Arthuristan Dynamics/Ahuriri Aerospace Cyclone
| Arthuristan Dynamics Cyclone | |
|---|---|
| |
| Arthuristan Dynamics Cyclone | |
| Role | Heavy tactical fighter |
| Manufacturer | Arthuristan Dynamics/Falcus Designs |
| First flight | 1973 |
| Introduction | 1975 (FR1), 1988 (FRG2) |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Commonwealth Navy (Arthurista), Commonwealth Air Force |
The Cyclone is an heavy tactical fighter, jointly developed by Arthurista and Onekawa-Nukanoa. Design work began in the early-70's, when the necessity of a high-end air superiority fighter to replace the Continental Reaper was highlighted. Its designers believed that fighting at close quarters remained an integral part of air combat and that the new concept must be maneouverable at subsonic and transonic speeds as well as being a good missile-armed supersonic interceptor. In order to reduce development costs, the Cyclone's engineers did not start from a blank slate, but essentially adapted the Belfrasian Aigios Viper design to a fixed-wing configuration, in a deal which allows Aigios to charge a fee for every Cyclone sold.
The aircraft, whilst very capable, was also very costly. Arthurista originally planned to procure more than 200, before reducing the order to 124. The Fleet Air Arm operates three squadrons of sixteen aircraft, one each intended for the two fleet carriers, plus one squadron which forms a reserve and in wartime would be placed under the command of the CAF as a land-based squadron. The Commonwealth Air Force operates five squadrons of 12 aircraft each. The two services operate a joint Operational Conversion Squadron equipped with 9 aircraft.
Owing to the high cost of maintaining and operating the Cyclone and the advanced air combat capabilities of the UFC Tempest, the Arthuristan Ministry of Defence announced at the 2004 Strategic Defence Review that the Cyclone would be withdrawn from service by 2010. The decision was controversial, owing to the lack of a heavyweight tactical fighter in the remaining CAF and Fleet Air Arm force structure, but nevertheless carried out. The last remaining Cyclone-flying squadron was converted to the Tempest in 2011.
Cyclone F.1
The Cyclone project was intended to create a heavy naval fighter/interceptor to succeed the Reaper. Unlike many contemporary models, Arthuristan Dynamics rejected variable-sweep wings in favour of fixed wings for ease of maintenance in favour of mid-mounted swept-wings with vortex-inducing strakes/leading-edge root extensions for enhanced lift, high-alpha performance and subsonic/trans-sonic turning capability. The extra-lift generated by the wide body also contributed to keeping wing-loading to a minimum. This first iteration of the Cyclone was however somewhat underpowered, being equipped with a pair of slightly uprated Rollers Engineering Spey turbofans which developed 58kn of dry thrust and 93.5kn with afterburners. Likewise, its radar system was adapted from the AN/AWG-9, capable of simultaneously tracking 24 aerial targets and engaging six, as well as possessing look down/shoot down capability. It was also the first Arthuristan fighter to feature an Infra-red search and tracking system.
Cyclone FGR.2
The Cyclone FGR.2 upgrade program began in 1988 and was completed in 1993. The end-result, the FGR.2, was to a significant extent a brand-new aircraft. Some were rebuilt from FGR.1 aircraft, but others were new-builds.
The greatest improvement to be incorporated into the aircraft was the Rollers Engineering E85 turbofans, featuring considerable improvement in both power output (74kn - 125kn) as well as reliability. The aicraft also received an overhauled digital flight control system, resulting in significantly better maneouverabilty in close combat.
The new Mark 86 radar, a derivative of the old AWG-9, features air-to-ground and air-to-sea search and mapping modes, whilst retaining the baseline model's air-to-air capabilities, thereby allowing the Cyclone to operate as a strike aircraft. The Cyclone also gained the capability to carry a camera pod for reconnaissance missions.
Owing to the newfound need to operate over land at low to medium altitudes, the aircraft's self-defence capabilities were also strengthened. Previous countermeasure units were added as ad hoc installations. The FGR.2 featured one of the world's first integrated countermeasures system, with radar, radar jammer, warning receiver and chaff/flare dispenser all working in conjunction to detect, identify and counter threats, providing the conceptual basis for DASS systems used on contemporary fighter aircraft.
Conformal fuel tanks significantly increased the aircraft's combat endurance, as well as relieving hardpoints for armaments instead of drop-tanks.
Three additional minor pieces of upgrade were introduced in the early-mid 1990's. Two were offensive upgrades incorporating Yisraeli technology. These were the DASH helmet-mounted sight which complements the Python heatseeker missile, as well as the Litening targeting pod. In addition, the aircraft received a new defensive enhancement in the form of the Aspis towed radar decoy. Aircraft which have received all three upgrades were designated the FGR.2(DLT). They were all intended largely to be interim solutions pending the aircraft's replacement by the Tempest and the Hurricane.
Cyclone FGR.3 proposal
The Cyclone was originally to be replaced by two advanced fighter designs - the UFC F-29 Hurricane as a 'silver bullet' force for the most demanding and dangerous operations, and the UFC Tempest as a general mutlirole workhorse. However, operational studies soon discovered that the costs of advanced 5th generation designs limits the number of Hurricane squadrons that the CAF and Fleet Air Arm may bring into service, and while the Tempest is a highly capable aircraft, many argued that the need for a heavy, long ranged tactical fighter remained.
Arthuristan Dynamics made the proposal for a new-built 'Super Cyclone' design, featuring canards and stealth-coating. This was pared back to a more limited deep-upgrade package which would refurbish and 'zero-hour' a reduced fleet of Cyclones, which would allow them to remain in operation until at least the mid-century. Onekawa has pressed ahead with the Super Cyclone project. In order to save costs, technology developed for the Tempest and Hurricane were adapted 'off-the-shelf' in this development program.
With the Arthuristan Ministry of Defence proving reluctant to invest in the Super Cyclone, a more limited FGR.3 upgrade was mooted for F.1 and FGR.2 aircraft remaining in service, whose airframes would be refurbished to 'zero-hour' condition and a number of improvements implemented.
In the event, the Ministry of Defence declined to proceed with the FGR.3 as well. The Cyclone was fully withdrawn from Arthuristan service by 2010.
Offensive sensors
The most important upgrades were to the aircraft's avionics and countermeasures. The FGR.3 features the new SABR-E AESA radar used in the latest version of the Belfrasian Viper. Unlike earlier fixed plate PESA and AESA radars, the SABR-E is tilted at an angle and mounted on a rotary 'wide field-of-view' repositioner. This enables the aircraft to overcome the fixed plate radar's issue with power drop-off at the azimuth units and allows the aircraft to track targets and guide missiles towards them at much more acute angles than before, enabling him to break earlier in a BVRAAM duel and thereby increasing his survivability.
The FGR.3 has two sets of offensive IR sensors. The first, the nose-mounted AEOTS (Advanced Electro-Optical Targeting System) IRST, was designed for long range air to air detection (up to 100km). It has been upgraded with Quantum Well Imaging Photodetectors ("QWIP") technology, able to simultaneously image in multiple wavebands, including very long wavebands emitted by cool surfaces, significantly enhancing its ability to detect aircraft designed with IR stealth in mind. The second offensive IR sensor is the ARBALEST targeting pod, which includes a forward-looking thermal imaging sensor, an electro-optical TV camera and a laser rangefinder/target indicator.
Defensive sensors
The FGR.3 introduced two early-warning systems. The first, the Hydra Receiver Array, is composed of a network of radar-warning receivers. While primarily intended as a defensive suite, its ability to detect low-powered beams from LPI AESA radars also allows it to be used as a powerful passive sensor with all-round, spherical coverage. This is complemented by the Silver Bow DASS (Defensive Aid Sub-System), featuring six IR detector apertures placed around the fuselage to provide all-round passive surveillance and missile-launch detection capability. Aside from their defensive function, they can also assist the pilot in acquiring targets through entirely passive means and cue weapons towards these targets.
Countermeasures
The FGR.2 had relied on conventional chaff and flare dispensers to defeat radar- and infrared-guided munitions respectively. The FGR.3 introduced a number of improvements derived from the Tempest project. The first of these is the ERIS EW Suite. Eris controls the aircraft's phased array radar jammer and, aided by the DASS system, can detect, sample, track and jam radar signals using DRFM technology. This upgrade is aimed at allowing the CAF to retire specialist electronic warfare aircraft such as the Mercury ECR, as well as significantly reducing reliance on expensive 5th-generation fighters to penetrate highly protected airspace defended by integrated air defence systems.
The updated AESA radar also has an electronic attack mode which can be used to incapacitate hostile radars. The ERIS is effective against low-frequency (VHF/UHF) search radars as well as high frequency fire control radars.
Another FGR.3 upgrade package is the BriteCloud Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) jammer, a disposable smart radar decoy device which is a direct replacement of legacy chaff systems, although it makes use of legacy old chaff-dispensing devices. Instead of flares, which are increasingly ineffective against thermal imaging technology, the FGR.3 makes use of a Directional Infrared Counter Measures suite, which utilises infra-red lasers to jam, degrade or destroy the IIR-guidance package on the tip of a missile through its aperture.
Data fusion
The avionics’ ‘data fusion’ capability allows for the presentation of the high volume and complex load of information from all these sensors as a single, easy to use picture projected into the TopSight Helmet Mounted Display, allowing for maximum combat effectiveness and minimal workload for the pilot. The combination of the helmet mounted display and spherical, all-round coverage sensors also allows the pilot to make maximum use of the capability of high off-boresight weapons in close WVR air to air combat.
Networking
Also upgraded was its networking capability. It has a new communications suite, combining Link-16 and MADL, allowing secure uplink with the CAF’s cutting edge stealth fighters through the ARTEMIS battlenet. This not only allows the fighters to share information with other units, but also enable them to share tracking, targeting and other data over the battlenet, allowing them to warn each other of potential dangers immediately after detection by one platform and guide each others' weapons towards their targets.
Specifications (Cyclone FGR.2)
- Crew: 2
- Engines: 2 x Rollers Engineering E85K turbofans, 125kn each with afterburners
- Wingspan: 15.3m
- Length: 22m
- Height: 5.9m
- Empty Weight: 18,500kg
- Top speed: 2,700 km/h at high altitude
- ceiling: 17,288m
- Combat radius: 1,800km with CFT
- Sensors: Mark 86 airborne fire control radar, IRST
- Armaments: 1 × 30mm ADEN cannon (150 rounds), 10,400kg of munitions
See also
- Related development