TC-26

TC-26
Role	Anti-ship ekranoplan
National origin	Zacapican
Manufacturer	Cuauhquetztia
Designer	Micol Aketzalli NTT 97
First flight	17 September 1972
Introduction	1973
Status	In service
Primary user	Zacapine Navy
Number built	24

The TC-26, serving under the designation of Hammerhead (Nahuatl: 𐐓𐑊𐐰𐑋𐐰𐑌𐐨𐐿𐐶𐐨𐐻𐑆𐐻𐑊𐐨, Tlamanicuiztli), is a Zacapine military screen glider designed by Micol Aketzalli and the NTT 97 engineering unit and manufactured by Cuauhquetztia for the Zacapine Naval Aviation corps. It is armed with anti-ship missiles mounted on top of its fuselage in a set of six launch tubes, allowing the craft to attack hostile cruisers, capital ships and other naval targets. The vehicle itself utilizes the ground effect to travel without the drag experienced by ship hulls submerged in water while harnessing added lift generated by flying close to the surface on a cushion of air, thereby allowing the TC-26 to bear the weight and payload of a ship wile traveling at the speed of an aircraft. The TC-26 is the product of the Zacapine engineering establishment of the NTT Program and Micol Aketzalli, director of NTT 97 specializing in ekranoplan development. Its older anti-submarine sibling, the TC-14, shares this provenance and is currently the only other ekranoplan in military service.

Background

The ekranoplan concept was based on the well documented ground effect experienced by pilots since the advent of aviation. Designer Micol Aketzalli had become fascinated by the the concept of a "super-hydrofoil" which would overcome the lift limitations of cavitation generated by the submerged wings of a conventional hydrofoil by relocating the lift surfaces out of the water. As an aeronautic engineer, aerodynamic concepts were more familiar to Aketzalli than the hydrodynamics of watercraft. However, Aketzalli was quickly involved in the amphibious aircraft projects of NTT design unit 99, which would set him on a path towards developing the ekranoplan concept. He envisioned a vehicle that would use wings attached to its hull to generate lift sufficient to lift itself out of the water at high speeds, totally eliminating the drag from the water on the hull. By harnessing the ground effect, the craft would not fly like a conventional seaplane of the type he was working on in NTT 99, but using the ground effect to ride on top of a cushion of compressed air generated by the lift surfaces increasing the air pressure against the surface of the water. Micol Aketzalli, considered to be a generally charismatic advocate of his designs due to his infectious enthusiasm, would propose this concept to the Zacapine military and the government administration of the NTT program, outlining how such a vehicle would be a low radar signature due to flying directly over the surface, have no sonar signature whatsoever as it would be lifted wholly out of the water, likewise evading naval mines and the perils of shallow waters, and could carry a heavy payload at speeds unheard of for any naval vessel. The authorities, taken in by Aketzalli's proposal, made him director of the floundering NTT 97 ekranoplan research unit and greenlit a ekranoplan development program that would eventually produce the TC-14 and TC-26 ekranoplan vehicles.

Development

Military interest in the revolutionary ekranoplan concept championed by Aketzalli propelled the development of the TC-26 and it sister project. The ground effect vehicle concept had never been truly explored, and the development of a militarized ground effect vehicle would give the Zacapine armed forces, specifically its navy, a vehicle with capabilities unique in the world. The navy requested two different models, one to serve in an anti-ship role and the other to combat the threat of submarine forces that military aviation was struggling to cope with at the time. Aketzalli planned the anti-ship vehicle that would eventually become the TC-26 to be much larger than his early prototypes that had weighed only a few tonnes. The new TC-26 design would weigh hundreds of tonnes, a scale up demanded by the requirement of the vehicle to carry a payload of large anti-ship missiles capable of destroying enemy capital ships. However, Aketzalli would soon discover that unlike with a conventional aircraft, the increased weight and size would actually benefit the TC-26 as it would allow for a much more pronounced ground effect compressing more air into a denser cushion with the vehicle's massive weight and area. The dramatically increased weight of the prototype would not only be counteracted by the added lift from the ground effect, it would allow the craft to harness the ground effect at higher altitudes and fly further above the surface of the water, which would increase the safety of the design as it would enable it to evade hazards such as protruding rocks or large waves. Ultimately, the increased size of the concept would dramatically simplify the development process compared to the smaller sister TC-14 which would require a much more complicated thrust system and would eventually be converted into a full amphibious aircraft capable of conventional flight as well as ground effect flight.

Design

The TC-26 alternate designation of Hammerhead comes from the striking appearance of its eight large turbojet engines, mounted in two rows of four on large canards behind the cockpit at the front of the craft. These engines are used to generate the massive thrust necessary to create and sustain the ground effect on a vehicle of this size. Specifically, the engines direct their thrust downwards which creates a platform of compressed air from its thrust under the shortened, broadened wings of the vehicle which helps to kickstart the ground effect. While the forward engines are in use, the TC-26 behaves not as a ground effect vehicle but as a hovercraft which enables the vehicle to lift itself out of the water and reach the speeds necessary to begin harnessing the power of the ground effect to generate lift. Once the ground effect is achieved, the forward engines shut off as the hovercraft effect they generate is no longer needed. All forward thrust for the vehicle is generate by the two turbojets mounted on the tail section. Thanks to the favorable drag and lift qualities of the TC-26 flying in the ground effect, these two smaller engines generate more than sufficient thrust on their own to propel the craft at speeds of nearly 600 kilometers per hour.

The tail of the TC-26 is over 17 meters tall, accounting for most of the total height of the vehicle. The disproportionate size of the tail is necessary to counteract the significant instability inherent to flight at such low altitudes, and to assist with the notoriously ponderous and wide turns of heavy ekranoplans. The main armament of the vehicle can be seen fitted on the vehicle's top fuselage in the form of three rows of two missile launch tubes facing forward and raised at a 30 degree angle. These large tubes house heavy antiship missiles capable of crippling or sinking large naval vessels. The exact type and capabilities of the missiles fitted to the TC-26 has changed since the vehicles introduction, improving and overcoming limitations of the original missile type Aketzalli had available for his design. Auxiliary armament is provided in the form of two turrets, one mounted forward and another on the tail, each fitted with two 23mm cannons for defending the TC-26 against small ships and aircraft that may attack it while at sea. The TC-26 requires a high rate of travel to maintain the ground effect, and so cannot accompany squadrons of conventional ships. Instead, it fits in the Zacapine naval doctrine in a similar role to a land-based naval bomber which is launched from harbors in response to the incursion of hostile naval forces. Its high speed enables the TC-26 to conduct quick response interceptions of incoming ships, while its heavy payload of anti-ship missiles is more potent than the air-launched equivalents carried by such land-based naval bombers in Zacapine service. The TC-26 is organized in strike units of three craft, which are capable of launching a barrage of 18 missiles at once. If concentrated against a single high value target, such as the flagship of an enemy squadron, such a saturation attack may be capable of overwhelming naval air defenses and scoring potentially fatal hits, sinking a signficant enemy vessel or else inflicting enough damage to force the enemy incursion to retreat.

Operators

Zacapican

• Zacapine Armed Forces
  • Zacapine Navy

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 15
• Capacity: 137 t (302,000 lb)
• Length: 73.8 m (242 ft 2 in)
• Wingspan: 44 m (144 ft 4 in)
• Height: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
• Wing area: 550 m² (5,900 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 286,000 kg (630,522 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 380,000 kg (837,757 lb)
• Powerplant: 8 × Q-87 turbofans, 127.4 kN (28,600 lbf) thrust each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 550 km/h (342 mph; 297 kn)
• Cruise speed: 450 km/h (280 mph; 243 kn) at 2.5 m (8 ft)
• Range: 2,000 km (1,243 mi; 1,080 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5 m (16 ft) in ground effect

Armament

• Guns: two 23mm cannons in a twin tail turret and two 23mm cannons in a twin turret under forward missile tubes
• Missiles: six launchers for MNA-109 Tzompantli antiship missiles