After trawling through a number of old memory sticks, we have found my Alt-Eurofighter story line, enjoy.
The search for the RAF’s new fighter aircraft had its beginnings in AST.403, issued in 1975, which drawn up to cover the replacement of both Jaguar and Harrier with a single type. This requirement marked a departure for the MOD, moving from ground attack to air combat. The STOVL aspect of the requirement was later dropped and covered by the issue of ASR.409 which was met by the Harrier GR.Mk.5.
Meantime, Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB) in Germany was considering a number of different concepts for an air-superiority fighter under the Luftwaffe's "Taktisches Kampflugzeur 1990 (TKF-90 / Tactical Combat Aircraft 1990)" requirement. BAE and MBB had then begun to discuss collaboration. This resulted in 1979, a proposed design for a "European Collaborative Fighter” (ECF), later the "European Combat Aircraft” (ECA). The ECA resembled the MBB TKF-90 design.
Dassault of France was also generating a number of advanced fighter designs, but did little or nothing to tell anyone else about them, and the French position was that if they were going to be in an international collaboration, they would be in the driver's seat. As they were demanding French design leadership and lead on exports, a minimum of 46% of the work share for Dassault Breguet and use of the SNECMA M-88 engine, as they didn’t regard the RB-199 to be a real fighter engine
The French attitude led to the collapse of intergovernmental talks on collaboration in 1980. The British government cancelled AST 403 in 1981, while the West German government showed no interest in funding development of the TKF-90. That might have been the end of the whole thing. However, Bae management realized that European air forces would need a new fighter sooner or later, and pressed on. Also, the company was keen to find something to fill the production lines at Warton after the expected end of Tornado production in the early 1990’s. Bae had been working on an export fighter-bomber design, the "P.110", basically follow-on from the P.106B concept with ECF influence, but it couldn't find a buyer to fund production.
However, Bae was able to inspire the other members of the Anglo-German-Italian Panavia consortium that had built the Tornado multi-role combat aircraft, to collaborate on another machine, the "Agile Combat Aircraft” (ACA), which was based on TKF-90 and P.110 concepts. The Italians were very interested in the ACA since they had an urgent need for a replacement for their F-104 Starfighters. A mock-up of the ACA was displayed at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK in 1982 and at the Paris Air Show in 1983.
As an answer to the ACA initiative, the French committed to develop a fourth-generation fighter of their own, under the "Avion de Combate Experimentale” (ACX) program, which would become the Dassault Rafale. The mock-up was unveiled at the Paris Salon of 1983. The British were perfectly happy to have the French go their own way, since the French had shown a clear tendency to short-change the British in other aircraft collaborations, such as the Jaguar. The West German government, however, was very keen on political alignment with the French and had misgivings about the ACA program.
The ACA was very similar to the BAe P.110, having a cranked delta wing, canards and a twin tail. One major external difference was the replacement of the side mounted engine intakes with a chin intake. It was to be powered by a modified version of the RB199. The German and Italian governments withdrew funding, however the UK Ministry of Defense agreed to fund 50% of the cost with the remaining 50% to be provided by industry. MBB and Aeritalia signed up with the aim of producing two aircraft, one at Warton and one by MBB. In May 1983 BAe announced a contract with the MOD for the development and production of an ACA demonstrator, the Experimental Aircraft Program.
In any case, ACA went ahead for the moment, with plans generated for the production of between two and five demonstrators under EAP -- if building a new fighter seemed to be taking time, production of acronyms was at full steam. The West German government withdrew from the EAP project, claiming financial reasons. They then pressurised MBB into also withdrawing. They didn’t wish to upset the French or the British, as they were both seen as allies in the New Europe. The Italian government also withdrew funding for, obstensively the same reason as West Germany. Although in reality they were desperate to appease the West Germans. Aeritalia resisted government pressure and stayed in the project. The Italian government resists French pressure and continues to sit on the fence. Aeritalia continued their participation in the programme; they were allocated construction of the aircrafts left wing. To fill the delay in obtaining a new fighter, the Italian Air Force were offered the ASA up-grade for the F-104S Starfighter. The upgrade included a new Pulse Doppler, look down-shoot down radar.
On 26 May 1983, the British Ministry of Defence awarded BAE and Aeritalia, a contract for one of the EAPs, with the expectation that West Germany would quickly commit to construction of the second demonstrator. But events would make that possibility a mere pipe dream
Dassault now launched in to an intensive campaign of lobbying all three governments. They tried to work on consultants and serving officers, making large presentations in grand country hotels such as Glen Eagles in Scotland. The British Governments attitude was that the French had set out to sabotage the ACA deal, with their announcement of ACX, and now they were touting for sub-contractors.
The Italian Government was in turmoil, as they couldn’t afford to offend any of the other nations involved. In particular they were watching what West Germany would do.
After 8 months of intensive, sustained, and continued pressure from the French government and Dassault, West German government succumbed and finally, in an effort to work towards a greater Europe. Announced on the 14th January 1984, the initial order was for 165 Dassault Breguet Rafale, 145 single seat, Model C aircraft, and 20 two seat aircraft, the Model D. MBB would manufacture the centre fuselage, the left wing and a number of other smaller components. In addition they would assemble the bulk of the German aircraft on the assembly line that would be vacated by Tornado at Manching. An identical arrangement was to cover the SNECMA M88 engines, the West German partner being MTU. The Germans would have to clear their American and indigenously manufactured weapon systems themselves, assuming the French would allow then access the software of the weapon systems, such as Sidewinder, ALARM, ASRAAM and AMRAAM. As it turned out that this would form a major delaying factor in the aircraft eventual being eventually accepted into service with the Luftwaffe.
When news of the German deal reached London, it was reported that the Prime Minister, Margret Thatcher MP, flew into a rage. She launched into a tirade that allegedly stated that West Germany had stabbed Britain in the back and it was a betrayal of the undertakings that the West German government had made on ACA. British Aerospace took the opportunity to repeat its proposal to base its new fighter upon the EAP, and they found the British Government much more receptive to their overtures. A round table conference was held at Chequers that was attended by Prime Minister Thatcher, Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson MP and the Chairman of British Aerospace Sir Austin Pearce.
The original proposal had been for the ACA demonstrator aircraft to be fitted with either an automated version of the Marconi Foxhunter interceptor radar, as used by the 2 seat Tornado F.Mk.3. An alternative system was to be the Blue Falcon strike system that Ferranti was looking to develop. Also, Ferranti were to furnish the aircraft with an integrated communication, inertial navigation and weapons systems. However such developments would be expensive and would delay the type’s entry into service.
The Government set out its aims from the very start of the meeting. The aircraft was to be produced at the lowest possible cost and in the shortest possible time. The main desire being to have the aircraft in service before the West Germans could have Rafale operational; but principally, it had to be ready to meet the predicted threat coming from the new fighters under development in the Soviet Union. The AST.403 requirement was resurrected to cover the aircraft as a replacement for the Jaguar ground attack aircraft.
British Aerospace was free to seek out any industry partners to share costs, and immediately brought Aeritalia in to produce the left wing initially, as they were already as part of the EAP project.
After working away over the rest of that week, BAe presented a revised proposal, for what was named Tempest, took the form of a two part program. The Tempest FGA.Mk.1 was to incorporate as much off the shelf systems as possible, the airframe was to be based on the forthcoming EAP technology demonstrator. This included the, initial installation of the Ferranti Blue Fox radar system that had proved to be such a success during the South Atlantic campaign in the Sea Harrier. The entire rear fuselage was already going to be that of a Tornado, complete with the vertical fin, due to MBB’s forced withdrawal.
The Blue Fox (ARI 5982) radar system was a derivative of the "Sea Spray" radar developed for navalized Westland Lynx helicopters. It was a frequency agile monopulse set with electronic scanning. Possessing four operational modes, including "Search", "Air-To-Air Attack", "Air-To-Surface Attack", and "Boresight", in addition, it had good versatility in hostile ECM/ECCM environments. It was relatively simple compared to other contemporary fighter-aircraft radars, in particular lacking a look-down capability. Like all modern systems, it was made up of line-replaceable modules with built in test and a Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) intended at 100 hours, but 300 hours was obtained. Inflation had wrecked the hope that the radar would be presented on the Sea Harriers Head-Up Display (HUD). Instead, the information was displayed on a head down display with TV raster presentation. On Tempest, this wasn’t the case, a GEC-Marconi wide-angle HUD. However, it was compact, light, affordable, and met mission requirements. The design of the system was prematurely frozen in 1982 for the Falklands War.
In 1984, upgrades (the B model) were made to the processor, scanner and receiver which significantly improved it. The radar was extremely reliable; some operated right through to the MLU in 1992 without repair. The next stage in development was the Mk 2; incorporated two ECCM technologies, ILIC (In Loop Interpretative (or Integration) Control) and Anderwave (after the designers, Anderson & Waverley).
Other systems, such as the radar warning system would be lifted straight from Tornado. The aircraft was to be updated as newer systems became available, such as the radar system that Ferranti had started working on as a private venture.
The contract was signed nine months after the initial meeting, at a major press conference at the years Farnborough Air Show. The ACA mock up was repainted in full RAF Green/Gray wrap around camouflage.
The French Dassault Rafale A technology demonstrator was rolled out of the Dassualt plant on the fourteenth of December 1985. One side of the basically white aircraft was Tri-colour strips, other side of the aircraft were West German roundels and stripes in German flag colours. The first flight took place on the 4th of July 1986. A second prototype was assembled by MBB, taking to the air 5 months after the 1st.
Prototypes
P.001 - FF 28/06/86. (ZF534) – This was a full month ahead of the originally planned date. Ground tests had revealed that both wings had a fuel leak in the same position, even though they had been drawn using different CAD packages. Resplendent in its blue and white house colours, the aircraft attained Mach 1.2 at 25,000ft. The aircraft was initially employed on handling and aerodynamic tests. The 1st block of the flight test program was allocated to the exploration of the handling envelope, with the test pilots reporting excellent handling. Further blocks opened up the flight envelope and testing aerodynamically representative shapes as part of the weapons clearance programme. Using the hard points that were built into the wings from the beginning, shapes of a variety of devises, such as ARI2324611 Sky Shadow, Westinghouse AN/ALQ-101(V)-10, Philips Phimat ECM/ESM and the AN/AVQ-23E Pave Spike designator pods were all flown. Also flown was an example of the LRMTS pod from the Tornado, mounted below the engine intakes, that was to become a standard fit on all production aircraft. In addition, the external in-flight refueling probes blister, also from Tornado. This was scabbed on the fuselage along the side the cockpit. Flown in both retracted and extended positions, a number of dry contacts were carries out with all of the RAF’s tankers I.E Tristar, VC-10 and Victor. The aircraft was also covered in pressure transducers to allow the airflow over the airframe was mapped. The transducers were hidden by an allover gloss black paint scheme.
Later trials were carried out in support of the Mk.2’s development including conformal fuel tanks. Additional work was carried out on an investigation into the use of the thrust reversers as a rudimentary form of thrust vectoring, taking advantage of the buckets sub-1 second reaction time.
When retired the aircraft was delivered to the RAF Museum at Hendon.
P.002 – FF 24/08/86 (ZF535) – The second airframe was begun while P.001 was still occupying the assembly jigs at Warton. The forward fuselage was used to test the initial fit and the cockpit integration of the Blue Fox radar and its associated modules. The aircraft first flew in primer before being given the operational colour scheme that the production aircraft would carry, of Green/Gray wrap around. Like the Sea Harrier, the radome was left black. Later in the program, the aircraft was covered in photo reference markings for the weapons trials. The completed aircraft was tasked with proving the weapon systems and the other associated systems. During this phase a number of minor niggles were encountered, but these were worked thru as flight test proceeded.
Phase 2 of the flight test program was to clear the type for the initial air defence mode. The weapons were the AIM-9 Sidewinder and the two 27mm Mauser cannon. Weapons clearing continued into the air-ground arena in consort with P.003, when it became part of the test program.
Later, the aircraft was used for the initial integration of the Blue Vixen radar system for the Tempest F/A.Mk.2. It was also used to clear the TIALD designator pod for use on the aircraft.
P.003 – FF 01/02/87 (ZF536) – The third of the prototype series was set straight to Boscombe Down, after the basic shake down tests, to carry out the trials of the air ground weapons. The trials began with the basic dumb bombs of 250lbs to 1000lbs. Also dropped were the BL755 sub munitions dispensers and the new Bristol Aerospace (Canada) CRV-7 rockets, 19 contained in a LAU-5003B/A pod. The 2nd phase covered smart weapons such as laser guided bombs of the Paveway series, as were the Sea Eagle anti-ship and ALARM anti-radiation missiles. They were joined by the two separate parts of the JP.233 anti-runway system, they were to be used individually not as a pair as per Tornado. The larger section containing the runway penetrators was to be carried on the inner wing pylon, the anti personnel section was cleared for the centreline.
P.003 also was involved in the off airfield trials, being the first aircraft fitted with lower pressure tyres, the undercarriage doors were bulged to accommodate them. The aircraft carried out a number of trials where it taxied across sections of Boscombe Down’s grass aprons. Take off and landing trials were also carried out from unopened sections of the M-40 motorway, between Junctions 4 and 5 near High Wycombe.
At the completion of the test program, the aircraft was returned to be modified to test the configuration changes intended for the Mk.2. These included a new single piece canopy, CFRP fin, and the leading edge kink removed.
P.004 - FF 25/07/87 (ZF542) – This was the 1st two seat aircraft, that also signified the increase in Aeritalias work share. They had been given the new forward fuselage to help ease the work load on Bae Warton. Both cockpits were duplicate and fully operational. The aircraft was to be cleared on all of the weapons that the single seat variant. The aircraft was passed to the Institute of Aviation Medicine to test high G flight equipment for flight crew.
The aircraft then spent time with Rolls Royce carrying out test flights of the RB-199-62R in the port side position. This new variant incorporated modified compressors, a new fan and an improved reheat offering a thrust increase of 15-20%.
P.005 – This was the static test airframe that was put thru a bruising number of flight cycles, equivalent to 15 years of low level service. Upon inspection, the aircraft was found to have significant life in it. The airframe was put back into the test rig and pushed to destruction.
Pre-Production Aircraft.
The next group of aircraft to be built were the pre production batch. They were used to allow the production line to be brought up to speed. The aircraft were assembled in the production jigs, but at a reduced rate.
P.01 – FF 12/08/87 (ZG101) – The 1st pre-production aircraft built to the full production standard was equipped with a NVG compatible cockpit. The aircraft was used in the final type qualification trials, before being passed on to 226 OCU at RAF Lossiemouth.
After it was released from front line duty, as numbers in service increased, and was handed over to the RAE for test duties with A&AEE.
P.02 – FF 08/11/87 (ZG102) – The 2nd pre-production aircraft was a two seat aircraft, and was delivered directly to Lossiemouth. It was used in the development of the instructor’s course with P.01 and P.03.
P.03 – FF 21/02/88 (ZG103) – The 3rd of the pre-production batch was another 2 seat aircraft. It accompanied the other 2 aircraft of this batch to RAF Lossiemouth.
This aircraft was leased back to Bae, for use with the Italian Fiar Setter pulse Doppler radar system that had been developed for the F-104ASA Starfighter upgrade. It was to be used in the Italian Air Force’s variant of the FA.Mk.2 that was to, finally, provide the replacement that Italy required for the Starfighter.
Upon its release from the OCU, this aircraft was sent to Aeritalia for the trial installation of the FIAR R219/M1 SETTER look down/soot down radar system.
229 OCU at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray Scotland was selected to begin the changeover to Tempest. They were the most experienced in Tempests intended role of close air support and ground attack. Initially, experienced Jaguar instructors were selected to draw up the course structure and syllabus for the initial instructor course. To accomplish this task they were first sent to RNAS Yeovilton to gain experience of the Blue Fox radar system on the Royal Navy’s Hawker Hunter T.Mk.8M aircraft. After this they spent a number of weeks at Bae Warton, working with the test pilots, drawing up the flight training plan and becoming familiar with the type themselves.
The instructors returned to Lossiemouth, delivering the pre-production aircraft to the unit. They were joined by the production aircraft as the Warton assembly line got production under way. As more aircraft became available, the work of the training unit intensified until sufficient pilots were available to form the first operational squadron.
17 Sqn RAF - Allocated CA - CZ codes.
The first operational unit, 17 Sqn, was selected as it was a Tornado unit that was about to switch over Jaguar. The unit standard was paraded on 19th September 1989 at RAF Lossiemouth. The ceremony coincided with the delivery of a group of, factory fresh, aircraft with the squadron insignia and codes, CA – CZ, already applied.
1990 squadron’s 75th anniversary year, thus an anniversary colour scheme was applied to one aircraft.
The squadron began its anniversary year sending a 6 aircraft detachment to Norway as part of the usual NATO exercises. The aircraft were painted in the RAF’s usual temporary winter distemper.
When the Iraqi army marched across the desert into Kuwait, the world reacted by assembling an unprecedented international force. Britain contributed a significant component of the air armada.
With the launch of Operation Granby, the change over from the Jaguar to the Tempest was suspended. A detachment of Jaguars was deployed out to the Gulf on the type’s final deployment, flying out on the 11th August 1990. They staged through Cyprus, arriving at Thumrait, Oman, on the 12th.
The Royal Air Force regarded the Tempest as being too immature an aircraft to deploy at this stage. 17 and 54 Sqn’s were ordered to increase their training tempo, in particularly low level work in case they were required to join the planned air campaign. Bae were also asked to begin scheming out possible upgrade package for the aircraft, although this was not to be a priority, unlike the packages for Jaguar and Tornado.
As the build up continued, the Jaguar contingent grew to the equivalent to squadron strength. Also, the detachment was moved north to Muharraq, Bahrain, in October 1990, to allow them to be able to spend more time over the frontline. The upgrade package began testing at Warton. It consisted of a combination of items from the other packages that were deployed already, these included a pair of scabbed on Tracor An/ALE-40 flare dispensers under the engines; twin Sidewinder rails substituting for the single rails usually carried; a GPS system in the form of a handset attached to the cockpit combing by a cell phone holder with the aerial on the top of the ejector seat; RAM on the leading edges of the fin wing and canard. Testing was successfully carried out at Boscombe Down, resulting in the rest of the strength of 17 Sqn being fitted with the package in as short a time as possible. The Lossiemouth paint shop was also busy applying the desert pink temporary paint scheme that was applied to every other attack plane involved in the deployment.
Deployed to Thumrait in Oman 23rd December 1990 through Akrotiri, were they stayed as they worked up and acclimatised to the desert heat. The squadron moved north to join the Composite Jaguar Force at Muharraq, just before the start of the air campaign. Jaguars were employed in the daylight Battlefield Air Interdiction role. Tempests were deployed to cover the same role at night and to provide air cover to the Jaguar force.
Weapons used by the deployment were initially 1000lb dumb bombs. Later, Paveway laser guided ordnance, BL.755 cluster bombs and the Canadian CRV-7 rockets were added to their repertoire. As the land campaign began to push the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, the Anti-personnel components of JP-233 were deployed against the Iraqi army that stood in front of the British 1st Armoured Brigade. They were also used for the second and last time against retreating Iraqi army as they abandoned Kuwait City. The runway penetrating portion was used to destroy the highway network around Basra and the main route to Bagdad. They were also deployed against the roads being used to resupply the Scud launchers out in the Western Desert. The Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles were used to destroy 2 Iraqi navy Corvettes as they were attempting to run for Iran.
Over the course of the deployment 1 aircraft was lost following a collision with the ground while operating at low level. 2 aircraft were damaged, 1 by small arms and the other due to a shoulder launched SAM.
All the aircraft that were involved in Operation Granby eventually carried nose art, mostly of the usual semi-naked women in one pose or another. Each aircraft also carried the name of a Scottish Salmon fishing river such as the River Spey, the River Tweed, and the River North Esk etc. The reason for this was that the Squadron commander was a keen fly fisherman.
After the war one aircraft was left in desert colours for use on the airshow circuit. The unit also attended the United States Air Force’s Red Flag exercises in Nevada. The aircraft was found to be highly manoeuvrable and difficult to intercept at low level.
Prototypes
P.001 – Aerodynamics and handling trials. Also used to test fairings for LRMTS (Tornado under nose pod), refuelling probe (from Tornado), recon pod, PAVE Spike (TIALD – after the 1st Gulf war). Also later fitted with Tornado reversing buckets to trial their use in flight as a rudimentary form of thrust vectoring, as they respond in less than a second. FF 28/06/86. (ZF534)
P.002 – System integration of the Blue Fox radar system, the RWR system from Tornado. Was fitted with reversing buckets from new. Later used for air-to-air weapons trials (Sidewinder on ASRAAM rails, also twin Winder rails. Cannon fitted in upper fairing between fuselage and wing, just behind the intakes. FF 24/08/86 (ZF535). Later fitted with the Blue Vixen radar system in December 1988.
P.003 – Weapons trials, air-to-ground weapons Inc Sea Eagle (on inboard wing pylons), JP233 (single pod on centre line rail), Paveway. FF 01/02/87 (ZF536)
P.004 – 2 seat prototype. New forward fuselage built by Aeritalia. FF 25/07/87 (ZF542)
P.005 – Static test airframe.
Pre-Production Aircraft.
P.01 – 1st aircraft to near production standard, delivered to 226 OCU, RAF Coningsby. FF 12/08/87 (ZG101)
P.02 – 1st pre production 2 seat. FF 08/11/87 (ZG102)
P.03 – Aircraft supplied to Aeritalia for trial installation of Fiar radar from F-104ASA. FF 21/02/88 (ZG103).
Production Aircraft
Batch 1
12 aircraft, 8 single seat/5 twin seat ZG104 – ZG115
P.101 - FF 17/05/88 to P.112 - 05/02/89
Batch 2
14 aircraft, 10 single seat/4 twin seat ZG 120 – ZG134
P.113 - FF 31/02/89 to P.126 – FF 12/07/89
Batch 3
14 aircraft, 11 single seat/3 twin seat ZH150 – ZH163
P.127 - FF 01/02/90 to P.156 – FF 15/09/91
Mk.2,
With Blue Vixen radar, single piece canopy, CFRP fin, and the leading edge kink removed. Powered by the RB-199-62R, these had modified compressors, a new fan and improved reheat offering a thrust increase of 15-20%.
The main enhancements were replacement of the Blue Fox radar with the Ferranti "Blue Vixen" radar, and the ability to carry up to four American "AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missiles (AMRAAM)".
The Blue Vixen is far superior to the older Blue Fox, with 11 operating modes; greater range; a "look down" capability; a "track while scan" capability that allows the radar to follow a target while scanning the sky for new targets; and some degree of "low probability of intercept (LPI)" capability to allow the radar to detect targets without alerting the target's RWR. Blue Vixen is also much "smarter" and easier to operate than the Blue Fox, with one Sea Harrier pilot saying that with Blue Vixen performing an intercept was "down to selecting 'air to air', pointing the aircraft in roughly the right direction, and leaving the radar to it." It is regarded as state of the art among fighter radars.
The type made its international debut on Operation Joint guard over the former Yugoslavia.
Italian Mk.2, with Fiar Setter radar (From F-104ASA upgrade) also involved in this deployment.
Mk.2 colours are all over grey, a tone between the Tornado GR.4 and F.3.
Production Aircraft
Batch 1
15 aircraft ZH317 – ZH331
P.201 - FF ? to P.215 – FF ?
Batch 2
15 aircraft ZH367 – ZH381
P.216 - FF ? to P.230 – FF ?
Batch 3
14 aircraft ZH382 – ZH395
P.231 - FF ? to P.244 – FF ?
Batch 4
15 aircraft ZH411 – ZH425
P.245 - FF ? to P.259 – FF ?
Batch 5
15 aircraft ZH441 – ZH455
P.260 - FF ? to P.274 – FF ?
Batch 6
15 aircraft ZH456 – ZH470
P.275 - FF ?to P.289 – FF ?
Colours as per that of the Jaguar/Harrier fleet.
UK and Italian Mk.2’s deploy as part of Operation Telic
6 sqn at RAF Coltishall, later RAF Coningsby (attack)
41 sqn at RAF Coltishall (recce/attack)
54 sqn at RAF Coltishall (attack)
226 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) at RAF Lossiemouth,
Redesignated No. 16 (Reserve) Squadron in 1992.
ETPS received 2 Mk.1’s, a single seat and a twin seat.
Jag/Harrier weapons
ALARM
Paveway II Mk.13/18
JP.233 short, possibly the front half
BL.755
1000lbs GP
Matra 155 rocket pods
WE-177 Tactical Nuclear Weapon
Sea Harrier weapon
Sea Eagle
Tornado equip
ARI.23246 Sky Shadow
BOZ 100 Chaff Dispenser
Rafale
Rafale C – FF 19th May 1991
Work split:-
Airframe - Dassault 65% - MBB 35% + local assembly and maintainance.
Engine – SNCEMA 65% - MTU 35% + local assembly and maintainance
West Germany also responsible for carrying out its own weapons clearance trials as it uses American and indigenous weapons, I.E - Sidewinder, ASRAAM, AMRAAM, ALARM etc.
Rafale D 2 seat used in the ECR role.
Appendix I
AST.409
This requirement was produced to cover the potential replacement of the Harrier GR.Mk.3 in RAF service. It had been, originally part of AST.403, which covered both the Harrier and the Jaguar replacements.
This new requirement was left unresolved by the Thatcher government and the launch of the Tempest program. However, British Aerospace Kingston had been working on, what began as, a series of improvements for the basic Harrier. These studies resulted in the development of the ‘Big Wing’ concept. This consisted of the development of a new wing of greater span, increasing the fuel capacity and provided two additional weapons pylons. Turning performance was also to be enhanced by the fitting of LERX (Leading Edge Extensions).
Similar work had been carried out by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, initially in co-operation with British Aerospace. The British were forced to pull out due to a lack of funding. The American wing differed from the British one in that it employed carbon fibre construction, whereas the British wing was to be made out from aluminium.
British Aerospace argued that their wing was superior to the American one, in that it employed more up to date aerodynamics and it was more tailored to the RAF’s needs.
The MOD issued a contract to British Aerospace for the fitting of this ‘Big Wing’ to Harrier GR.Mk.3 to assess any benefits it might bring to the existing fleet of aircraft. The flight trials that followed proved the companies assessment of the design. Thus, it was announced that the entire Harrier GR.Mk3 and T.4 fleet would be similarly upgraded.
The Royal Navy had already been working on a major upgrade it the Sea Harrier FGA.Mk.1 that it had in service. This was revised to incorporate the fitting of the ‘Big Wing’ and LERX.
The first Sea Harrier to be upgraded initially flew without the new wing, although the second aircraft did have it. After back-to-back comparisons, the new wing was incorporated in all the upgraded and new build aircraft.
In addition to the upgrade of the existing RAF Harrier force, British Aerospace also put forward the idea of a new build variant that they called ‘Super Harrier’.
This used the basic Sea Harrier airframe with the ‘Big Wing’, but the radar was too replaced by FLIR, LLTV and LRMTS equipment.
With the Sea Harrier production line being restarted for the FAA, the RAF purchase of ‘Super Harrier’ was made all the easier to justify. The type entering service as the GR.Mk.7. Later aircraft had a carbon fibre variant of the wing, which saved 300lbs in airframe weight. The carbon ‘Big Wing’ was too retrofitted throughout the Harrier force over time.
The UK had identified a requirement for a new fighter as early as 1971. A specification, AST 403, issued by the Air Staff in 1972, resulted in a conventional "tailed" design known as P.96, which was presented in the late 1970s. While the design would have met the Air Staff's requirements, the UK air industry had reservations as it appeared to be very similar to the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, which was then well advanced in its development. The design had little potential for future growth, and when it entered production it would secure few exports in a market in which the Hornet would be well established.[7] Simultaneously, by 1979 the West German requirement for a new fighter had led to the development of the TKF-90 concept. This was a cranked delta wing design with forward canard controls and artificial stability. Although the British Aerospace designers rejected some of its advanced features such as vectoring engine nozzles and vented trailing-edge controls, they agreed with the overall configuration.
In 1979 British Aerospace and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm presented a formal proposal to their respective governments for the ECF, the European Collaborative Fighter or European Combat Fighter. In October 1979 Dassault joined the ECF team for a tri-national study, which became known as the European Combat Aircraft. It was at this stage of development that the Eurofighter name was first attached to the aircraft. The development of different national prototypes continued. France produced the ACX. The UK produced two designs; the P.106 was a single-engined "lightweight" fighter, superficially resembling the JAS 39 Gripen, the P.110 was a twin-engined fighter. The P.106 concept was rejected by the RAF, on the grounds that it had "half the effectiveness of the two-engined aircraft at two thirds of the cost". West Germany continued to refine the TFK-90 concept. The ECA project collapsed in 1981 for several reasons including differing requirements, Dassault's insistence on "design leadership" and the British preference for a new version of the RB199 to power the aircraft versus the French preference for the new SNECMA M88.
As a result the Panavia partners (BAe, MBB and Aeritalia) launched the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme in April 1982.
In 1983 the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain launched the Future European Fighter Aircraft (FEFA) programme. The aircraft was to have Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capabilities. In 1984 France reiterated its requirement for a carrier-capable version and demanded a leading.
By 1986, the cost of the program had reached £180 million. When the EAP program had started, the cost was supposed to be equally shared by both government and industry, but the West German and Italian government wavered on the agreement and the three main industrial partners had to provide £100 million to keep the program from ending. In April 1986 the EAP was rolled out at BAe Warton, by this time also partially funded by MBB, BAe and Aeritalia. The EAP first flew on 6 August 1986.
* MBB wanted to go ahead with the second demonstrator, but the West German government had no interest in funding it. They didn't want to antagonize the French by throwing their lot in with the British and Italians; similarly did not want to antagonize the British and Italians by throwing in with the French; and accordingly decided that sitting on their hands the best option for the moment. That effectively killed the ACA program as such, but BAE courageously went ahead with the construction of their EAP demonstrator. The demonstrator was built with help from Aeritalia and some low-key assistance from MBB, which was still interested in the project even if the West German government wasn't keen.
As it emerged, the EAP demonstrator featured the cranked-delta / canard configuration of the various concepts that led up to it, but differed from them in having a single tailfin instead of twin tailfins. This was because MBB had been expected to provide the rear fuselage elements of the EAP, but when their funding was cut BAE simply used the rear section of a Tornado, including the tailfin. The EAP also used the Tornado's twin TurboUnion RB.199 afterburning bypass turbojet engines. The intakes were placed under the belly, and had a hinged panel on the lower lip that could be dropped open to ensure airflow at high angles of attack.
This rear section was made mostly of aircraft alloys, but the rest was mostly graphite-epoxy composite assemblies, leading jokers to call it the "plastic plane". It also incorporated a quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system (FCS), which was a necessity as the EAP demonstrator was "dynamically unstable", meaning it would quickly go out of control unless computers performed tiny flight adjustments at all times. Dynamic instability helped give the aircraft high agility, though it required many lines of tricky software.
The EAP demonstrator featured a "glass cockpit", with three Smiths Industries "multifunction displays (MFDs)" using color picture tubes; a GEC-Marconi wide-angle "head-up display (HUD)"; and center-mounted "hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS)" controls. BAE also included a voice-warning system and the company also tinkered with a "direct voice input (DVI)" command system with the aircraft. Test pilots had been part of the design team for the cockpit layout, and the result was regarded as outstanding.
The EAP demonstrator performed its first flight on 8 August 1986 and conducted 259 test flights up to its retirement on 1 May 1991. Pilots were wildly enthusiastic about the machine, one of them saying: "It goes like a ferret with a firework up its bum!" It was fast, it was agile, and it was easy to fly.
* Beginning in late 1983, the air staffs of five European nations -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain -- began to work together to define specifications for a common fourth-generation fighter aircraft, to go into service in the mid-1990s. By early 1985, Britain, West Germany, Italy, and Spain had settled on a design along the lines of the EAP demonstrator, in construction at the time, while the French were insisting on an aircraft derived from the "Rafale A" demonstrator. The French position was just as blunt as it had been before: France would be in the driver's seat, the aircraft would be a French design, built by a consortium with Dassault at the head and France as the absolute majority partner. Dassault would essentially parcel out such subcontracts as deemed necessary.
The friction may have been at least partly due to miscommunications. Nobody could have objected much if the French said they were working on a program of their own and invited risk-sharing partners to sign on; modern international aircraft programs are often organized in such a way. However, if everyone else was thinking in terms of a collaboration in which they had a more or less equal say in the program, the French attitude was a non-starter, to put it mildly. A British official commented: "One wonders what France would have demanded had it not been interested in collaboration and had it simply wanted to put us off the idea." Over the course of the last half of 1985, the French and the other nations involved in the discussions parted ways, though the West Germans were not happy about dropping the French from the proposed partnership.
Although Britain and Spain wanted a multirole fighter, West Germany and Italy were only interested in an air-superiority machine. The group managed to hammer out their differences, with a general agreement on specifications reached in December 1985. A formal specification for the "EFA (European Fighter Aircraft)" was released in September 1987, with production expected to begin in 1992. As it turned out, this was short of the mark by a decade.
The next area where 226 OCU saw service was Scotland. Shifting emphasis to strike aircraft, 226 OCU reformed at RAF Lossiemouth the day after disbandment and undertook its peacetime role training pilots for the Sepecat Jaguar. Less well known was 226 OCU's wartime emergency role as a 'shadow squadron' or reserve unit made up principally of the squadron's instructors. From 1975 until 1991 the unit's wartime role was as an operational squadron in the front line assigned to SACEUR with twelve Jaguar aircraft, eight WE.177 nuclear bombs, and a variety of conventional weapons. In a high-intensity European war the unit's role was to support land forces on the Continent, first with conventional weapons and secondly with tactical nuclear weapons as required, should a conflict escalate to that stage. The apparent mismatch between aircraft numbers and nuclear bombs was a consequence of RAF staff planners concluding that there would be one-third attrition of aircraft in an early conventional phase, leaving the remaining survivors numerically strong enough to deliver the unit's entire stockpile of eight nuclear bombs.
16 Squadron disbanded on 11 September 1991 but reformed in November at RAF Lossiemouth as No. 16(R) Squadron, a reserve squadron and an Operational Conversion Unit, replacing and taking over the aircraft and weapons of 226 OCU, training and converting new pilots for the Jaguar. Although no longer a front-line operational squadron, as a reserve, or shadow squadron, its twelve aircraft were equipped with conventional weapons and eight WE.177 nuclear weapons for use in a high-intensity European war, and it remained assigned to SACEUR for that purpose.
Although a non-operational squadron, its pilots were still involved in Operation DENY FLIGHT and Operation NORTHERN WATCH. The Squadron moved to Coltishall in the summer of 2000 but disbanded on 11 March 2005 as the Jaguar approached retirement. The Squadron Standard was laid up in Notre-Dame Cathedral Saint-Omer, France on 20 March 2005 where it remains today - once laid up in a place of worship, a Standard can never be removed.
The mission did, however, require that an air-intercept radar be added, and the Ferranti "Blue Fox" radar was selected.
One change had been in process before the Falklands War: fit and qualification of the Sea Harrier for launching the BAE "Sea Eagle" long-range turbojet-powered anti ship missile. The Sea Eagle went into service in 1987. A Sea Harrier FRS.1 could carry two Sea Eagles. Although the FRS.1 didn't have the radar systems to perform its own targeting for the Sea Eagle, the aircraft could receive targeting cues from other platforms, such as a BAE Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft.
The upgraded Sea Harrier, which was also the basis for new production, was designated the "Fighter Reconnaissance Strike Mark 2 (FRS.2)" and first flew on 19 September 1988. The FRS.2 began trials with an operational evaluation unit in the early summer of 1993, with the first one going to a full operational unit in September of that year.
AMRAAM is essentially a much-improved AIM-7 Sparrow derivative, with higher speed; a greater range of about 48 kilometers (30 miles); less smoke signature; and a fully-active radar guidance system that gives it a degree of "fire and forget" capability.
The cockpit was reworked (again) to provide such niceties as multi-function displays and a "hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS)" control system. A better nav/attack system was added, as well as the Marconi Sky Guardian RWR. The updated aircraft also features a MIL-STD-1553B databus. GPS navigation capability was eventually added as well, through the simple expedient of mounting a Garmin 100 handheld GPS receiver and wiring it to an antenna fitted behind the ejection seat.
825(Firefly 5)
