Multi-role fighter
Specifications
Dimensions:
Wingspan, m: 8.40
Aircraft length, m 14.10
Aircraft height, m 4.50
Wing area, m2: 28.00
Crew (number of people): 1
Weapons: one 27 mm Mauser BK27 cannon
Combat load - 6500(8000) kg on 7 hardpoints
Weights and loads:
Empty aircraft, kg 6622
Normal take-off, kg 9700
Maximum take-off, kg 12974
Internal fuel, kg 2268
Flight data:
Maximum speed, km/h:
at an altitude of 2125 (M=2.0)
near the ground 1400
Ferry range, km 3500
Combat range, km:
at low altitude 300
on high altitude 800
Rate of climb, m/min 4700
Practical ceiling, m: 19000
Max. operational overload 9
Developer: SAAB
Serial produced since 1992
Engines: 1 TDD Volvo Aero RM-12 (1 x 54.00 kN), afterburner: 1 x 80.51 kN.
History of creation and design features:
The Swedish aviation industry, despite its relatively modest size (for example, in 1980, the number of people employed in the aerospace sector was about 12 thousand people), throughout the post-war period, surprisingly firmly maintained the direction of independent creation and production of combat aircraft (albeit with borrowing some foreign on-board systems).
The family features of Swedish fighters include maximum adaptability to Scandinavian conditions - high takeoff and landing characteristics, allowing the aircraft to be operated from short runways, frost resistance, simplicity Maintenance, allowing aircraft to be operated at field airfields by relatively low-skilled ground personnel.
However, the constant increase in the cost of development and production of military aircraft and difficulties in penetrating the global aviation market made the task of keeping small Sweden among the world leaders in military aircraft manufacturing increasingly difficult.
However, the Swedish aviation industry and the Ministry of Defense managed to organize work to create a new generation fighter. Thus, little Sweden turned out to be a more “independent” aviation power than its larger and richer neighbors.
If we want to understand the features of a particular aircraft, then the best thing that can be done for this is to study the history of its appearance, the conditions in which it was created, and the tasks that were pursued.
The Swedes made the Gripen primarily for the defense of their country, whose position is between NATO and Warsaw Pact always made me think of a hammer and anvil. Of course, Sweden's economic potential has been consistently high in recent decades, but a country with only nine million people could not afford to maintain too many combat aircraft, and besides various types. Therefore, Sweden, much earlier than other states, felt the need for a new generation multifunctional fighter capable of playing the roles of interceptor, reconnaissance and attack aircraft at a qualitatively new level. Flexibility, initially built into both the concept of each aircraft adopted for service and the combat training and organization of the Air Force as a whole, was declared the No. 1 means for achieving maximum efficiency in literally every combat mission. Without this, the very existence of the Swedish Air Force loses all meaning.
Another important means of hoping to effectively repel an attack was for the country to have a developed network of air bases and landing sites, on which, in case of emergency, it would be possible to disperse and effectively maneuver forces. Quite a few sections of highways are also intended for this purpose. The Swedes have long sought to develop a “breed” of aircraft with a low need for ground support facilities, and during the development of the Gripen, special attention was paid to this.
An equally important role in the formation of the family traits of Swedish combat aircraft was played by the universal military duty, on the basis of which the country’s army is recruited. Sweden can only pay professionals for truly important technical positions, so the majority of airfield personnel are low-skilled conscripts (a typical team consists of one officer and five enlisted men). In order to ensure the required level of combat readiness, the creators of Swedish aircraft, along with reducing the range of airfield equipment, had to pay great attention to simplifying maintenance, preparing for re-flight, increasing the time between failures of equipment elements, etc.
Of course, all these factors influenced the appearance of earlier Swedish aircraft, including the SAAB J-35 Draken and J-37 Viggen. But the technical level of the 50-60s. did not allow the creation of a fighter that fully meets the needs of the country's defense, and only in the 80s, due to the unprecedented progress of digital computer technology, such an opportunity has finally arrived. At the same time, in connection with the beginning of the process of reducing the country's military budget, along with flight performance characteristics, economic indicators military aircraft, and above all such as life cycle cost.
It must be said that since the takeoff of the Wright brothers' airplane, this parameter has been steadily increasing - the natural desire to improve flight performance resulted in an increase in take-off weight and an ever-increasing siphoning of money from the budget. Trying to reverse the fatal trend towards higher life cycle costs, the Swedes from the very beginning limited the take-off weight of the new fighter to 50% of the Viggen's mass (with the same combat load) and focused their efforts on radically reducing the labor intensity of maintenance.
Funding for the creation of a new fighter for the Swedish Air Force began in June 1980, on June 3, 1981, the tactical and technical requirements for the aircraft were approved, and on May 6, 1982, the Swedish government, with the approval of the country's parliament, decided to launch a full-scale program to create a fighter , designated JAS-39 (Jakt, Attack, Spaning - fighter, attack aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft). The name itself spoke of the multi-purpose purpose of the machine.
In accordance with Air Force requirements, the JAS-39 aircraft was to have a size and weight 50% less than the previous generation Wiggen fighter, with a total life cycle cost 60% less than the Wiggen with equal or more best combat characteristics. When creating the Gripen aircraft, considerable attention was paid to reducing preparation for a combat mission. In accordance with the customer's requirements, a team of one technical officer and five aircraft mechanic soldiers had to prepare the fighter for a combat mission in an anti-aircraft configuration within 10 minutes, and after the flight, refuel it and prepare it for striking ground targets in 20 minutes.
The Gripen aircraft, which has high takeoff and landing characteristics, was supposed to be optimized to the maximum extent for combat operations in Swedish conditions. Thus, in the area of the Satenas airbase, in the adjacent territory measuring 80x53 km, the JAS 39 fighter was supposed to be able to use more than 100 alternate runways, equipped for refueling and rearmament, which were straight sections of highways.
On June 30, 1982, the first contract was signed for the construction of five prototypes and 30 fighters of the first production batch. An order for another 110 vehicles of the second batch was reserved.
In January 1985, bench testing of the RM12 engine began, and in February 1987, in the air at the Wiggen flying laboratory, they began testing the head-up display (HUD) for the new aircraft. In July 1989, development of the JAS-39B two-seat combat trainer began.
The rollout of the first experimental fighter "39-1" took place on April 26, 1987, and on December 9, 1988, this aircraft took off for the first time. Flight tests of the aircraft did not last long - on February 2, 1989, it was crashed during landing due to a failure of the fly-by-wire control system (the pilot managed to escape).
The second prototype, aircraft "39-2", took off on May 4, 1990. December 20, 1990 and March 25, 1991 began flight tests aircraft "39-4" and "39-3", and on October 23, 1991, the last "Gripen" of the experimental series, the aircraft "39-5", took off. After 250 test flights (mainly to test avionics), the fifth prototype, renamed "39-51", was transferred for static tests. Later the glider "30-52" joined it.
On June 3, 1992, the first production Gripen JAS-39A took off - a fighter with serial number 39101, which was also included in the tests. All R&D under the program was completed at the end of 1996. By this time, the six aircraft involved in flight tests had completed more than 1,800 flights, having flown in total 2300 hours.
In 1995, during flight tests, the aircraft reached a maximum angle of attack of 28 degrees, and in 1996, the Gripen demonstrated the ability to fly at a speed corresponding to 1.08 M without the use of an afterburner.
The take-off and run of the aircraft was 500 m, and the run on the ice-covered surface was only 800 m. During the run, the aircraft's PGO acts as an air brake.
On May 4, 1993, flight tests of the JAS-39 39102 aircraft began (the second in the first production batch), intended for transfer to the Air Force (it took place on June 8 of the same year). However, on August 8, during a low-altitude demonstration flight over the center of the Swedish capital, one of the Gripen aircraft lost control (again as a result of a malfunction of the control system) and fell onto a small island within the city. Despite the low ejection altitude, the pilot managed to escape. After significant work on modeling the incident, carried out using ground-based stands, the need to improve the on-board computer software was identified. As a result, all JAS-39 aircraft flights were grounded.
In December 1994, the installation of new software of the P11 standard began on aircraft. Flight tests of the Gripen were resumed only on March 22, 1995.
The creation of a two-seat combat training version of the Gripen fighter - JAS-39B ("Gripen" Sk.) - proceeded with a significant lag behind the work on the single-seat aircraft. Compared to the JAS-39A, the “sparka” received a fuselage lengthened by 655 mm and an enlarged cockpit canopy. The combat training aircraft has retained the combat capabilities of the fighter; it has similar avionics and weapons. The power of the air conditioning system and the capacity of the oxygen system have been increased. The formation of the second cabin entailed a significant reduction in the capacity of the fuel tanks, as well as the abandonment of cannon armament.
The assembly of the first prototype JAS-39B (39800) was completed by September 1, 1994, and its first flight took place on April 29, 1996. On November 22 of the same year, the first production twin took off for the first time.
Deliveries of the first series of JAS-39 fighters were completed on December 13, 1996. On the same day, the Swedish parliament approved the purchase of the third production batch - 50 JAS-39A and 14 JAS-39B aircraft with delivery in 2003-2005, and six days later it rose to air is the first of the second batch of aircraft (96 JAS-39A and 14 JAS-39B), the delivery of which should continue until 2002.
In accordance with the initial plans of the Swedish Air Force, it was planned to purchase 280-300 Gripen aircraft, which were to enter service with 16 squadrons armed with J-35 Draken interceptors, as well as JA-37 and AJS-37 Viggen fighter-bombers. . However, in December 1996, it was decided to limit purchases to 204 fighters. By mid-2000, more than 90 JAS-39 fighters had been transferred to the Swedish Air Force and entered the F7 air wing. The first squadron of these aircraft, located at Satenas Air Base, reached a state of combat readiness at the end of 1997. The second squadron became combat ready by December 1998.
The Gripens are assembled at the SAAB aviation plant in the small town of Linköping, located in central Sweden. Although the enterprise is capable of producing up to 30 fighter aircraft annually, the average annual rate is 17 aircraft.
Having set the goal of creating a truly multifunctional combat aircraft, the Gripen developers chose to improve on-board information processing technologies as the main focus of their attack. The decisive point here is the interaction between the pilot and the aircraft, and the main difficulty is organizing the information flow in such a way that it is not excessive, but at the same time is complete enough to inspire confidence. From the very beginning of the program, great importance was attached to this, much more than improving flight performance. "The key to victory in real battle lies in victory in the information war,” says PC Andersson, commander of the first air wing equipped with Gripens.
While working on these issues, the creators of the Gripen sought to reduce the workload on the pilot, especially in combat, in order to give him more time to make tactical decisions. Piloting was automated as much as possible, a lot of attention was paid to the rational placement of radar and weapons controls in the cockpit, and the concept of piloting without taking your hands off the throttles and control gears was implemented. The fly-by-wire digital triple-redundant aircraft control system must prevent reaching supercritical flight modes provoked by erroneous human actions, in order to give him the opportunity to fully indulge in the excitement of air combat.
The interaction between man and aircraft is no less intense when modern methods attacks on land and sea targets. For example, the guidance system of the Swedish RBS-15 anti-ship missile requires approximately 1,500 different installations before launch, depending on the nature of the target and the circumstances of the attack. Naturally, the pilot simply does not have time to do them all manually. Instead, the Gripen pilot sets the base type of target (four options), the expected level of radio countermeasures (one of three) and designates his place in the formation. Combining these inputs with current information from the database, the Gripen's weapon control system provides the missile heads with optimal settings, not only for each individual aircraft, but for the entire formation as a whole.
However, all this is, to one degree or another, typical for any modern fighter, as is the integration of avionics using data exchange buses in the MIL-STD-1553B standard. But it is in information terms that JAS-39 has significant differences from its competitors. First of all, it is equipped with a system for exchanging data on the tactical situation, which in real time connects it with AWACS aircraft, other fighters from its group, and various ground and sea subscribers (as well as the MiG-31). The Swedes are convinced that the ability of an aircraft to receive information from many sources at once, quickly process it and present it to the pilot in a form that is easy to understand is the key to multiplying forces. In any case, they consider information support in battle to be no less important than fire support. It is stated that the presence new system will allow each pilot at any time to clearly understand his place in the overall battle order, the location of targets and their characteristics, the distribution of threats, etc.
The Gripen tactical data exchange system is closely linked to the flight mission planning system, which is based on the on-board database. The latter is automatically updated during the flight by polling various sources of information. For example, the pilot of a Gripen still on the runway before takeoff can contact aircraft databases in the air to get the latest information. The same system, after receiving a corresponding order in flight, can reschedule the entire flight mission, including “linking” ground targets into the navigation coordinate system, navigation crew, etc. (sounds fantastic, but that's what they say).
In one of Vysotsky’s songs there is a wonderful clause: “If it’s true, well, at least by a third...”. So, if this is true, then the Swedes have taken probably the most significant step towards increasing the combat effectiveness of a fighter aircraft over the past 20 years. However, let’s not rush to conclusions, because in aviation, positive aspects always coexist with negative ones.
If the power of "Gripen" directly depends on the exchange of information with the external environment, then only a person who does not know life would think that there are no smart people who want to interfere with this process. And although in its press releases SAAB diligently emphasizes that the Gripen was created taking into account the use in conditions of large-scale electronic warfare, in a serious conflict it is hardly possible to count on a full exchange of information. Errors in data transmission under such conditions are inevitable, and their consequences are unpredictable. What if the enemy turns out to be a little smarter? If he reveals the secret of the codes and instead of crude noise interference uses a subtly fabricated false information, for example, other target coordinates? Then the main advantage of the Gripen will turn into its main disadvantage.
Other important feature This aircraft is equipped with an on-board control system that can significantly speed up its preparation for re-flight, which has always been one of the key requirements of the Swedish Air Force. During pre-flight preparation, the system, through sequential polling, determines the status of other aircraft systems and, on one of the multifunctional displays in the cockpit, indicates exactly what procedures need to be performed. Such information can also be provided to a regular laptop computer such as a notebook, connected to the on-board connector. As a result, a team of one technician-officer and five soldiers can return the Gripen to the air for a fighter mission within 10 minutes after landing, and for a strike mission within 20 minutes. Moreover, as stated, all this can be done at a remote site with a minimum of ground equipment, and the source of electricity is the fighter’s own APU. The Volvo Flygmotor RM12 aircraft engine (Swedish version of the General Electric F404) has a similar built-in control system. Thanks to this circumstance, as well as the modular design, it can be serviced according to condition and replaced in the field in just 1 hour.
SAAB representatives say that the presence of control systems allows the Gripen to perform 25-50% more sorties in the same period of time than, for example, the F-16 or F/A-18. However, what happens if the systems fail? In this case, will the technical staff have any idea what needs to be done? Will it be possible, for example, to refuel a plane? Is it possible to express any opinion at all about his condition? After all, nothing is said anywhere about the presence of duplicate (non-electronic) means of control. So it turns out that a failure in the operation of such an essentially secondary system as the control system can lead to the complete loss of the Gripen’s combat effectiveness.
The main purpose of the Gripen aircraft is to combat air targets, strike ground and sea targets, as well as aerial reconnaissance. When solving air defense tasks, a fighter armed with AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range missiles will act on commands automated system control and guidance - a kind of "military Internet", testing of which will begin in 2003, and full deployment will be carried out after 2010.
According to Swedish experts, the JAS-39 aircraft can be classified as the fifth generation of fighters. He has high level integration of avionics (surpassing foreign ones in this indicator serial cars fourth generation). During flight tests, the Gripen demonstrated the ability to perform supersonic (1.08 Mach) flight without the use of an afterburner (however, in comparison with aircraft such as the F-22A or MFI, supersonic cruising mode is only possible without external suspensions).
In accordance with existing plans The Gripen aircraft must undergo a series of successive upgrades. In the early 2000s. it will be adapted to interact with promising ground and airborne information systems - the S102B electronic reconnaissance system and the S100B airborne early warning system.
An important advantage of the aircraft is its relatively low radar signature, due to the small size of the airframe. It is estimated that the minimum EPR of a fighter in the directional plane is currently less than 2 sq.m., which is lower than that of most other fourth-generation fighters. Nevertheless, work is underway to further reduce the radar signature of the fighter.
Research on the use of radar-absorbing materials on aircraft began in Sweden in the first half of the 1980s. Currently, efforts are concentrated on reducing the EPR of the Gripen in the area of the air intakes, the cockpit canopy, and also the section of the airframe under the radio-transparent fairing directly behind the radar antenna. The search for new ways to reduce radar signature continues, but according to senior representatives of the aviation industry, this may require significant changes to the airframe design, in particular the formation of internal cargo compartments, which will cause an increase in the weight and cost of the aircraft.
Increased secrecy can also be facilitated by the installation on the Wiggen fighter of a new ultra-wideband radar with the Karabas synthesized equipment, which is being researched by the Swedish company Ericsson - the signals of this station are more difficult to detect by enemy electronic reconnaissance means.
Despite the inclusion of the JAS-39 fighter in advanced automated information systems, it fully retains the ability to operate autonomously against air targets. Information exchange equipment was also created for the aircraft in a group of four fighters.
The third production batch of Gripen aircraft (64 aircraft) should receive improved information support. The fighters of this batch, which are planned to be delivered to the Air Force in 2003 - 2007, will have reduced radar signature, a GPS receiver, a digital flight mission control system, as well as improved weapons. It is possible that the aircraft of the third batch will be given a new designation - JAS-39C (single-seat fighter) and JAS-39D (UBS) "Turbo Gripen", emphasizing their qualitative difference from their predecessors.
For the Gripen aircraft, Ericsson SAAB Avionics is creating a built-in active electronic jamming system, which is planned to be installed on fighters of the third production batch, as well as on aircraft of earlier production during their planned modernization. Plans for further improvement of the Gripen include changes to the airframe design to increase take-off and landing weight, as well as fuel capacity in the internal tanks.
An important area of aircraft modernization (targeted both at the Swedish Air Force and export supplies) is to equip it with new, larger color multifunction displays. Installation of three such indicators with a screen size of 8x6 inches (600x800 color pixels) in the cockpit will make the Gripen aircraft one of the world leaders among fighter aircraft in terms of the total area of cockpit displays.
In August 1995, a new processor was tested in flight to control the operation of cockpit displays, providing the ability to present color information (similar processors began to be installed on second-series aircraft that also had monochrome cathode-ray displays). Flight testing of new color liquid crystal displays, created by Ericsson SAAB Electronics, began in 1999, and their implementation on aircraft should begin in 2001 on the second production batch of Gripens.
Another important innovation, which is planned to be introduced on the JAS-39 fighter of the third series, should be a helmet-mounted sight-indicator, which will provide targeting by turning the pilot’s head of a promising super-maneuverable close-in air combat missile being developed as part of international program IRST-T. The display of flight and targeting information on the helmet visor will make it possible to abandon the use of a traditional head-up display (HUD), replacing it with a simple small-sized optical sight that only provides firing from an on-board cannon.
The aircraft should also receive a new Ericsson processor for the digital engine control system.
In 1995, SAAB and the English BAE signed an agreement on joint marketing of Gripen. Thus, SAAB gained access to the world market, using BAE connections. In the future, SAAB intends to become an active participant in international project along with Aerospatial (France), DASA (Germany) and CASA (Spain) on the creation of European air defense and work on space issues.
The export version of the JAS-39C/D aircraft was the JAS-39X fighter, created with the participation of the English company BAE and having a number of differences in equipment. In particular, it is equipped with a retractable in-flight refueling boom, an on-board oxygen generator, NATO-standard weapons pylons, as well as cockpit instrumentation adapted for use in conjunction with night vision goggles.
The first country to decide to purchase Gripens was the Republic of South Africa (RSA), which in 1999 entered into a contract for the purchase of 28 aircraft to replace the Mirage F.1 fighters. According to SAAB executives, negotiations are underway with other potential buyers. In particular, at the beginning of June 1997, the Gripen was flown by two Hungarian pilots, and in August 2000, a high-ranking delegation visited the company Polish Air Force, the purpose of which was to become more familiar with the Gripen.
Other possible buyers of the Swedish aircraft were Hungary, Austria (where the JAS-39 competes with our MiG-29), Chile, Brazil, the Philippines and some other countries.
According to experts from SAAB and BAE, export deliveries of the Gripen aircraft in the next 20 years could reach 250 units. However, the Swedes themselves speak very cautiously about the prospects for exporting their fighter. In their opinion, the Americans are not inclined to let SAAB into Eastern Europe and to other markets where the highly efficient and relatively cheap JAS-39 can compete.
The export capabilities of the JAS-39 can be expanded by equipping the aircraft with foreign-made engines. In particular, options for installing a SNECMA M88-3 turbofan (designed for the Rafale aircraft), a Eurojet EJ200 (EF2000) or a General Electric F414 (F/A-18E/F) turbofan engine on the Gripen were considered.
The further “strategy” for the development of the Gripen aircraft provides for the concentration of efforts of its creators in three main areas - the power plant, on-board Information Systems and weapons.
The possibility of equipping the fighter with an engine with a thrust vector control system (TCV) is being considered, although this program is not a particular priority. At the same time, Swedish specialists are using the experience of creating a UHT system gained during the implementation of the American-German X-31 program (the Swedish side was allowed to access German materials under this program in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement on scientific and technical exchange).
According to the Swedes, the UVT system can serve not only to improve maneuverability in close air combat (CAC), but also to create a “more intelligent” aircraft. Thrust vectoring should simplify the aircraft's aerodynamic controls, increase fuel efficiency, achieve higher supersonic cruising speeds, lighten the airframe's weight and reduce drag. The press also reported that a variant of the Gripen was being developed without a vertical tail (which was also ensured by the use of UVT), but SAAB refused to confirm this information.
From a conversation with one of the SAAB test pilots, it became known that the company’s simulating stand is already carrying out “flights” on the “Gripen” with the UVT system at angles of attack “significantly exceeding 30 degrees” (currently the system automated control the aircraft is programmed to limit angle attack equal to 26 gr.).
SAAB Dynamics is working to create an IR optical-location system for the Gripen fighter. Its prototype is already undergoing flight tests on the Wiggen aircraft (the station is installed in the forward part of the fuselage, in front of the pilot's canopy).
The development of a new airborne radar AESA is being funded, which should replace the Ericsson PS-05/A multifunctional pulse-Doppler radar currently installed on Gripen aircraft. The prototype of the new station is already undergoing bench ground tests, and flight tests of the radar prototype should begin in 2002. It is assumed that the AESA station will be installed on Gripen fighters during their planned modernization after 2010. At the same time, the aircraft should receive a new missile of the class medium-range air-to-air. Its development is carried out by SAAB Dynamics as part of the European Meteor program. The promising missile launcher, equipped with a ramjet engine and an active radar homing head, should be superior in combat performance to the Raytheon AMRAAM missile, which is currently equipped with Gripen aircraft.
The Swedish Air Force is showing interest in stealth tactical cruise missile KEPD 350 "Taurus", jointly developed by Bofors and Daimler-Benz Aerospace for the German Air Force. Although the Taurus missile launcher (maximum launch range 350 km) in its original version is somewhat too large for the miniature Gripen, the possibility of creating a smaller version of this missile is being considered.
The Swedes call the Gripen the world's first fourth-generation fighter to enter service. This needs to be explained. The fact is that they classify aircraft such as the MiG-29, F-16 and Mirage-2000-5 as the third generation, justifying this point of view by the fact that the on-board systems of these aircraft, although controlled by computers, are not connected into a single complex. The fourth generation is a complete symbiosis of the airframe, engine and all on-board equipment based on digital technology and standard data exchange buses. In practice, this means that all aircraft sensors (radar, infrared and television stations, channels for exchanging data on the tactical situation), controls and surfaces, weapons elements, displays, etc. - all this can serve as both a source and a consumer of information coming from other systems, and theoretically in an infinite number of combinations. In addition to the Gripen, the Scandinavians include the F-22, Eurofighter and Rafale in this generation.
"Gripen" is a source of well-deserved pride for the Swedes. The technologies created during the development of this aircraft gave the Swedish industry an additional impetus, allowing it to advance in other areas of aircraft construction. In particular, based on Gripen’s developments, SAAB began creating a complex of unmanned combat and reconnaissance aircraft.
However, SAAB is realistic about its capabilities. The company's management understands that it is unlikely that it will be possible to create a “purely Swedish” aircraft of the new generation, which should replace the Gripen: little Sweden simply does not have enough money for it. The solution is seen in the internationalization of promising programs. Today SAAB's partner is English company BAE, which owns a substantial stake in the Swedish company. Therefore, the Swedes are making their plans, first of all, taking into account the prospect of cooperation with the British. However, England has long been no longer a “first-class” aviation power, increasingly focusing on the United States.
From the point of view of mass-dimensional characteristics, this is very small modern concepts aircraft, but with a large combat load. The Gripen also differs from all other fighters developed in the past decade in its single-engine design. This circumstance, due to the potentially lower combat survivability, has always been the subject of criticism from competitors and has been interpreted as a legacy of the past. But today, after the appearance of the JSF was unveiled (Also in the USSR in 1991, the Sukhoi Design Bureau presented a project for a multifunctional light fighter, characterized by its small size, high thrust-to-weight ratio, flight data and a large number of suspension units (10 knots), but which of the country’s leaders was it then it is necessary.) this feature of the “Gripen” can well be considered a harbinger of the future.
The same can be said about other elements of the Gripen concept, which in general is quite clearly focused on achieving maximum combat effectiveness with a minimum of material costs. This is, most likely, the secret of the attention to it on the part of states that are not rich in themselves, and even lack the direct support of a “big brother” like the USA or Russia, but still care about their security.
Aircraft design.
The Gripen fighter is made according to the canard aerodynamic design with a mid-mounted delta wing, a swept-back all-moving front horizontal tail and a single-fin vertical tail. The fighter is aerodynamically unstable in most flight modes; a digital emulsion control system is used to control it.
The middle location of the wing cannot be considered optimal for layout reasons (it requires the use of powerful ring frames in the airframe design), however, the chosen layout provides less radar and visual signature when the fighter is sighted from the side.
The weight of the aircraft's airframe is made of aluminum alloys, titanium alloys account for 5% and other metal structural materials. Composites were used.
The multi-spar wing has an aspect ratio of about 2.1. There is a vortex-generating ledge on its leading edge. Mechanization includes two-section slats, occupying more than 2/3 of the span. Almost the entire trailing edge of the wing is occupied by two-section elevons, the inner sections of which are made to hover.
The fuselage of the aircraft is made as a semi-monocoque. In its nose there is a radio-transparent radome of the radar antenna, to which the PVD rod is attached. Two flat plates installed at the base of the rod serve to generate vortices (this solution was borrowed from the Russian MiG-23MDD and MiG-29 fighters). On the sides of the rear fuselage, directly in front of the nozzle, there are brake flaps used in flight.
PGO with a sweep angle of 43 degrees, having a small positive V, is installed on the sides of the air intake. It provides longitudinal control of the aircraft at low speeds and during maneuverable air combat. When landing, the PGO turns with its leading edge down, playing the role of an air brake and reducing mileage.
The aircraft landing gear, supplied by Precision Hydraulics, is tricycle, designed for landing at high vertical speed. The main supports are retracted into the fuselage by turning forward, the front support by turning back, with the wheel turned 90 degrees. The front support is two-wheeled, the main ones are single-wheeled. All wheels (supplied by Goodyear) are braked, with carbon disc brakes controlled by automatic braking. The aircraft is intended for operation only from airfields that have a durable surface, so the wheel sizes are relatively small.
Powerplant - the aircraft is equipped with one General Electric/Volvo Flygmotor RM12 turbofan engine (1x5500/8210 kgf), created on the basis of the American General Electric F404-GE-400 engine. Compared with the original engine, it has 5% higher consumption air and 37 gr. higher gas temperature in front of the turbine. Dry engine weight 1050 kg. There is a TGA15 Microturbo APU and a DA15 air starter. Air inlets are lateral unregulated, with boundary layer cut-offs.
The fuel is stored in integral protected fuselage and wing fuel tanks. The fuel control system provides control of the aircraft's alignment. JAS-39 can carry three external fuel tanks with a capacity of 500 or 1000 liters.
General aircraft systems - fighters of the first series are equipped with a digital three-channel EMDS from Lear Astronics, and fighters of the second series are equipped with EMDS from Lockheed-Martin SA11. The system provides damping of aircraft motion, mitigation of wind gusts, stabilization of angular position, altitude and speed, prevents stalling, automatically limits overload when performing vigorous maneuvering, and angular velocity yaw taking into account external suspensions, angles of attack and slip.
There is a redundant built-in analog control system. There is no redundant mechanical wiring. There are two main hydraulic systems from Doughty Rotol with Abex hydraulic pumps, as well as one backup hydraulic system installed on board.
The main power supply system includes a Sunstrand generator, and the backup system includes a low-power generator driven by an APU.
The cockpit is equipped with a Martin-Baker S10LS ejection seat, which provides the ability to exit the aircraft at zero speed at zero altitude. The CC ensures safe exit from the aircraft - 1. Up to a speed of 1150 km/h or 1.8 Mach 2. Up to an altitude of 16 km 3. At zero altitude and zero speed 4. Up to an altitude of 100 m during a flight on the “back” 5. Up to an altitude of 700 m. during a vertical dive 6. During a maneuverable flight with overload from +6 units, to -3 units.
The JAS-39B two-seater aircraft is equipped with a rescue system that provides automatic ejection of the pilot first from the rear cabin, then from the front one. To protect the front pilot from the effects of gases during ejection from the rear cabin, an air tank is automatically inflated between the cabins.
Target equipment - the aircraft is equipped with a multifunctional pulse-Doppler radar Ericsson/GES-Ferranti PS-05/A with a flat waveguide-slot antenna array. The station has a liquid-cooled traveling wave tube (TWV) transmitter. The weight of the radar is 156 kg. When developing the radar, the technology of the English GEC-Ferranti Blue Vixn radar was used. The station is capable of simultaneously tracking several air targets.
The Ericsson SDS 80 on-board computer system includes 40 microprocessors and three data buses compliant with the MIL-STD-1553 standard. CPU— D80 (language — Pascal/D80). In the future, it is planned to install the improved D80E processor, which has been undergoing testing since 1994.
Communication equipment includes two Celsius Teach transceiver radio stations operating in the VHF/UHF range. In the future, in the process of planned modernization, the TASR tactical communication system equipment should be installed on the aircraft, ensuring interaction with external information complexes, as well as the interchange of information between four aircraft in a single combat formation.
The navigation complex includes an INS on laser gyroscopes (Honeywell company), as well as a radio altimeter. The air data processor is from Nordmicro. The fighter cockpit is equipped with a display system that includes a wide-angle (28x22 deg.) HUD with Kaiser diffraction optics, which provides display of aiming symbols and video images, as well as three monochrome multifunctional screen indicators on an Ericsson EP-17 CRT (5x6 inches).
The central display, which serves as an indicator of the tactical situation, can display an image of a digital map of the area. The operating modes of the displays can be controlled either using push-button switches on the periphery of the screens or via a cursor controlled by rotating and bending the throttle (a very successful solution that allows you to “fight” without taking your hands off the controls). Later aircraft will have three 8x6 inch LCD color displays. The indicators are made in Sweden, but American liquid crystal matrices are used in their design.
Flight, navigation and tactical information is displayed on the screens, as well as a “picture” from the radar (the latter is displayed in two planes: in the upper part of the display in a separate “window” a “slice” of information is given in the vertical plane, and in the lower part - in the horizontal plane).
The digital map embedded in the modernized Gripen is not particularly detailed - there is no information about the terrain and vegetation cover (domestic digital maps demonstrated at MAKS-99 looked much more impressive). However, this is obviously enough to solve the problems of combating air targets, although perhaps not enough for operations on the ground.
The pilot pilots the aircraft using a low-speed central stick (the abandonment of the side stick is due to the requirements of combat survivability, as well as the desire of the designers to preserve the right side panel of the cockpit for placing instruments and switches).
Electronic warfare equipment includes a radar warning system, active and passive jamming containers, and a towed decoy. Under the right air intake, it is possible to hang a container with thermal imaging equipment, which is used for target search and aiming at night (video information is displayed on the HUD).
Armament - The JAS-39A aircraft is equipped with a built-in Mauser VK27 cannon (caliber 27 mm), installed in the lower part of the fuselage on the right. There are seven external suspension units.
The launchers mounted on the wingtips carry two short-range air-to-air missiles with the Rb.74 TGS (licensed American AIM-9L Sidewinder missile).
Four underwing and one ventral node can carry medium-range air-to-air missiles Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM or Matra MICA, as well as Rb.74 missiles, up to four air-to-surface missiles Rb.75 (licensed American AGM missile -65 "Maiverick"), two powerful anti-ship missiles SAAB RBS-15F with a range of more than 100 km or gliding disposable bomb clusters DASA DWS 39 (weight 600 kg, range 10 km), free-fall bombs, NAR, PTB.
The JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter from SAAB, according to Swedish experts, belongs to the fifth generation. The main features of the vehicle are its small dimensions, which was initially required by the military, modern system weapons control and canard aerodynamic design. By the way, the front horizontal tail, in comparison with the tail of the classic “duck,” is used for control in the pitch channel only at low, subsonic flight speeds, and after landing, deflecting the leading edge down, it plays the role of an air brake. The complexity of the control system of the new machine led to the transition from the simplest with mechanical wiring to fly-by-wire.
A special feature of the vehicle is also its excellent take-off and landing characteristics, allowing it to be operated from poorly prepared airfields and highways (the required runway length is 700 m), equipped in case of hostilities with equipment for preparing for a second flight (in particular, refueling and equipping with weapons).
The Gripen's arsenal includes a built-in 27-mm Mauser VK27 cannon. On seven external nodes, the suspension of air-to-air missiles RB 74 (licensed AIM-9L Sidewinder missile) and AIM-120 AMRAAM (maximum launch range of the AIM-120V variant is 50-70 km) or MICA is allowed ) by the Matra company (firing range up to 60 km). In addition, air-to-surface missiles RB 75 (licensed AGM-65 Maverick) and anti-ship RBS-15F from SAAB with a launch range of over 100 km are used, as well as gliding disposable bomb clusters DWS 39 from DASA, free-fall bombs and unguided rockets.
Since the aircraft is multifunctional, after hanging containers with reconnaissance equipment, it turns into a full-fledged reconnaissance aircraft.
As for the weapons control system, its basis is PJIC PS-OS/A from Ericsson Microwave. Multifunctional radar with a transmitter that provides flexible operating modes with low, medium and high pulse repetition rates of the master oscillator (allows adjustment of the operating frequency over a wide range), a monopulse antenna with a multi-channel receiver, a high-performance processor for information processing, high noise immunity and a built-in control system allows the use various weapons against ground, sea, and air targets.
According to published data, the radar is capable of detecting air targets at a distance of 160 km. Considering that the dimensions of the Gripen are small, this gives the vehicle undeniable advantages, since the enemy will be able to detect the Swedish fighter much later. So the Gripen with AIM-120 missiles can successfully counter the MiG-29M in long-range air combat.
Having set the goal of creating a truly multifunctional combat aircraft, the Gripen developers chose to improve on-board information processing technologies as the direction of the “main strike.” The decisive point here is the interaction between the pilot and the aircraft, and the main difficulty is organizing the information flow in such a way that it is not excessive, but at the same time is complete enough to inspire confidence. From the very beginning of the program, great importance was attached to this, much more than improving flight performance.
While working on these issues, the aircraft's creators sought to reduce the workload on the pilot, especially in combat, to give him more time to make tactical decisions. Piloting was automated as much as possible, a lot of attention was paid to the rational placement of radar and weapons controls in the cockpit, and the concept of piloting without taking your hands off the throttles and control gears was implemented. The fly-by-wire digital triple-redundant aircraft control system must prevent reaching supercritical flight conditions.
The prototype made its first flight in December 1988. 12 years have passed since then. The vehicle and its weapons are constantly being improved. Thus, in September 2010, it was reported that the Swedish Army Materiel Agency (FMV) had signed a contract with the British Ministry of Defense for the supply of advanced Meteor air-to-air missiles with ramjet jet engines with adjustable thrust. It is reported that the rocket will be able to fly at a speed corresponding to the number M=4, over a distance of over 100 km.
In addition to the Gripen, the Meteor is planned to be included in the armament of the Typhoon and Rafal fighters.
In October 2010, there was a message about the next test launches of Meteor missiles from the Gripen fighter. It also said that the missile launches were successful and they would replenish the weapons range of Swedish fighters by the end of 2013.
The main weapon of the Gripen multirole fighter is the adequacy of its creators. The art of cutting off obviously impossible demands by focusing on real problems and possibilities.
According to generally accepted theory, the 4th generation of fighter aircraft should be followed by a “fifth” with a prescribed set of certain qualities. Stealth. Cruising supersonic. New type avionics. While maintaining the high maneuverability characteristic of generation 4.
The only possible layout for such an aircraft was recognized as the Raptor layout with a trapezoidal wing and a two-fin V-shaped tail. Everything else is an interpretation of this scheme. One solution that gives two correct answers:
1. meeting the requirements of the “stealth” technology due to the parallelism of the edges of the trapezoidal wing and the reduction of the ESR in the lateral projection due to the camber of the fins;
2. maintaining high maneuverability due to four-vortex aerodynamics. The primary vortices formed by the wing swells interact with the V-shaped fins, which allows you to maintain control at any angle of attack.
For the first time, this idea, taken as the basis for the creation of the 5th generation, was implemented on the F/A-18 Hornet fighter.
This is what a fifth generation fighter should look like. But SAAB designers have own opinion on this issue. According to the Swedes, the established set of characteristics for the “fifth generation”, as well as its technical features, are just ways to achieve the goal. What is it the main task modern fighter? Survive above the battlefield!
Hiding in the hope of remaining unnoticed by the enemy, according to the Swedes, is not the most effective option. When creating the Gripen E fighter, the complex parameter “survivability” was put at the forefront, combining the pilot’s situational awareness with the ability to counter various threats.
Be the first to spot danger. Avoid the ambush. Use the traps you shoot in time. Confuse the enemy. “Suppress” missile homing heads with active interference. Ideally, use a weapon from a maximum distance, without the need to get closer to the target.
The bold theory is based on innovations in the European military industry. The Swedish Air Force was the first to adopt URVV long range MBDA Meteor. Thanks to the use of a sustainer ramjet, Meteor is 3-6 times more energetic than other air-to-air missiles. At the same time, unlike the French Rafales, the Swedish Gripens use a more advanced modification of Meteor with a two-way data exchange channel.
Melee weapon - IRIS-T missile. The high sensitivity of the seeker and the ability to perform maneuvers with 60-fold overload allows for the interception of small targets, incl. missiles and anti-aircraft missiles launched by the enemy.
The new modification “Gripen E” (or “Gripen NG”), according to the developers, provides situational awareness at the level of 5th generation fighters through the use of key components:
ES-05 RAVAN radar with AFAR, providing the pilot with a larger viewing angle;
- all-angle electro-optical detection system Skyward-G, operating in the thermal range. European analogue of the AN/AAQ-37 system installed on F-35 fighters;
- a network-centric data exchange system that allows Gripen pilots to monitor the status of other aircraft in their battle group (weapon status, fuel quantity, warning of detected threats, distribution of targets in battle).
And:
- all-aspect radiation warning and active jamming (EW) system;
- fuel reserve increased by 40%;
- 10 points for hanging weapons and hanging containers with reconnaissance and sighting equipment.
All this allows the Gripen E to fully justify its JAS designation (fighter-strike-reconnaissance aircraft).
According to the Swedes, the new Gripen modification is capable of creating significantly greater problems for the enemy than fourth-generation multirole fighters. Which means they - new round in the evolution of fighter aircraft.
The first is the concept of “survivability.”
Second, combat aircraft must take to the skies regularly, allowing pilots to hone their skills and prowess. Here, the JAS-39E continues the traditions of the Gripen family, which has gained a reputation as the easiest and cheapest to operate among fourth-generation fighters.
According to the 2012 Janes guide, the JAS-39C cost $4,700 per hour to fly, half that of its closest competitor, the single-engine F-16.
Among other records of the little “Gripen”: over thirty years of operation, it killed one person. The Swedish fighter has the lowest accident rate among its peers.
Now let's talk about its shortcomings.
The Swedes were unable to create their own engine. The Volvo RM-12 is a licensed copy of the General Electric F404, created for the F/A-18 Hornet fighter and the F-117 bomber.
“Gripen E” also uses an American-made F414 engine, modified GE-39-E. Despite the similar designation, the F414 is considered a new development based on the YF-120 engine, created for the fifth-generation fighter YF-23 (rival of the YF-22 Raptor).
Compared to its predecessor (F404), the pressure ratio in the F414 compressor has been increased from 25 to 30, and the engine thrust has increased by 30%. In general, experts respect the F404/F414 family, emphasizing their fairly high performance and design excellence. The latter develops a thrust of about 6 tons in non-afterburning mode (all 10 tons in afterburner), with the engine's own weight being about 1 ton. A quarter of a century ago, no one had such indicators. And in terms of the ratio of specific thrust to air consumption, it is still an absolute world record holder (air consumption in afterburner is 77 kg/s).
Obviously, the Swedes do not see a problem in using American power plants. They are not threatened with sanctions or embargoes. Otherwise, these are the best engines for combat aircraft on the world market.
In my opinion, the only one real problem is the low thrust-to-weight ratio of the Gripen. In the single-engine configuration itself there is no problem if there is a sufficiently powerful and high-torque engine.
Unfortunately for the Swedes, the F404/F414 is not powerful enough to work alone. It is no coincidence that the multi-purpose carrier-based Hornet/Super Hornet, considered lung fighters class, have a twin-engine layout.
In the fighter-interceptor version, with a combat weight of 9-10 tons (corresponding to 40% remaining fuel and 4-6 anti-aircraft missiles), the Swedish “Gripen” has a thrust-to-weight ratio of less than 0.9. Doesn't even save low mass the aircraft itself (three tons lighter than the F-16), because The single-engine “Falcon” is equipped with engines of a different order (its F100 produces 13 tons in afterburner with a dry weight of 1.7 tons).
NEW GENERATION FIGHTER JAS 39 GRIPEN E (SWEDEN)
FIGHTER OF NEW GENERATION JAS 39 GRIPEN E (SWEDEN)
22.03.2017
According to the Swiss resource psk.blog.24heures.ch, the Swedish company Saab AB is ready to fly the first copy of a new modification of its JAS-39E Gripen NG fighter in the second quarter of this year. The pre-production aircraft belongs to the 39-8 standard, while it continues ground tests. Saab confirms its intention to begin serial deliveries of the new aircraft in 2019.
Ground tests (taxiing) of the Gripen JAS-39E fighter (tail number 39-8), rolled out at the Saab AB plant in Linköping on May 18, 2016, began there in December 2016. Saab is testing the software before its first flight. Aircraft 39-8 is on final stage ground tests. The second flight prototype of the Gripen E (tail number 39-09), which is designed to test weapons systems, has arrived at the final assembly shop. The third flight prototype of the Gripen E (tail number 39-10), which should become a production vehicle in 2018, is still in the early stages of assembly.
According to Saab, the Gripen JAS-39E modification uses application architecture and is a successful experience. This approach allows changes to the software to be made very quickly short time. In previous modifications of the fighter, this work could take weeks or even months. The aircraft operator can quickly make changes to the aircraft's software code, and, unlike the F-35, he will have the ability to control applications and download updates.
At the same time, the Gripen M modification for Brazil is still at the concept development stage, jointly with Brazilian specialists.
The Swedish Air Force has so far ordered 60 single-seat JAS-39E fighters (with an additional 10 optional) to be delivered from 2019 to 2026, completely replacing Sweden's current fleet of approximately 100 JAS-39C/D fighters. In addition, 28 single-seat JAS-39E and eight two-seat JAS-39F are ordered by Brazil, which should be delivered in 2019-2024 (Brazil will also have to receive one specially manufactured JAS-39E prototype). The question of the possibility of acquiring JAS-39E by Switzerland has not been removed from the agenda.
http://bmpd.livejournal.com
15.05.2017
The first flight of the new Swedish Gripen E fighter may take place in June, Military Parity reports with reference to defense-aerospace.com (May 11).
According to the company, it could take place before the opening of the Paris Air Show on June 19. The cost of developing this version of the famous combat aircraft is estimated at 2 billion euros, while the cost of creating the Block 4 software of the American F-35 stealth fighter alone is 4 billion US dollars. By some estimates, the entire F-35 R&D phase is valued at more than $50 billion.
The first flight of Gripen-E was planned for the second half of 2015, then was postponed to the end of 2016, now - the second quarter of 2017. The latest delay was caused by the decision that the software interface, avionics and sensors needed to be fully tested before the first flight. Interestingly, the Gripen program even employs several more people, that in the F-35 office there are just under 3000 versus 2590. These numbers mean that Sweden is doing its best to retain highly qualified engineering and management personnel aviation industry.
Military Parity
15.06.2017
The Gripen E fighter, the first of the new generation of the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen platform, made its first flight on Thursday, June 15. This was reported by the Swedish company SAAB.
A new generation fighter took off from the airfield in Linköping. The flight was successful.
Gripen E was first presented to the public in May 2016.
The updated Gripen differs from previous versions by a more powerful American-made F414G engine, a Raven ES-05 radar with an active phased array antenna, a larger fuel reserve and a heavier payload. The price of the fighter exceeds one hundred million dollars per unit.
The new vehicle was created as part of the Gripen-NG (Next Generation) program, during which single and double versions are being developed. The Gripen-F two-seat fighter can be used for pilot training; in addition, it will have increased capabilities for combat control, electronic warfare and other special types military operations.
Lenta.ru
11.07.2017
Sweden will not offer Belgium its Saab Gripen E fighters, Military Parity reports with reference to defensenews.com (July 10).
A notice from Sweden's defense ministry said the government was not prepared to provide the "operational support" required by the Belgian government, which is seeking to buy 34 new fighter jets to replace its fleet of 54 F-16s. “This will require a political mandate and a decision on foreign policy, which currently do not exist, so we prefer not to respond to the Belgian request,” the document says.
The decision is a blow to defense company Saab, which had hoped to offer its fighter jet to the Belgian Air Force this year. Lockheed Martin F-35, Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale will compete for the Belgian order. Experts call the American F-35 the most likely winner.
Military Parity
