AEF-88 Elanus

ÆF-88 Elanus
A Royal Lindian Air Force Elanus in flight
Role	Fighter, attack, and reconnaissance aircraft
National origin	Ventismar Union
Manufacturer	Aerobus
First flight	9 December 1988
Introduction	9 June 1996
Status	In service
Primary users	Royal Lindian Air Force ?
Produced	1988–present
Unit cost	US$ 30–60 million for B variant
Developed from	AEF-77 Monoceros
Variants	ÆF-88B ÆF-88REX (near future)

The ÆF-88 Elanus (sometimes AEF-88 Elanus), usually shortened to Elanus, is a multirole aircraft developed by the Ventismarien Aerobus consortium. The aircraft is often classified as being a so-called light fighter, and is sometimes characterised as a jack of all trades, master of none.

The Elanus is designed to take on air-to-air, air-to-ground and air reconnaissance combat roles. It is equipped with an advanced sensor suite and extensive battlefield awareness and communication hardware to aid in the execution of the latter role. In 2001 Aerobus came out with a new B-variant which added the capability for aerial refuelling and provided the aircraft with some overall updates. Currently, a mid life upgrade programme called "Elanus REX" is in the works. Aerobus plans to deliver the first upgraded aircraft in 2020.

In relation to the Europa carrier project commissioned by several Ventismar Union member states, the Aerobus consortium proposed a carrier capable variant, the Elanus C. Despite the overall success of the Elanus, no government has thus far shown interest in the C-variant, with many opting to adopt the Allentyr-Aznazian developed F-30 Griffon fifth generation stealth fighter jet's carrier capable versions.

Operators

• Royal Lindian Air Force, 72 in service
  • 7 Air reconnaissance squadron (24x)
  • 19 Air support squadron (24x)
  • 3 Air defence squadron (24x)

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 14.1 m (46.3 ft)
• Wingspan: 8.4 m (27.6 ft)
• Height: 4.5 m (14.8 ft)
• Wing area: 30 m² (323 ft²)
• Empty weight: 6,800 kg (15,000 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,900 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × 1x Dekkers F441-A afterburning turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 54 kN (12,100 lbf)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 80.5 kN (18,100 lbf)

Performance

• Maximum speed:
  
  • High altitude: Mach ≈2.00 (2,460+ km/h, 1,530+ mph)
• Combat radius: 800 km (497 mi)
• Ferry range: 3,200 km (1,990 mi)
• Service ceiling: 15 240 m (50 000 ft)
• Wing loading: 283 kg/m² ()
• Thrust/weight: 0.97
• Takeoff distance: 500 m
• Landing distance: 600 m
• Maximum load factor: +9/-3 g

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 27 mm Bouwer RK-27B revolver cannon with 120 rounds
• Hardpoints: 8 - one dedicated for FLIR / ECM / LD / Reconn pod. two under the fuselage, two under and one on the tip of each wing. with a capacity of 5 300 kg (11 700 lb) and provisions to carry combinations of:
  • Rockets: 4 × rocket pods, 13.5 cm rockets
  • Missiles:
    
    • 6 × AIM-9 Sidewinder (Rb.74) or IRIS-T (Rb 98) or A-Darter
    • 4 × AIM-120 AMRAAM (Rb.99) or MICA
    • 4 × Meteor
    • 4 × AGM-65 Maverick (Rb.75)
    • 2 × KEPD.350
    • 2 × Rbs.15F anti-ship missile
  • Bombs:
    
    • 4 × GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb
    • 2 × Bk.90 cluster bomb
    • 8 × Mark 82 bombs

Avionics
Radar: PS-05 / A Pulse-Doppler