of this "tactician" that the Indians want to keep the plane in the national air force for another 15 - 20 years?
The Jaguar GR.3 multipurpose strike fighter of the Royal Air Forces of the United Kingdom performs refueling in the air using a hose-cone system. One full refueling can increase the range of the car to almost 2700 km
First, it is an even more modern Israeli airborne radar with AFAR from Elta EL / M-2052, which they plan to install on most DARIN-III cars in the coming years. The station will open in front of fairly outdated supersonic attack aircraft unique tactical capabilities: target detection range with EPR within 1 - 3 and 2 will be on the order of 180 - 220 km with simultaneous tracking of air objects on the 64 aisle; large surface frigate / destroyer targets can be detected at a distance of 300 - 350 km. Active phased array, represented by 1500 transceiver modules with individually variable frequency and power, will allow working with maximum noise immunity when the enemy uses different types of interference (direction of the pattern may be “zeroed” in the source direction). Also, pilots of this Jaguar modification will be able to use the well-known broadband LPI radar mode of operation (with a low signal interception capability). It is worth noting here that it can only be effective against outdated irradiation warning stations of the SPO-15LM “Birch” type of indicator type, which are capable of bearing and classifying only a limited list of 6 radio-emitting sources in the range from 4400 to 10000 MHz; modern digitized open source software with the LPI regime is not so easy to fool.
As indicated in the advertising section of the official website of Israel Aerospace Industries (www.iai.co.il), thanks to the use of AFAR technology, the EL / M-2052 radar has a huge list of modes of operation critical for the 12th century wars. In particular, on par with modern airborne radar AN / APG-77 / 81 unobtrusive fighter F-22A and F-35A, the Israeli EL / M-2052 has such modes of operation as: SAR (synthetic aperture mode that allows you to map the terrain with a resolution order 2 - 3 m and the classification of ground objects), ISAR (inverse synthetic aperture mode, which allows to form a clear X-NUMXD radar image of the smallest surface objects due to carrier locking around the target being explored), GMTI (detection and tracking of moving ground targets), DBS (narrowing of the Doppler beam with increasing energy capabilities), meteorological reconnaissance, tracking mode for aerospace targets with high resolution, etc. We would not like to realize this, but in fact the EL / M-3 radar will be able to provide the Indian Jaguars of the DARIN-III version with a noticeable superiority over the Su-2052MK30 / IWC multi-purpose fighters in service with the Chinese Air Force. Cassegrain antenna Н2ВЭ / ВЭП.
In fairness, we note that the EL / M-2052 radar can raise the combat potential of the “Jaguar IS / IM” to the level of the highly accurate Su-34 bomber in attack operations, while the Israeli radar will enable the Jaguar to surpass our shock "Drying". We are absolutely not talking about the combat range and maximum combat load, in which the Su-34 with outboard fuel tanks is far ahead of any modification of the Jaguar, only the fact that the onboard radar with the passive HEADLIGHT X-NUMX Predator has where lower target detection range (fighter with 141 m1 EPR is detected at a distance of about 2 km, MBT - 100 - 35 km and destroyer-class ship - 45 km), noise immunity, and throughput (135 against 10 accompanied air targets in comparison Israeli EL / M-64). The accelerated update rates of the Indian “Jaguar IS / IT / IM” to the “DARIN-III” version can pose a significant threat to both the Pakistani air defense system and the fleet of multi-purpose JF-2052 Block I / II fighter jets that have not yet received the promising Chinese AFAR -radar KLJ-17A. There are many other advantages of the tactical fighter SEPECAT "Jaguar" in comparison with other machines of the same class.
After equipping the Jaguar Indian strike fighters of the DARIN-III modification with Israeli EL / M-2052 multi-function radars, the radial nose radome should noticeably increase in length and diameter, moreover, the machines will be able to use Israeli-made medium-range EADVDs of Israeli development, which have been in service with the Indian "Harrier"
Firstly, this is a high efficiency of the power plant, represented by two afterburner turbojet engines "Adour RT.172Mk.811" with a common thrust 7620 kgf. At the same time, the speed of the strike fighter can reach 1,45М at high altitude (taking into account the armament on the suspension nodes), which is comparable to the deck F-35C. With 4590 kilograms of fuel in the main and suspension tanks, as well as high-precision UAB / tactical missiles on 2's suspension points, the range of the Jaguar IS can reach 1320 km, which is much more than most famous attack aircraft and front-line bombers.
Secondly, the “Jaguar” strike fighter glider has a rather high structural strength, which allows high-speed maneuvers with overloads of the order of 9 - 9,5 units. (up to 12 units - for destruction): energy maneuvering is possible at speeds of 0,7 - 0,9М with weapons on the suspension. However, the small area of the outgoing wing (24 m2) and thrust-to-weight ratio in 0,7 kgf / kg does not allow the machine to realize a high angular speed of turn and maintain it for close air combat with modern fighters such as FC-1 or J-10A. Close air combat can only be realized thanks to the integration of ultra-maneuverable short-range URVV AIM-9X Block II and Israeli “Python 5”. A very interesting detail is the possibility of installing 2-x wing-point suspension points instead of aerodynamic ridges; they can be used to deploy guided melee missiles.
Thirdly, compact “Jaguars” with a length of 16,42 m and a wingspan of 8,69 m have a rather small area of the mid-section, and therefore their ESR does not exceed 2 m 2. In the case of airframe upgrades using radio-absorbing elements and coatings, the effective dispersion surface can be reduced to 0,8 - 1,2 м2, which will clearly correspond to the performance of the 4 + generation fighter. The radar signature can also be reduced. You can’t respond badly to the maximum combat load of the Jaguars, which comes to 4800 kg. For such a lightweight fighter, this is very good, considering that most of the equipment is a precision weapon. History Fighters of the Jaguar family began 54 a year ago with the formation by the French Air Force command of a tactical and technical assignment to develop a promising combat training aircraft (in the 1963 year); but despite this, the flights of the first prototypes of the Jaguar E / M / S modifications took place only in 1968 - 1971-m.
The baptism of the new tactical fighters took place 20 years later, during Operation Desert Storm. As you remember, the air operation began with a massive missile-bombing attack on strategically important Iraqi air defense facilities, where, in addition to Tomahawks, more than 400 tactical fighters were involved, representing the second “shock wave” of the OVS coalition led by the US Air Force. The EC11 squadron consisting of the 12 Jaguars played a significant role at this stage of the air operation. The vehicles struck a powerful bombing attack at the Ahmed al-Jabel base in the rounding mode of the terrain at an altitude of just 35 meters! Similar heights were used by the Falcons and the Needles by Hel Haavir during a pinpoint strike on the Iraqi Ozirak nuclear reactor. French cars came under heavy fire of anti-aircraft artillery complexes of the Iraqi Armed Forces, whose positions were at a distance of several hundred meters - a couple of kilometers from the Jaguars strike train. Most of the "tacticians" received serious damage, but despite this, she was able to suppress most of the Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery batteries in her area of responsibility, after which she returned to Al-Asa.
An important role here was played by a twin-engine power plant, located in the engine nacelles, partially "dressed" in a titanium screen. Even today, this increases the survivability of the Jaguars over hostile territories teeming with enemy anti-aircraft missiles and anti-aircraft missiles. These structural elements, in conjunction with the currently integrated Israeli EL / M-2052 radar, will allow hundreds of Indian Jaguar DARIN-IIIs to pose a direct threat to air defense units of China and Pakistan deployed within 800 - 1200 km from joint with India for a very long time boundaries.
Information sources:
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/jaguaris.html
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/jaguargr3.html
http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/jaguarim.html
http://forum.militaryparitet.com/viewtopic.php?id=17831
Information