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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 0615.PDF
TECHNICAL DEFENCE RB571 BAe pushes naval EFA variant British Aerospace has outlined plans for a naval variant of the four-nation European Fighter Aircraft (EFA), based on advanced short-take-off and landing (ASTOVL) technology. BAe is promoting the idea to the UK Government, although it is understood that no formal pro posal has yet been made to either the UK Ministry of Defence or the Royal Navy.. - • Naval EFA would be consid erably different from the land- based version and would employ thrust vectoring using the Rolls- Royce RB.571 hybrid vectored- thrust engine. This combines the technologies of the standard EFA's Eurojet EJ200 and the fundamental elements of the Harrier family's Pegasus. The RB.571 would be rear- mounted, with ducts to take part of the first-stage cold air forward for ejection from cold front noz zles, balancing the hot rear vectoring nozzles. For con ventional flight, the flow would be switched from the rear noz zles to the conventional jetpipe or "rear flight nozzle", and the forward ducting shut off. The naval EFA would employ a short conventional take-off, which could be either catapult- assisted or a free take-off over a ski-jump, or a combination of both. The aircraft would be ca pable of a true vertical landing, but would use vectored thrust to employ the "rolling vertical land ing" (RVL) technique employed by land-based Harriers. The main advantage of an RVL is that it avoids re-ingestion of recirculated hot exhaust gases, which can cause problems in a vertical landing, and the poten tially detrimental impingement of hot gases on the aircraft's unused weapons. BAe's Ned Frith says that the RVL would take place at about 60kt (llOkm/h) and that naval EFA would not need to be arrested as the aircraft brakes would cope easily and rollout would be mini mal. The ship's flightdeck crew would also suffer less downblast from aircraft in the hover. The disadvantage of an RVL at sea is that all landings take place over the .stern, which places greater importance on the ship's sea-keeping capability. A ship's pitch amplitude is a function of its length (and swell length): therefore, the greater the length the less the pitch. A bigger ship can also carry more aviation fuel and has more deck room avail able for servicing while take-offs and landing continue. Size constraints are cost and the availability of drydocks in the UK. The Belfast drydock is 335m long and 50m wide and can take a ship of about 70,000t, while Southampton has a slightly longer but narrower drydock. An Admiralty Research Establishment study has identi fied the need either to replace the Royal Navy's three 19,500t Invincible-class aircraft carriers between 2010 and 2015 or to carry out extensive and expen sive service-life-extension work on the three ships. If the ships are replaced, then the service favours a new 30,000t-class car rier which would be better suited to naval EFA operations than the Invincible class. The concept comes as the Royal Navy is considering follow-ons to the Harrier FRS.2. Naval EFA would be a logical choice to fulfil the Navy's ad vanced short take-off/vertical landing (ASTOVL) concept. The USSR's venture into true carrier operations, with an air wing of Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers, MiG-29 Fulcrums and super sonic STOVL Yak-41s (Ram-Ts) operating from Tbilisi-class carriers, provides impetus for the RN to deploy naval EFA. Even if the Soviet threat diminishes, the service will need aircraft of this type for out-of-area operations on which the UK's defence philosophy will be based. • Rafale makes first flight with M88-2 Dassault's Rafale A combat aircraft demonstrator has flown for the first time with a Snecma M88-2 development engine paired with a General Electric F404-400. Dassault chief test pilot Guy Mitaux- Maurouard made the flight from the Istres test centre, in southern France, on 27 February. During the 55min flight the aircraft reached an altitude of 40,000ft (12,000m) and a speed of Mach 1.4. "The flight was carried out in excellent con ditions and within the date scheduled in April 1988," says Dassault chairman and chief executive Serge Dassault. The M88-2, lighter and small er than the GE F404-400 engine but developing 73.5kN (16,5401b) thrust, was first ground tested in the aircraft on 12 February. On 12 April the Rafale A is scheduled to make its first public flight with the M88-2, and later this year it will fly with two Snecma engines. Since its maiden flight on 4 July, 1986, the Rafale A has logged 450 flying hours. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7-13 March 1990
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