Prévoyance Labbe

Prévoyance Labbe
Labbe of Flottille F15 taking off from the NNS Triomphe
Role	Air superiority, Multirole combat aircraft
National origin	Notreceau
Manufacturer	Prévoyance Aviation
Designer	Prévoyance Aviation
First flight	July 5th, 1985
Introduction	April 3rd, 1996
Status	In service
Primary users	Notreceauen Airforce Notreceauen Navy

The Prévoyance Labbe (English: Prévoyance Skua) is a single seat, two engine, all weather, fourth generation, multirole fighter. The Labbe is designed to conduct a variety of air combat missions including air superiority, ground attack, maritime strike and nuclear strike. The Labbe is currently produced in three variations the M conventional carrier based, C conventional take-off and landing, and R reconnaissance models.

History and Development

In the early 1960s during the Soviet Order's advance into central and south-central Omand, Notreceauen military advisors and forward deployed air crews piloting the newly introduced Aigle II experienced combat with Soviet Order aircraft for the first time. Despite the Aigle II's superiority when compared to other Allied Nations aircraft of the time period, the Aigle II was effectively matched by the Soviet Order Alexeyev-Leonov ALe-21S and rendered nearly obsolete in air-to-air combat against the ALe-21. Air-to-air victories were recorded by Aigle II pilots against the ALe-21 during the time period but it became quickly apparent that the Aigle II was outclassed by Soviet Order aircraft which featured superior avionics, weapon systems and radar capabilities. Large numbers of Aigle IIs operating in single flight formation were required to effectively engage standard Soviet Order combat flights.

As a result of these combat difficulties the Notreceauen Department of Defense Research and Development (DDRD) in conjunction with the Air Force initiated the Programme d'avion de combat d'urgence (Emergency Fighter Program) in 1963 which eventually resulted in the Prévoyance Aigle IV whose prototype aircraft flew limited combat missions against the Soviet Order during the Invasion of Notreceau before being withdrawn to Luminerra. While the Aigle IV, whose development cycle was completed with the assistance of Luminerra, temporarily narrowed the fighter gap in the early 70s against emerging threats like the Soviet Alexeyev-Leonov Ale-27, this proved to be a short-term situation. The introduction of newer Soviet Order aircraft such as the Alexeyev-Leonov ALe-29 and Lyadov Ly-27 quickly presented new problems for the Allied Nations air forces to contend with and the Aigle IV was faced with the same issues as its predecessor the Aigle.

In order to combat these new threats Notreceauen and Luminerra design teams worked in conjunction throughout the 1970s and early 1980s to introduce the Prévoyance-Scorza Albatros ([Or Insert name in Lumenic]) in 1983. The Albatros incorporated a number of technological advancements gained from observing Licanan aircraft in action as well as captured Soviet Order aircraft that were seized by Allied forces during Operation Southern Cross. While still lagging behind Soviet Order aircraft and vastly outperformed by Licanan aircraft, the Albatros was a competent aircraft that allowed the allied nations to engage Soviet Order aircraft effectively, although the avionics and weapon deficiency was still readily apparent.

When it became apparent in the mid and late 1970s that the Allied Forces and Licana would liberate Notreceau as a result of Operation Southern Cross, the DDRD secretly laid plans to develop a second fighter parallel with the Albatros that would have a significantly longer development lifecycle and would incorporate technologies captured from the Soviet Order as they became available. This project, innocuously named Numéro de programme aéronautique 777 (Aviation Program 777 in English) was conducted without input from Luminerra and hidden from the other nations in the Allied Forces.

Taking cues from captured examples of the Lyadov Ly-11 and Lyadov Ly-15 Prévoyance decided to stick with the delta wing superstructure that several of their previous aircraft had also incorporated. After witnessing the effectiveness of the then-new Lyadov Ly-33 during operations in the [Insert] Sea in the late 70s, the decision to incorporate canards to increase maneuverability was made. While no examples of the Lyadov Ly-33 were on hand, advancements in digital modeling software in the early and mid 80s allowed the engineers at Prévoyance to design and test simulated versions of the prototype Labbe in various configurations, eventually selling the DDRD on the canard model.

Given the secretive nature of the project and the ongoing occupation of Notreceau during the early years of NPA 777, the prototype Labbe existed primarily on paper and in digital models during the first 5-6 years of its life. As Operation Southern Cross began to make headway into Notreceau, significant debates inside both Prévoyance and the DDRD arose regarding production location and methodology. Despite the continued cooperation between Notreceau and Luminerra during the Omandan Continental War, the old rivalry between the two nations meant Notreceau was unwilling to bring the allied nations into the Labbe program. As a result the DDRD initiated Operation Cuckoo. Operation Cuckoo involved leaking the ongoing development of the Super Albatros to Luminerran intelligence, while keeping up a ruse of trying to hide its development. In doing so, the DDRD hoped that allied focus would be diverted from the Labbe and focused elsewhere.

In the early 80s as the liberation of Notreceau rapidly accelerated, Prévoyance was confronted with a new problem. The previous Prévoyance manufacturing center in Passerville had been relocated to Luminerra earlier in the war, and while its relocation back to Notreceau was well underway, Luminerran assistance in the project meant working on the Labbe at the primary production facility was impossible in secrecy. As a result Prévoyance purchased the Cycle Suprême Corporation, a bicycle firm located in Gataeux, and moved the team working on the Labbe into their production center. Operation Cuckoo was generally considered a success, with various allied nations only learning of the Labbe at the time of its first flight in 1985.

Work on the Labbe accelerated significantly in the late 80s and early 90s, with several avionics reworks and a new air frame with a lower radar cross section designed and built before the Labbe's official introduciton in 1996. As a result of its long development time, the Labbe did not see combat during the Omandan Continental War, though it has participated in several conflicts and aerial combats since.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 50.01 ft (15.27 m)
• Wingspan: 35.9 ft (10.9 m)
• Height: 17.5 ft (5.34 m)
• Wing area: 492 ft² (45.7 m²)
• Empty weight: 22,708 lbs (10,300 kg)
• Loaded weight: 54,013 lbs (24,500 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 54,013 lbs (24,500 kgs)
• Powerplant: 2 × Solaire M1008-54 derivative afterburning turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 22,500 lbf (100.08 kN) each
  • Thrust with afterburner: 34,000 lbf (150 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed:
  
  • At sea level: Mach 1.1
  • At altitude: Mach 1.8
• Combat radius: 1,150 mi (1,000 nmi, 1,850 km)
• Service ceiling: 49,984 ft (15,253 m)
• Rate of climb: 60,000 ft/min (304.8 m/s)
• Maximum g-load: +9.0 g

Armament

• Guns: 1 x GIST 30 30 mm autocannon
• Hardpoints: 6 × external pylons on wings with a capacity of 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) and two internal bays with a capacity of up to 5,700 lb (2,590 kg). with a capacity of up to 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) of stores
• Missiles:
  
  • MD.2113 Mystique or MD.2115/MD.2213 Rouchet IR-guided air to air missiles
  • MD.2214 Javelot beyond-visual-range missile
  • MD.2322 Chercheur anti-radiation missile
  • MD.2433 Piquer anti-ship missile
  • MD.2542 Sabrer or MD.2523 Aie
  • MD.2451 Tuerie nuclear air launched cruise missile
• Bombs:
  
  • BD.2521 340 kg (7,50 lbs) guided bombs
  • BD.2642 cluster bomb
  • BD.2623, BD.2622, and BD.2621 general-purpose bombs
  • BD.2721, BD.2722, BD.2723 laser-guided bombs

Operators

• Notreceau
  • Notreceaun Air Force
  • Notreceauen Navy