Horten Ho-335

Horten Ho-335
An Ordenite Luftwaffe Ho-335 in flight
Role	Stategic Bomber
National origin	Ordenite Reich
Manufacturer	Horten
First flight	1994
Introduction	2003
Primary user	Ordenite Luftwaffe
Unit cost	$550 million (flyaway cost 2020)

The Horten Ho-335 is a low-observable Stategic Bomber designed by Horten for the Ordenite Luftwaffe. The bomber was designed by Horten to fulfill an Ordenite Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) requirement for a long range strategic bomber for the Ordenite Luftwaffe which could strike targets targets throughout Central Diestand from bases in Ordena,

Design

Airframe

The most distinctive feature of the Ho-335 is it's tailless blended wing-body design which is designed for both extremely low radar signature to avoid detection and high aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft features two moderately swept high-aspect ratio wings blended into a trapezoidal shaped fuselage with parallel alignment of the wing and fuselage edges. The large wingspan and low drag blended fuselage gives the aircraft an extremely high lift-to-drag ratio which results in a long range and a very high cruising altitude. The aircraft's shape results in a very high static instability margin and requires the use of quadruply redundant computer-controlled fly-by-wire system to maintain aircraft stability in flight. The engine inlets are blended into the upper fuselage on either side of the cockpit and feature an S duct shape which hides the engine compressor and fan blades from radar view. The twin pairs of engines are buried deep in the aircraft's fuselage and exhaust through 2-D slits blended into the trailing edge of the fuselage which hide the hot engine exhaust from the sides and from below the aircraft. With the exception of the landing gear and bomb bay doors the underside of the aircraft is a flat and almost featureless surface which gives an extremely low radar return to any ground or airborne radars looking up at the aircraft. The doors and panels on the aircraft also feature a distinct serrated shape which breaks up any travelling radar reflections along the aircraft's surface. To minimize radar returns from the side aspect the aircraft lacks any vertical control surfaces and uses a combination of split ailerons on the wing tips and differential thrust from its engines to provide yaw control. To reduce weight and signature the majority of the aircraft is constructed from graphite-epoxy composite material and features an expensive application of various radar-absorbent materials (RAM) including both magnetic and dielectric coatings effective against centimetric, decimetric, and metric wavelength radars. The aircraft's true radar cross section is a closely guarded secret by the Ordenite Lufwaffe but is reportedly in the 0.001 to 0.0001 m2 range (-30 to 040 dBsm) from the frontal aspect.

Avionics

The primary sensor of the Horten Ho-335 is the FuG 488 "Bremen", low probability of intercept (LPI) passive phased array radar operating in the Ku band which is used for the precision delivery of guided and unguided munitions along with high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping and ground-moving target tracking. The radar system employs two redundant radar sets with antennas located below the wing leading edges on either side of the fuselage. Other avionics include an astro-inertial navigation system, low probability of intercept (LPI) radar altimeter, and a FuG 454 "Flensburg" passive radar warning system which detects radar emissions and alerts the crew to any radar threats to the aircraft.

Engines

The Horten Ho-335 is fitted with four Junkers Jumo 109-091 low-bypass non afterburning turbofan engines each capable of providing up to 85 kN of thrusy The engine combines various advanced features including integrally bladed rotors (IBRs(, single-crystal turbine blades, wide-chord fan blades, and an integrated health management and FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) system. The engines are arranged in pairs on either side of the centerline and are deeply buried inside the aircraft to minimize their infrared signature.

Specifications

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 21.00 m
• Wingspan: 52.40 m
• Height: 5.20 m
• Wing Area: 478 m²
• Empty Weight: 60,850 kg
• Takeoff Weight: 127,000 kg
• Powerplant: 4 × Junkers Jumo 109-091 Turbofans, 85 kN thrust each

Performance

• Maximum Speed: Mach 0.85 (900 km/h) at 18,000 m altitude
• Cruise Speed: Mach 0.80 (850 km/h) at 18,000 m altitude
• Range: 13,000 km
• Service Ceiling: 18,000 m
• Wing loading: 273 kg/m2
• Thrust/Weight: 0.27

Armament

• Payload: 2 internal bomb bays for 10,000 kg of ordinance