Majestic Glaucus
| Majestic Glaucus | |
|---|---|
| <imgur w=300>OSkfcRk.jpg</imgur> | |
| Role | Maritime patrol aircraft |
| Manufacturer | BAU Systems |
| Designer | Majestic International |
| First flight | 20 June 1970 |
| Introduction | 18 April 1972 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Republic Navy See Operators |
| Produced | 1971 - Present |
The Majestic Glaucus MRA.4 is a maritime patrol and attack aircraft currently in service with the Republic Navy. The aircraft was developed initially by Majestic in 1972 but was bought out by BAU systems in 1998 and extensively refitted from the reconnaissance-only role to enabling a far great attack profile which extended it's life by several decades. The plane is projected to be in service until the late 2030s, but an inquiry made by the Belfrasian government found that the plane could have it's life expanded to the 2050s if utterly necessary.
Ever since the introduction of the plane in 1972, it has been a vital part of the Republic Navy's mission to locate and track surface and sub-surface entities. The plane relied heavily on local weaponized aircraft until the inclusion of it's own weapon systems in 1998, at which point the Glaucus was able to independently locate, identify, and destroy enemy naval vessels both on the surface and submerged. A multitude of variants to the original frame include search and rescue dedicated planes sold to the Coast Guard, a commercial variant for the research association and dedicated reconnaissance variants that exchange the bomb bay for further sensor systems.
An upgrade in 2006 nearly doubled the flight range and converted the plane to digital glass cockpits that drastically simplified control of the aircraft and reduced the workload on the crew. New detection systems and weapon payloads were installed along with a drastically more powerful AESA radar capable of detecting and tracking a vast multitude of targets both on land and at sea. This has allowed the plane to become a capable patrol and attack unit within the Republic Navy's arsenal.
The plane was named after the Eaglelander god Claucus, who was born a man but became a god. Whilst he was known to come to the rescue of fishermen in trouble, in Belfrasian folklore he was also responsible for driving fish into fishing nets as well.
Design
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Designed over the course of several years from 1968 and finally brought into service in 1972. Powered by what was at the time the most powerful engine yet developed by Majestic, the Glaucus quickly proved a capable patrol aircraft. It became the first aircraft utilized by the Republic Navy to be jet-powered, a move made to reduce it's acoustic signature when flying low to avoid detection by submarines.
With an initial crew of twenty-five (25), the Glaucus had a flight endurance of ten hours before needing to be refueled. The four engines mounted on the Glaucus are capable of being independently shut down and restarted with a mind to power down two half-way through a mission to allow the others to operate on a more efficient manner, with the plane then being significantly lighter as a result of a reduced fuel load. The engines are capable of being restarted by ram air or an emergency duct system that would feed exhaust directly into the jet intake. With the plane sometimes being in the air for far longer than it's single-tank endurance of ten hours, the inclusion of a bunk compartment toward the rear of the plane allows for a rotation of shifts for long-duration patrols to occur with proper facilities. A toilet and waste disposal system seen on commercial airliners was also included with a private area for a solitary shower.
The operational roles of the Glaucus was initially to surveil an area and detect any submarines within it. A role that was heavily modified during the planes early life with significant upgrades to it's electrical and reconnaissance systems until in 1998 when the plane was bought out by BAU and modified to include weapon payloads, allowing the plane to then conduct Anti-Submarine Warfare operations fully. Prior to this, the Glaucus would have to detect a submerged enemy submarine and relay it's coordinates to nearby strike craft that would be outfitted with munitions.
The Glaucus has a small variety of variants, with foreign export variants being purpose built according to the customer needs. The Republic Coast Guard bought four Glaucus airplanes for long-range maritime patrol and Search and Rescue purposes and have since become a common sight for major maritime disasters within the Kingdoms nautical boundaries. The Coast Guard has since made a further three purchases which have since been deployed from Laesico, Saint Albans, and Andridge.
The Glaucus' sizable bomb bay which was designed to be versatile in configuration allows for a wide array of armaments such as torpedoes, missiles, and sonobouys to be deployed from it with minimal changes required to the housing brackets. Fuel tanks are capable of being installed to further the aircraft's range and a multitude of air-deployed dinghies and survival packs to assist in Search And Rescue operations. Aiding SAR missions is a powerful remote-controlled searchlight mounted under the starboard wing which has, in practice, also assisted other aircraft in ASW operations by literally highlighting the area in which a sonobouy has been deployed.
Two specialized pylons exist at the ends of the wings for air-to-air missiles, utilized for self-defence purposes against hostile air craft. A further four pylons exist under the wings overall meant for usage with a variety of missiles. These pylons are capable of being modified without the usage of dedicated equipment quickly and efficiently to bring the plane to readiness for a mission quickly and without hassle. The self-defence pylons are capable of being removed when unneeded and improves the weight capacity of the ordnance pylons under both wings.
The Glaucus supports a very distinctive shape, with the lower fuselage housing the majority of the planes onboard sensor and detection equipment. These systems include advanced radar, sonar, and the magnetic anomaly detector which is able to detect the hull of submarines at shallow depths. A classified sensor system capable of detecting fumes emitted from diesel powered submarines is also featured aboard the aircraft.
Extensive electronic integration with the plane early in it's life has allowed the operational capabilities to remain expansive. A centralized tactical awareness compartment allows the flight crew to plan mid-mission operations for detection sweeps or for attacks against enemy shipping and submarines. Advanced processing computers aboard allow the crew to process information significantly faster than previous generation technologies.
The 2006 retrofit installed a brand new reconnaissance suite with thermal imagining and excellent image quality for missions as needed. Further refittings installed brand new ECM systems and support software to greatly increase the planes defensive capabilities and bring a more effective means to locating, identifying and communicating with targets. A brand new and incredibly powerful AESA surface search radar has enabled refitted Glaucus planes a three-hundred and sixty (36) degree angle of search capable of locating, identifying and tracking potentially thousands of contracts both on land and at sea. The same searchlight utilized in SAR missions was altered to exist on a modifiable area, allowing for it to be replaced by a high-grade infrared and laser-marking turret for identification and guidance of launched munitions.
Operational History
When the Republic Navy opened the project for a new nautical patrol airplane, the objective in mind was simple: An airplane capable of long-endurance missions to detect naval vessels with a specialty for the detection and accurate tracking of submarines operating below the surface. It was noted in the release that the plane's ability to track submerged contacts was the highest request, even if it meant diminished abilities with surface targets. Majestic International, the known as simply Majestic, began the development of the Glaucus in 1968 following the failure of a bid by Houston Dynamics earlier that year and presented a flight-capable model in 1969.
Majestic conducted the test flight of the first service-ready plane in 1971 and several tests confirmed it had more than satisfactory abilities in the detection and tracking of surface and submerged contacts and with the inclusion of a powerful communications array was able to maintain a picket for several hours at a time. The Republic Navy formally entered the Glaucus into service early 1972 as the MR.1 with assignments at key airbases around the globe. A Fleet Air Arm squadron was founded in 1974 exclusively for the Glaucus to patrol areas of the mainland coastline in order to protect the Bjorlan-class ballistic missile submarines based at HMNB Wallington from intrusion by communist submarines at the height of the cold war.
The Glaucus has also been proven capable in Operation Cod, an ongoing global effort to enforce the country's fishing rights within it's economic waters and to hunt down illegal fishing expeditions. It was during the course of the first tour on this operation that it's inclusion in Operation Cold Turkey - The 1970s to 1990s ongoing operation to tackle drug smugglers - was also made. The planes were responsible for the arrest of several dozen illegal fishermen and the impounding of their fishing vessels along with almost three billion belfries worth of drugs being confiscated by authorities from smugglers.
Variants
- Glaucus MRA.4 - Primary production model for patrol and attack
- Glaucus R.5 - Reconnaissance / Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) variant
- Glaucus ASaC.2 - Airborne Surveillance and Command Post variant
- Glaucus CR.2 - Civilian variant produced for the Republic Coast Guard.
Operators
Accidents and incidents
- On 20 November 1971, a Glaucus MR1 called a mayday following what was described as a 'mid-air collision with an unknown entity'. The plane returned unharmed, but the incident sparked major theories regarding UFOs for the Belfrasian community.
- On 5 March 1985, a Glaucus MR1 crashed in the Victorian Ocean following a bird strike that disabled all engines. The plane had been crewed by six personnel at the time and all were killed. The plane and bodies were never recovered.
- On 12 April 1992, a Glaucus MR2 performed an emergency landing after a torpedo came loose from it's mooring within the bomb bay shortly after take off. The crew were unhurt and the weapon was safely removed, having never armed. An investigation had found a rusted mooring had not been found in an inspection and reprimands were made.
- On 17 June 1999, a Glaucus MRA.2 operated by the Commonwealth Air Force became involved in the Aeolia Island Incident. The plane was intercepted by Papal Navy fighters and a collision occurred between the two, killing the Rodarian pilot and forcing the plane to land on Aeolia. The flight crew were later released but the plane remained in Papal control.
- On 1 May 2008, a Glaucus MRA.4 performed an emergency landing following the failure of the nose gear to deploy. The belly landing destroyed the sensor equipment in the undercarriage of the plane but the six crew members escaped with only minor injuries. The investigation into the incident didn't recommend any alterations to the design or blame anybody, citing it as a strange occurrence with no prelude or cause. An internal investigation by BAU concluded the same findings, but included an emergency release and lock mechanism in it's list for future upgrades.
Specifications (MRA.4)
General characteristics
- Crew: Ten
Capacity for seventeen for long duration missions - Length: 40 m (130 ft) ()
- Wingspan: 39.52 m (129.7 ft) ()
- Height: 11.27 m (37.0 ft) ()
- Empty weight: 52,110 kg (114,880 lb) ()
- Loaded weight: 86,370 kg (190,410 lb) ()
- Powerplant: 4 × Majestic MRI-4420 Turbofan
Performance
- Maximum speed: 575 mph (925 km/h)
- Range: 11,225 km (6,975 mi) ()
- Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft) ()
Armament
- Guns: None
- Hardpoints: 2× wing-tip pylons dedicated for air-to-air missiles, 4× under-wing pylon, and an internal bomb bay capable of storing up to 10,000 kg (22,000 lb) of equipment on an additional 9× hard-points
- Missiles:
- Bombs:
- Depth Charges
- Others:
- Air-dropped torpedoes
- Naval Mines
- Sonobouys