Messerschmitt Me 524

Messerschmitt Me 524
An Ordenite Luftwaffe Me 524 in flight
Role	Fighter
National origin	Ordenite Reich
Manufacturer	Messerschmitt
First flight	1994
Introduction	2003
Primary user	Ordenite Luftwaffe
Unit cost	$125 million (flyaway cost 2020)

The Messerschmitt Me 524 is a twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed by Messerschmitt for the Ordenite Luftwaffe. The aircraft's development began in the 1980s as the TKF-90 (Taktisches Kampfflugzeug 90, Tactical Combat Aircraft 90), a concept for an advanced fourth generation air superiority fighter aircraft to replace previous generation fighter aircraft in Ordenite Luftwaffe service.

Design

Airframe

The Me 524 is designed for high subsosnic and supersonic agility and combines a rear mounted tailless delta wing with a 45-degree sweep with close-coupled canards placed behind the canopy. The aircraft is inherently aerodynamically unstable and uses a quadruply redundant digital fly-by-wire control system to maintain stability during flight. Roll control is achieved via trailing edge elevons, pitch control is via the canards, and roll control is via rudders on the twin outwardly canted tail fins. Air is fed into the engines via twin ventral intakes located below the fuselage. The aircraft uses a tricycle landing gear system with a single dual-wheel landing gear in the front which retracts backwards and two single wheel gears in the rear which retract forwards. The aircraft features an extensive application of composite materials and is constructed by weight from 70% carbon fiber reinforced composites, 15% aluminum and titanium alloys, 12% glass fiber reinforced plastics, and 3% other materials. Although not designed as a stealth aircraft the aircraft does feature a number of radar signature reducing features including radar absorbing material (RAM) coatings on the forward fuselage and S-duct shaped intakes which partially conceal the engine fans from view.

Cockpit

The Me 524 features a glass cockpit with a Hands On Throttle-And-Stick (HOTAS) control design with center control stick and left hand throttles. The cockpit includes a wide-angle heads-up display (HUD) and three multi-function displays (MFD) which display navigational and mission data, aircraft status and electronic warfare information, and sensor and fire control information. The cockpit also includes integrated direct voice input (DVI) system which allows a range of aircraft functions to be controlled by voice commands from the pilot. A head-mounted display (HMD) system is integrated with the cockpit as standard and allows for the targeting of High Off-Boresight (HOBS) missiles. The pilot's seat is inclined rearwards at 30° to provide better pilot g-force tolerance during maneuvering and to provide a better external pilot view. Emergency pilot escape is provided by a "zero-zero" ejection seat with the canopy being jettisoned by two rocket motors. An on-board oxygen generating system and provides air to the pilot without having to use on board liquid oxygen cylinders.

Avionics

The Me 524 was originally fitted with the FuG 436 "Neptun" (Neptune) radar, an X band passive electronically scanned array (PESA) multi-mode radar capable of detecting and tracking targets out to 250 kilometers with the ability to track up to 20 simultaneous targets and guide missiles to up to six targets at once. On current aircraft the FuG 436 "Neptun" has been replaced by the FuG 480 "Germania", an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar employing over 2,000 GaAs T/R modules which provides greatly superior detection range and reliability compared to the previous generation radar. The FuG 480 radar supports various air-to-air modes as well as air-to-ground modes including high resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping and ground moving target indicator modes. The antenna is mounted a gimbal allowing the antenna to swivel 40° to either side of the centenarian, giving the aircraft's radar a field of view of 100° on either side of the aircraft's centerline. In addition to the radar the Me 524 carries an infrared search and track (IRST) system mounted forward of the windscreen on the left side of the aircraft which provides passive target detection and tracking to complement the radar in air-to-air mode.

Specifications

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 20.00 m
• Wingspan: 16.40 m
• Height: 5.60 m
• Wing Area: 81.6 m²
• Empty Weight: 16,500 kg
• Loaded Weight: 8,000 kg
• Max Takeoff Weight: 34,500 kg
• Powerplant: 2 × Junkers Jumo 109-090 Afterburning Turbofanns, 85 kN thrust each dry, 145 kN thrust each afterburner
• Fuel Capacity: 8,200 kg (18,078 lbs)

Performance

• Maximum Speed: Mach 2.3 (2,450 km/h) at altitude
• Range: 4000 km
• Service Ceiling: 18,945 m
• G limits: +9 -3
• Rate of Climb: 300 m/s
• Wing Loading: 430 kg/m² (88.1 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/Weight: 1.05

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 27 mm cannon with 150 rounds
• Payload: 6,000 kg on 12 external hardpoints