Tayyar MTH-3 Ra'ad

MTH-3 Ra'ad
Type	Low-bypass turbofan
National origin	Riysa
Manufacturer	Tayyar Engine Design Bureau
First run	1978
Major applications	TaH-26 Saika
Status	In production
Produced	1984 - Present

The Tayyar MTH-3 "Ra'ad" (رعد, Thunder) is a Riysian triple-spool low-bypass afterburning turbofan engine, designed by Tayyar to power the TaH-26B deep modernization of the TaH-26 Saika interceptor. It was first flown on a TaH-26A testbed in 1978, and entered full scale production in 1984. Uniquely, it is the only Riysian triple-spool fighter engine, the only triple-spool engine designed by Tayyar, and one of only a few turbofan engines designed for high-altitude supersonic performance.

History

Development of the Ra'ad started in 1975, shortly after the TaH-26A, with its older Tayyar MTH-Kh turbojet engines, had entered service. The MTH-Kh provided superb high-altitude and high-speed performance, allowing the TaH-26 to exceed Mach 3 in ideal conditions, but was overly optimized for that role, leading to extremely poor low-level efficiency and power.

Design

The MTH-3 Ra'ad is a triple-spool turbofan with a relatively high bypass ratio - for a fighter engine - of 0.54, featuring a single-stage low-pressure compressor, six-stage intermediate compressor, annular combustor, single high-pressure turbine, single intermediate-pressure turbine, twin-stage low-pressure turbine, and an afterburner section. It is split into seven field-serviceable modules; consisting of the low-pressure compressor and VIGVs, the intermediate compressor, the "core" of the high-pressure compressor and turbine sections, the bypass air mixer, the afterburner stage, the jet nozzle, and the engine assembly.

Much like the MTH-Kh it replaced, it is uniquely designed for