AC/A-92 Night Adder

AC/A-92 Night Adder
Blueprint of the AC/A-92 Night Adder
General information
Type	Stealth Multirole Fighter
Manufacturer	Incorporacion Estavez-Kilo (IEK)
Status	In service
History
Manufactured	2014-present
Introduction date	2015

The AC/A-92 "Night Adder" is a Generation 5 multirole fighter developed for the Inyurstan Navy, and has been adopted by the Inyurstan Airforce and other international services. The Night Adder is a Short Take-Off and Arrested Landing (STOBAR) aircraft designed to be able to take off from smaller surface ships, such as amphibious assault ships and aviation cruisers.

Design

A departure from previous Inyurstan designs, though keeping in line with certain Mericki designs, the AC/A-92 is a delta-wing fighter. With a wing area of 70m², the Night Adder accounts for the smallest wing loading of any Inyurstan fighter and second smallest of any Mericki (behind the "Bulldog" air superiority fighter, also a delta wing). Because of this, the AC/A-92 has a wing loading less than that of existing traditional trapezoidal or swept-wing carrier fighters, assisting it in short take-off and landing.

Short Take-Off Variants

The AC/A-92LSE1 and [MERICKI DESIGNATION] both feature a stealth-capable modification of a "traditional VTOL/STOVL" aircraft. The lack of "balance control" by additional nozzle outlets are mitigated by two major design factors: first, reliance on improved fly-by-wire technologies compared to historical aircraft alleviates the likelihood of "overcorrecting" error by the pilot; second, through double the "points of contact" thanks to being a two-engine aircraft rather than a single-engine aircraft. In this arrangement, two forward bottom-facing thrust-vectoring nozzles are used (one per engine) to generate partial downwards thrust. However, this arrangement is not enough to perform a "proper" vertical landing; instead of a 90o perpendicular landing, the two variants instead perform a canted slow-down. This has led to some classifying the AC/A-92LSE1 and [MERICKI DESIGNATION] as a "semi-vertical landing" or "STOSVL".

The MERICKI DESIGNATION is slightly longer than its cousins, with the Mericki designers opting to lengthen the aircraft instead of compromising the weapons bay.

Parts Commonality

In spite of the development woes, the designers were able to keep the AC/A-92 variants to approximately 68% parts commonality between the most disjunct variants. However, parts commonality within each nation is much higher, with Inyurstan models sharing approximately 85% parts commonality with each other, and Mericki models sharing approximately 83%. Proposed export versions are claimed to have less, somewhere between 45-60% parts commonality; though IEK and [MERICKI FIRM] claim that even the export variants are "logistically compatible where it matters".

Stealth

The Night Adder is designed for all-aspect stealth, wherein the aircraft is significantly more challenging to detect at all angles compared to 4th Generation contemporaries.

This aircraft is created and painted with radar absorbent materials, in addition to its low-RCS frontal shape. Ducted intakes and s-shaped engines eliminate the returns of the engine, while the opening edges and walls of the intakes are built with radar-absorbent materials. As a singular delta-wing design, it has less wing surfaces to reflect radar, while a pair of canted vertical stabilizers (tail) provide lower radar returns that single or double straight-standing vertical stabilizers. Rather than traditional canards, it utilizes Leading-Edge Vortex Controllers (LEVCON)s, which result in less radar returns than traditional frontal canards but more maneuver control than LERX. However, in terms of shape and design, the LEVCONs still create the same radar returns as do a deltawing + LERX aircraft, which represent the lowest RCS return values of any deltawing design. It is rumored to have a frontal RCS of 0.000085-0.0001m², although no formal data has been confirmed by the Inyurstan armed forces.

To reduce infrared signature, the Night Adder has built-in active cooling systems located in the leading edge of the wings, vertical stabilizers and at the edge of the engine nozzles & rear underside of the fuselage (below the active engine). Positioning of the engine outlets is also shielded from side angles by extensions of the fuselage and support for the rear stabilizers.

Weapons are stored in a 2.8m x 4.4m internal weapons bay with 2x2 pylons. An additional pair of side bays can fit either short-range air-to-air missiles or the ASM-130F Glide Rocket. Improvements to both weapons carrying capacity while maintaining stealth post-launch come in two forms:

Performance

The Night Adder is designed under the doctrine of "maneuverability at speed, at distance". Wherein earlier 4th generation aircraft, such as the AC-88 Taipan focused on super-maneuverable stunts at extremely close distances (sometimes inside of 5km of the enemy aircraft) usually at subsonic speeds, the AC/A-92 focuses on being able to maintain supersonic speed while being able to escape or mitigate an enemy's missile sight, often at distances of >20km away or more.

It is powered by two Motusi FE-2006 turbofan engines, each with a dry thrust of 108kn for a combined dry thrust of 216kn. The exact "wet thrust" numbers are still classified from both Mericki and Inyurstan sources, but it is estimated to be in the range of 300kn combined.

With a thrust-to-weight ration of [XXX] at maximum payload and maximum fuel capacity, and [XXX] at half fuel and full air-to-air loadout, the AC/A-92 is still an energetically maneuverable fighter aircraft.

Avionics

The primary radar system of the AC/A-92 is the ESQ/MS-90 LAST (Low-intercept Air & Surface Tracking) AESA, a.k.a "Last Call", by Seratto Defense Solutions. With over 1,750 transmit/receive modules, this system has a claimed intercept range of 230km for targets with an RCS 1m², and when operating in SAR mode can track up to 24 moving ground targets within a 75km radius. Electro-Optical Search & Track (EOST) is provided by the CAT EYE II system. Integration of the CAT EYE II and Last Call systems means that the AC/A-92 can rapidly identify and engage multiple targets. In theory, both systems can work independently to increase the number of targets engaged; though in practice targets would likely be "overlapped" and allow the pilot better recognition and weapons decisions.

Anti-radiation capabilities are provided by the Sevât-M Counter-Emissions System, and last-resort countermeasures are the advanced LIDACS-III Counter-Measure Suite.

Variants

AC/A-92A:
Conventional take-off (CTO) variant in service with the Inyurstan Aéroforça.
AC/A-92SM1 : Surfacjéas de Marines Carrier-capable variant, including a tail hook, folding wings and forward thrust-vectoring nozzles for "STOSVL" landing.
AC/A-92SM2 : Surfacjéas de Marines Full, traditional STOVL variant for the Inyurstan Marine. Never adopted.
(Mericki Designation)-92V:
STOVL variant in service with the Merick Isles. .
(Mericki Designation)-92CFB:
A slightly larger "carrier fighter bomber" variant in service with the Merick Isles. Includes a two-seat cockpit, 5.2mx2.8m weapons bay, and 10% larger wing surface.
AC/A-92CEM:
Commercial Export Model:

History

It is expected to serve in Inyurstan and Mericki services until at least 2050.

Specifications

Crew: 1
Speed: Mach 1.8 (1,370mph; 2,200km/h)
Range: 900nm (1,670km)
Combat Radius:

• Runway - Air-to-Air: 1,460km
  
• Runway - Air-to-Ground: 1,220km
  
• STOVL - Air-to-Air: 940km
  

Empty Weight: 13,200kg (29,100lb)
Payload: 7,260kg (16,000lb)

• Payload Catapult: NUMBER HERE (kg)
  
• Payload STOVL: 4,500kg (9,920lb)
  

Wingloading at half fuel x6AAM = 261.4 Wingloading at full fuel x8AAM = 325.7kg/m2 Wingloading at full fuel x2 AShMs x2 AAM = 347.1kg/m2 Wing Area: 70.0m² Hardpoints:

• x6 Internal Undercarriage
  
• x2 Internal Side Sleeve
  
• x2 Underwing (optional)
  
• x2 Wingtip (optional)
  

Gun: x1 RK-27 "Warlord" 27mm autocannon

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C-170 Rapier II	ASM-11PE2 Barracuda	OCE-3 Entropéa	ASM-13 Scylla
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SJJ-11 Saiha	AGM-154 JSOW
AIM-120 AMRAAM
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