Aymovski Ay-05
| Ay-05 | |
|---|---|
| File:Ay-05K0.png | |
| Ay-05K-SMT of the Anikatian Naval Aviation | |
| Role | Carrier-capable multirole fighter |
| National origin |  DSRA  Anikatia
|
| Manufacturer | Aymovski |
| First flight | 4 November 1977 |
| Introduction | 22 December 1981 |
| Status | In production |
| Primary users | DSRA Anikatia Template:Country data Ankar File:Flag of Rodarion.png Rodarion Template:Country data Goredemabwa Template:Country data Valinor |
| Produced | 1981–present |
| Number built | 2,000+ |
| Unit cost | |
The Aymovski Ay-05 (CDI reporting name: Fragor) is a lightweight single-engine all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Aymovski Aircraft Corporation. In the late 1960s, the Anikatian Air Force and Navy were seeking to replace and consolidate their current fleets of aircraft. The Ay-05 was designed with combat experience from the Nazali War and to counter the emerging threats of advanced new Western fighters. It was intended to complement the Aymovski Ay-04 interceptors in the Anikatian Air Force, and fighter-bombers of the Anikatian Naval Aviation and counter the newest Western fighters.
In 1969, the Anikatian government began development studies for an aircraft capable of fighter, attack and reconnaissance missions to replace the BAU Cutlass and provide the air force with a multirole aircraft to operate alongside the Ay-02. A new design from Aymovski was selected and developed as part of the Experimental Lightweight Fighter Program (XLFP) the XLF-05A, first flying in 1977. The Ay-05A entered service with the Anikatian Air Force in 1981 and Navy in 1982 onwards. Later models frequently feature improved engines, glass cockpits with HOTAS-compatible flight controls, modern radar and IRST sensors, increased fuel capacity; some aircraft have also been equipped for aerial refuelling.
History
In 1969 just as the new Ay-04 were about to enter Air Force and Anikatian Naval Aviation service, the Anikatian government began development studies for a smaller lighter main front line fighter to complement the larger fighter jet and to operate on the lone Grokantyia (CVL) light carrier that proved unable to operate the larger jets under development. While the Grokantyia was intended to be scrapped, delays to the Motykov class new domestic carrier created an urgent need for a new more compact lightweight fighter. Ultimately BAU Cutlass were modernised and build locally as the Aymovski Ay-01 fighters and retained as two programs were undertaken to find a solution, The Naval Aviation looked at Belfras new STOVL aircraft but instead sought a domestic solution and began researching this separately which accumulated into Yukimov Yuk-31 fighter.
In 1971 Air Force began studying solutions for a new light fighter to support it's larger interceptors and stike aircraft. The conventional solution being researched by the Navy gained interest within the Air Force so later that year the programs were rolled into a single joint program. By the mid 1970s at the height of the Cold War, the DSRA needed to respond to the possibility of a new Emmerian fighter gaining a serious technological advantage over existing DSRA fighters. Thus the development of a new fighter became a priority after air combat experience from the Nazali War showed that emergent threats of advanced new Emmerian fighters such as the F-8 Stingray and F-9 Skyray proved to be real and the need for a new front line fighter was urgently needed. At the same time intelligence reported the development of a further advanced and lightweight fighter designs that would become the F-10 Scorpion.
In June 1973, Minister of Defense Victor A. Sultanovich ordered the go ahead of Experimental Lightweight Fighter Program (XLFP) The specifications were extremely ambitious, calling for a small lightweight all weather, day / night multi-role aircraft with long range, good short-field performance, excellent agility, Mach 2+ speed, and heavy armament. Producing a design that could met these challenges proved very difficult and all proposals put forward were found to be too expensive or lacking, after a number of design studies and experimentation with existing fighters. However Aymovski's design was selected over offerings from Yukimov, and Myotlev and Lukov Design Bureaus and was taken to refine to reach the ambitious specifications. The improving of the design to meet Air Force and Navy requirements pushed back the development and it was not until 4 November 1977 that first prototype Aymovski XLF-05A had its maiden flight. While near the late stages of the program after the first few test flights had been taken in the late 1970s but it would not enter production until 1980s and was rushed into service in 1981 to face emerging threats from Free Pardes.
Design
The Ay-05 is a single-engine, highly maneuverable, supersonic, mid-wing, multi-mission tactical aircraft. The Ay-05 was designed to be a cost-effective combat "workhorse" that can perform various kinds of missions and maintain around-the-clock readiness. It is much smaller and lighter than the eariler Ay-04. It uses advanced aerodynamics and avionics. The Ay-05 was designed to be relatively inexpensive to build and simpler to maintain than earlier-generation fighters. The airframe structure consists primarily of aluminium alloys with some high strength steel and titanium alloys materials being adopted in some critical areas. The airframe is designed with for a long service life with robustness required to withstand the stress of a naval aircraft. The mid-mounted wings are of cropped-delta planform. Near the wing root are blended with leading-edge root extensions (LERXs), which generate a vortex that provides extra lift to the wing at high angles of attack encountered during combat manoeuvres. Automatic slats are mounted on the leading edges of the wings. On the trailing edge, there are maneuvering flaps and wingtip ailerons. A conventional tri-plane empennage arrangement is incorporated, with all-moving stabilators, single vertical stabiliser, rudder, and twin ventral fins. The Ay-05 is also notable for having been designed to reduce maintenance, and as a result has required far less downtime than its heavier counterparts, the Ay-04.
Cockpit
The cockpit features a conventional centre stick which is used for pitch and roll control while rudder pedals control yaw. A throttle is located to the left of the pilot. The pilot sits in a Wallis-Thornton WTK-14EM zero-zero ejection seat which has had impressive performance in emergency escapes. The cockpit has conventional dials, with a head-up display (HUD) and a Svalov-1M helmet mounted display, but no HOTAS ("hands-on-throttle-and-stick") capability. On earlier models the emphasis was placed on making the cockpit similar to the earlier Ay-04 and other Anikatian aircraft for ease of conversion, rather than on ergonomics. Nonetheless, the Ay-05 does have substantially better visibility than most previous Anikatian jet fighters, thanks to a high-mounted bubble canopy. Since the Ay-05K-SMT upgrade models have been redesigned to incorporate contemporary features with the latest models having a true "glass cockpits" with modern liquid-crystal (LCD) multi-function displays (MFDs) and true HOTAS.
Avionics
The baseline Ay-05 are equipped with a AKI/RAL K05R-EB look-down/shoot-down coherent Pulse-Doppler radar and DN Electronics Type 1077 central digital computer. Tracking range against a fighter-sized target was only about 70 km (38 nmi) in the frontal aspect and 35 km (19 nmi) in the rear aspect. The aircraft also features electronic countermeasures (ECM) and RAL-05KPG Rakovski radar warning (RWR) systems, chaff/flare dispensers, fighter-to-fighter data link, and a precise inertial navigation system. The AKI/RAL K05R-EB radar was not a new design, but rather a development of the AKI/RAL AKL-2R-1 architecture used on the Ay-04. During the initial design specification period in the mid-1970s, Applied Kinetics and Rakovski Aeronautics were tasked with producing a modern radar for the Ay-05. Rather than design a new radar, Applied Kinetics and Rakovski Aeronautics reverted to a version of the AKI/RAL AKL-2R-1's twisted-polarization cassegrain antenna and traditional analog signal processors, coupled with a new DN Electronics Type 1077 digital computer to save time and cost. A useful feature the Ay-05 is the Suhmun Tgk-75, a combined laser rangefinder and IRST in an "eyeball" mount forward of the cockpit canopy.
The latest variants such as the Ay-05NG are outfitted with the new AKI/RAL K05R-NG-M3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. Applied Kinetics and Rakovski Aeronautics developed the latest AESA radar upgrade for the Ay-05. an evolution of the AKI/RAL K05R, was introduced with the first generation. has greater range and resolution, as well as 25 operating modes, including ground-mapping, Doppler beam-sharpening, ground moving target, sea target, and track-while-scan (TWS) for up to 30 aerial targets, and engage ten targets simultaneously in the attack mode.
Powerplant
The Ay-05 is powered by a single Bulgakko K56 or K57 turbofan engine, the exact version of this propulsion system depending on the variant. The lastest Ay-05NG is powered by the new Bulgakko K57-117S-OVT with thrust vectoring control (TVC) this engine gives more thrust and a lower specific fuel consumption than earlier variants of the engines. The highly improved Bulgakko K57 is an evolution of the earlier K-56 engine, it designed for the use in Ay-05, Ay-07, Ay-105, MyL-21, MyL-27, and MyL-24. The engine features an increased diameter fan, new high and low pressure turbines, and a digital control system. Though the specifics of the K57 engine remain classified, the engine's thrust was increased over the K56 while the engine weight was reduced. The advantages of using a single engine are a reduction in maintenance time and cost when compared to twin-engined fighters.
Operational history
Anikatia
Ankar
Bogoria
Rodarion
Goredemabwa
Valinor
The Ay-05 was initially considered in 1979 to replace the aging Ajir multi-role whose lackluster powerplant was slowly making it more obsolete with the passing years. Initial trials began in late '79 and by 1982 the Air Force had announced it intended to adopt the Ay-05K as its mainline multi-role fighter and placed an order for 900 airframes initially. The Ay-05 entered service as the Baek F.1 with the first ones entering service in March 1983 with the No.213 Squadron out of AFB Gashak. The order was slowly expanded with expansion orders placed in 1989 and 1999, with all orders being delivered by 2004. As soon as Aymoskvi released the K-SMT variant a program was announced to upgrade all 1,500 Baek F.1's currently in service to the K-SMT standard, with all future deliveries to be made in that standard as well, and they entered service with the VAF as the Baek F.2. A similar program was introduced when the NG variant was introduced, and the VAF announced in 2009 it planned to upgrade 2,400 Baek F.2's to the NG variant, to be termed Baek FGR.3, and to retire the oldest 500 airframes.
In 2015, the Baek FGR.3 saw its first combat, with deployments in Operation Red Spade aboard the V.R.S. Bellephorn, a Peragii-class CVL. The first action came on the second day of the operation when two Baek FGR.3's were engaged by six DRA Ky-15 MFs, successfully shooting down all six. [Will be updated as thread progresses]
Variants
- XLF-05A ("Fragor")
- Initial prototype.
DSRA-era
- Ay-05A ("Fragor-A")
- Pre-production version used as testbeds, entered service in 1981.
- Ay-05DKI ("Fragor-A")
- Single-seat carrier-capable multirole, downgraded export version (Communications data-link systems removed, ECM, IFF, IRST removed, radar downgraded AKI/RAL K05R-EB, uses older Bulgakko K56P-101 engines).
- Ay-05KLI ("Fragor-B")
- Single-seat carrier-capable multirole, downgraded export version for KosCo countries (Lacked a nuclear weapon delivery system and possessed downgraded radar, ECM and IFF)(ECM and IFF downgraded, radar downgraded AKI/RAL K05R-EB, uses older Bulgakko K56P-101 engines, lacked nuclear weapon delivery system.).
- Ay-05UBI ("Fragor-C")
- Two-seat carrier-capable export training version had downgraded systems similar to Ay-05DKI (but radar system was removed).
- Ay-05K ("Fragor-B")
- Initial single-seater fighter version that entered service with the Anikatian Air Force and Anikatian Naval Aviation in 1982. A modification program has started and 31 of these will be upgraded to SMT standard.
- Ay-05K-UB ("Fragor-C")
- Initial production two-seat operational conversion trainer. The two-seat version of the K variant. The space for the two-seat cockpit is provided by a relocation of avionic equipment and a 8% reduction in internal fuel; two-seat variant are otherwise fully combat-capable. It can be configured for training or as an all-weather strike craft.
- Ay-05K-UBO / F-8 Warden ("Fragor-C")
- Two-seat training/fighter/attack version for the Orlessia Armed Forces, with a Orlessia specific mid-life update. It has been locally designated the F-8 Warden.
- Ay-05K-SMT ("Fragor-D")
- Advanced multirole variant, mechanical flight controls replaced by a fly-by-wire system and powered by enhanced Bulgakko K56-107 engines. The cockpit has an enhanced HOTAS design, two colour liquid crystal MFDs and two smaller monochrome LCDs. The upgraded AKI/RAL K07R Radar system. The new power plant has a afterburning thrust rated at 13,481 kgf (132 kN). The fuel capacity increased, the weapons load was increased on the six underwing and one ventral hardpoints.
- Ay-05K-UBT ("Fragor-C")
- The two-seat version of the advanced K-SMT variant. It can be configured for training or as an all-weather strike craft.
Post-DSRA-era
- Ay-06UB ("Fragor-C")
- A cost effective dedicated advanced basic jet trainer based on the Ay-05UBI but lacking inflight refueling, weapons-control systems, built-in cannon, weapons hardpoints, engine armour, advanced fly-by-wire controls, and electronic countermeasures.
- Ay-06UBT ("Fragor-C")
- A dedicated advanced jet trainer based on the Ay-06UB but with similar technology of the Ay-05NG built for the Anikatian Air Force. Features inflight refueling, weapons-control systems, built-in cannon, weapons hardpoints, engine armour, advanced fly-by-wire controls, and electronic countermeasures.
- Ay-05NG ("Fragor-E")
- A 4++ highly advanced multirole variant, with a redesigned airframe, fly-by-wire system and other improvements of the K-SMT and is powered by enhanced with thrust vectoring power plant. The Ay-05NG has radar absorbing coatings to reduce radar signature. It can be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) for the refueling of other aircraft, has new improved AESA radar system, along with a further improved glass cockpit.
- Ay-05NGE ("Fragor-F")
- The electronic warfare version of the Ay-05NG. The Ay-05NGE is set to replace the Anikatian Navy's aging electronic warfare aircraft the Ay-04EKM.
Operators
Current
- Anikatian Navy – Naval Air Arm – 160 Ay-05K, Ay-05K-UB, Ay-05K-SMT, Ay-05K-UBT, Ay-05NG, Ay-05NGE aircraft in operation as of 2011.
- Anikatian Air Force – 1,140 Ay-05K, Ay-05K-UB, Ay-05K-SMT, Ay-05K-UBT, Ay-05NG, Ay-05NGE aircraft in operation as of 2011.
- Template:Country data Ankar Ankaran National Air Force - 157 Ay-05, 50 Ay-05NGE, 200 Ay-05K-SMT
United Republic Air Force - 5 Ay-05's loaned from Bogoria operated as both test and evaluation aircraft and in an aggressor role for fighter pilot training.
- File:Flag of Rodarion.png Papal Air Force - 260, Ay-05NG, 80 Ay-05NGE
- Template:Country data Goredemabwa Goredemabwan National Air Force - 6 Ay-05DKI, 4 Ay-05UBI.
- Template:Country data Valinor Valinese Air Force & Naval Aviation - 2,100 Ay-05NG, 200 Ay-05 NGE, 1,100 Ay-05K-SMT
Former operators
- Template:Country data Democratic Socialist Republic of Anikatia Anikatian People's Navy – Anikatian People's Naval Aviation Passed on to successor state.
- Template:Country data Democratic Socialist Republic of Anikatia Anikatian People's Air Force Passed on to successor state.
Bogorian Air Force Not operational, 36 Ay-05s in storage.
- Template:Country data People's Socialist Republic of Goredemabwa Goredemabwan People's Air Force Passed on to successor states.
Specifications (Ay-05NG)
Data from Aymovski specifications[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: One / Two (UB)
- Length: 15.10 m (49.34 ft) ()
- Wingspan: 11.03 m (36.18 ft) ()
- Height: 4.90 m (16.08 ft) ()
- Empty weight: 6,580 kg (14,506 lb) ()
- Loaded weight: 13,460 kg (29,674 lb) in fighter configuration ()
- Max. takeoff weight: 16,450 kg (36,266 lb) ()
- Powerplant: 1 × Bulgakko K57-117S-OVT thrust vectoring control (TVC) afterburning turbofan, Wet:132.2 kN (13,481 kgf, 29,721 lbf) ()Dry: 83.8 kN (8,545 kgf, 18,839 lbf)
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.1+ (2,231 km/h, 1,386 mph)
- Combat radius: 1,800 km (971 nmi) with external fuel ()
- Ferry range: 3,456 km (1866 nmi) with external fuel ()
- Service ceiling: 18,120 m (58,448 ft) ()
- Thrust/weight: 1.00 (1.27 with loaded weight & 50% fuel)
Armament
- Guns: 1× 20 mm Esk-20k cannon with 150 rounds or 30 mm Esk-30-K1 internal cannon
- Hardpoint:9 hardpoints, consisting of 8 under-wing and one centre-line with a capacity of 5,800 kg (12,786 lb) of weapons and fuel tanks, including:
- Rockets:
- Air-to-air missile
- Air-to-surface missile
- Bombs
- Incendiary, bunker buster, high-explosive, laser-guided, nuclear, cluster and general purpose bombs up to 1,500 kg
- Training bombs up to 1,500 kg
- Others:
- Countermeasures (Flares, Chaff)
- Up to 3 external drop tanks (2× under-wing 1,200 litres, 1× under-fuselage 1,700 litres for extended range/loitering time)
Avionics
- AKI/RAL K05R-NG-M3 all-weather multimode active electronically scanned array (AESA) Radar system
- Suhmun Tgk-77M sophisticated multi-channel Infrared search and track (ISRT) sighting system
- Rykovatia Weapon Systems Rtk-6QMP Datalink communications system
- Sunwoo Electrics Limited ODEL-16QP electronic warfare suite
- RAL-05KPG Rakovski RWR
Notable appearances in media
Aymovski Ay-05s played the part of the enemy fighter aircraft in the 2013 film, Top Aces.
See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
- ↑ "Aymovski Ay-05 Carrier-Capable Multirole Fighter" ANKITEC., Retrieved: 22 November 2014.