Altomare C.11 Spettro

Athar L-9 Espirito
Role	Air superiority, Multirole combat aircraft
National origin	Temuair
Manufacturer	Athar Aviation
First flight	May 11, 1999
Introduction	November 21, 2010
Status	In service
Primary user	Imperial Air Force of Temuair

The Athar L-9 Espirito is a single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft built by Athar Aviation for the Imperial Air Force of Temuair. it is set to replace the L/A-3 Sombra stealth aircraft currently in service.

History and development

Although initial the L-9 was considered to replace both the Athar L-5H Víbora and newer Athar L-7 Jararaca, its extremely limited air to ground and multi-mission capability forced the Imperial Air Force to reconsider this. As such, it is very likely that the L-9 will serve alongside the L-5H and the L-7 well into the future.

Operational history

48 L-9 aircraft have been delivered as of January 1, 2019. The 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was activated in January of 2010, just prior to the first deliver of L-9 aircraft. The 15th Tactical Fighter Wing was one of two wings stood up to receive the first 36 new L-9 aircraft, the second is the still-to-be activated 32nd Tactical Fighter Wing, which should be formally activated in February 2019. In November of 2018, the X Squadron of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing received the first 12 of 36 L-9 aircraft to replace their less capable L/A-3 Sombra aircraft. Following this delivery, the next batch of 12 is slated to go to the 32nd Tactical Fighter Wing, at which point deliveries will alternate between the 32nd Tactical Fighter Wing and the 18th. If the rate of delivery is kept, the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing should be fully equipped by August of 2020, and the 32nd should be fully equipped by February of 2021. A total of 108 aircraft are planned by 2021, with a possibility for 216 aircraft by 2025.

Variants

• L-9: Production variant
• L-9A: A planned tandem seat production for training and strike missions. Due to the L-9's poor multi-mission performance, this version was not ordered into production.

Operators

• Temuair
  • Imperial Air Force of Temuair
    • 18th Tactical Fighter Wing
      • 50th Tactical Fighter Squadron
      • 52nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (Planned August 2019)
      • 54th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Planned August 2020)
    • 32nd Tactical Fighter Wing
      • 94th Tactical Fighter Squadron
      • 96th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Planned February 2020)
      • 98th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Planned February 2021)

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 (pilot)
• Length: 67 ft 5 in (20.60 m)
• Wingspan: 43 ft 7 in (13.30 m)
• Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.30 m)
• Wing area: 900 ft² (88 m²)
• Empty weight: 29,000 lb (13,100 kg)
• Loaded weight: 51,320 lb (23,327 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 62,000 lb (29,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × AEM-21456 afterburning turbofan, 35,000 lbf (156 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed:
  
  • At altitude: Mach 2.2+ (1,450+ mph, 2,335+ km/h)
  • Supercruise: Mach 1.6+ (1,060+ mph, 1,706+ km/h)
• Range: over 2,790 mi (over 4,500 km)
• Combat radius: 750–800 nmi (865–920 mi, 1,380–1480 km)
• Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (19,800 m)
• Wing loading: 57 lb/ft² (265 kg/m²; at loaded weight)
• Thrust/weight: 1.36

Armament

• 1 × 30 mm Srad CDR-30/1 cannon
• Air-to-air mission loadout:
  • 4 × Areiva Frecha II beyond-visual-range missile
  • 2 × Dardo IV short-range air-to-air missiles
• Air-to-ground mission loadout:
  • 2 × 450 kg (1,000 lbs) BG-450/97 or 8 × BG-96/06 guided bombs
  • 2 × Frecha II medium-range air-to-air missiles
  • 2 × Dardo IV short-range air-to-air missiles
• 4× under-wing pylon stations can be fitted to carry drop tanks or weapons, each with a capacity of 5,000 lb (2,270 kg). However, if mounted, external hardpoints will compromise the stealth of the fighter.

Avionics
Graymayre-400 active electronically scanned array radar

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Accipitrem Legion Na-6
• Aymovski Ay-105
• Prévoyance Héron Noir