Rhynovian RFMR Competition
The Rhynovian Future Multi-Role Competition was a competition between numerous international and domestic suppliers to supply the Rhynovian Territorial Army and Foreign Expeditionary Force with a replacement for their aging multi-role fighter fleet. This competition was held in 2017 when requirements by the Royal Armed Forces were released outlining operational criteria for this new fighter.
History
In 2015 three separate training accidents involving MiG-29 fighters occurred between both the Royal Territorial Army and the Foreign Expeditionary Force. Upon conclusion of investigations the training accidents were found to be a direct result of aging airframes and wear on parts that were expensive and hard to come by. This lax in maintenance standards led to much public outcry by both families of the 2 dead airmen and defense officials across the armed forces. In late 2016 the command staff of the RAAF met to decide on a new direction to not only replace the MiG-29s that were aging past their use, but also the even older MiG-31s, 23s, and 21s used in different squadrons.
Much of these airframes were leftover from the time of the Worker's Republic of Rhynovia, which built en mass many of these fighters during it's aggressive posturing with its neighbors in eastern Belisauria. Standards of aircraft manufacturing and technology for doing so during this era of Rhynovia were not as high as they are today under the new Monarchy, and thus some of these defects and mistakes in craftsmanship rule out seeking a modernization of these air frames. Command staff of the RAAF in majority decided that seeking a new fighter would be the safest, most cost effective, and best to fit operational needs.
However; due to the operational needs of both the RTA and RAAF, a full grounding of these fighters was deiced to be too extreme and a risk was taken to continue to fly these aircraft. This was coupled with extreme pressure on the RAAF Contracts Director to expedite both the competition, selection, and procurement of a new multi-role aircraft. This made the prospect of a new air frame the least likely to succeed in the short run. Luckily Rhynovia recently was admitted as an associate to the Belisarian Community, giving it access to many western suppliers for such an advanced aircraft that could fit the RAAF's needs. Requirements were sent out in late 2016 to defense contractors around the world to begin bidding for a line of new aircraft. Rhynovia Defense Now broke the news of the new requirements to the world on May 12th.
Requirements
Rhynovian officials place a high degree of practicality on the forefront of their requirements for procurement of these fighters. Part of the reason stated for the selection of the Royal Air Yard to produce the Su-35 was the degree of commonality it exhibited with both its predecessor and other aircraft in the FEF and RTA’s inventory. Some of those same statements were released during initial announcements of the competition, as cost effectiveness is vital to commanders at the time were seeing harsh restrictions placed on their budgets as the modernization pains of all branches and areas trying to come into the 21st century at once were realized.
A great deal of emphasis was placed on the need for a 4++”+” generation fighter, an almost quirky way of the Rhynovian military command saying they want something beyond the newer fourth generation fighters but not quite at the cost of a fifth generation fighter. Stealth is talked about in the requirements documents but not at the level that it is a end-all-be-all of the Rhynovian commanders for the contract to be won.
The requirement exists for the fighter to be able to take off from shorter runways, even dirt runways throughout the Rhynovian country side. Largely a requirement of the RTA which routinely practices and trains its crews to operate out of rural bases in defense of aggression by a much larger force, some of the larger multi-roles may suffer at the hand of this requirement, but some suspect Rhynovian commanders were willing to let this slide.
One of the biggest requirements outlined in the requirements document is the need for the MiG-29 replacement to be able to network with the rest of the Rhynovian arsenal. This is a relativity new ambition of the Rhynovian military as countries began to make use of modern communications technologies to have fighters, ships, land forces, and even munitions talk to each other in the battlespace. One speculation is that through Rhynovia’s large use of SSGNs in the Royal Navy is that future aircraft in all services will be required to network with cruise missiles launched off of these SSGNs and guide them to their targets while effectively evading enemy fire.
Entries
A total of six entries were selected to move forward in the RFMR competition by the RTA and the RAAF, of which to many observer's surprise only one such entry was a domestic Rhynovian aircraft. The significance of this for the modern Rhynovian Defense Industry is one of growing tension between the government and commercial entities in the quality of products being put fourth by domestic manufacturers and the growing partnership with foreign defense contractors.
The Royal Air Yards MiG-35 "Slavic-Streak"
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The only domestic entry into the RFMR competition was the MiG-35 Slavic Streak, a domestic modernized version of the MiG-29 fighter currently used by both the RTA and RAAF. The Royal Air Yards, the leading aerospace manufacturer in Rhynovia put fourth the proposal for the Slavic Streak as part of a bid to capture the requirements for the new replacement fighter to be one that was easily compatible with current air frames used by the Armed Forces such as the Su-35 for the air superiority billet. Many experts observed that the new MiG-29 was a more modernized version of the MiG-29 while keeping the same basic concepts of the aircraft in place. Pilot integration would be easy from one platform to the other while improving greatly avionic and defense systems. The Slavic Streak would certainly be the most economic selection in the RFMR program as it shared many common parts with other used aircraft while bringing capabilities of the country's multi-role fighter into the 21st Century.
The United Fighters Consortium "Tempest" FGR.2
One of the first foreign entries to be selected to move forward in the competition the UFC Tempest is one of the premiere multi-role aircraft in the Arthuristian Air Force and among the most highly sophisticated entries into the RFMR. Referred to as the "Thoroughbred" by observers of the competition it was noted that the Tempest is among one of the best aircraft in terms of sheer power in its engines, giving it an acceleration, rate of climb, and thrust that left the competition in the dust. It was however noted that the Tempest is among the most costly of the entries into the competition, and it remained to be seen if it could out maneuver it's own bill during selection.
Ghantish Grifo-NG
One entry caught the eye of Rhynovian defense policy makers as being the under-dog of the competition. While it may not have the punch of the Tempest or the exquisite nature of the Rafael, the Grifo-NG was one to watch from the beginning as it was both an inexpensive but elegant air frame that met many of the check boxes set fourth in the requirements for a flexible aircraft that could operate in less than ideal conditions from makeshift runways in the frontier of Rhynovia. The added bonus of the more sophisticated equipment it carried such as the Arthuristian AESA radar that is already used on Royal Rhynovian Navy AuRh-1 Whirlwind FGR.2 caught the eye of many observers during trails.
Vannoisian Rafale
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Coming between the high end Tempest and the economical Gripen is the Rafale, a 4.5 generation fighter with electronic warfare capability to match the abilities of fifth generation stealth. Impressed with it's advanced active cancellation Spectra system, RAAF and RTA brass found the Rafale to be a great proposition as it met in the middle most of the camps of thought for the RFMR competition as an affordable but advanced fighter. Advertised as coming in at 25% less than the Tempest which was the high mark for the competition, the Rafale still tipped the scales as far as price for the continually maturing Rhynovian budget.
Falcus Designs Me-550
The Me-550 is lauded as being the most unique design entered in the RFMR competition. From an exterior view it is based largely on the Grifo-NG, its fellow competitor. However, looks is where most of the similarity ends as Falcus Designs has put much work into the avionics systems which surpass its Grifo brethren and placed it into a class of its own. Perhaps what most observers noted is its engine intake featured atop the aircraft giving it plenty of "play" room on the belly for munitions. Much like the Grifo it is meant to operate from austere air bases in the countryside, a huge check mark on the requirements when compared to the heavier Aigios Shirke or Tempest. All of this coupled with a comparably small price tag caught the eye of the experts early on in the competition.
Aigios "Shrike"
The exclusive entrant from beyond the Peariclean domain, the Aigios "Shrike" also departs (along with the MiG-35) from the plethora of delta winged forward canard aircraft, a design style that has been sweeping Belisaurian aviation. Instead the Aigios "Shrike" sticks to convention with aft canards and two perpendicular vertical stabilizers. The Aigios "Shrike" is the heaviest fighter to be entered into the competition, making it a stand out when it comes to ordnance payload, but also excludes it from the austere airstrip requirement the Rhynovian officials set forth. While it is an impress aircraft it also suffers from being far from home, a western fighter in an eastern world where pilots and technicians are used to the eastern way. While observers are set to be impressed by the Aigios "Shrike", it is not expected to make it past the first rounds, despite the tempting offer of an electronic warfare variant and the close trade ties between Rhynovia and Belfras.
Selection
After the first round selections were made and the 6 competitors submitted their bids for the competition the Rhynovian military commanders had a tough decision on several fronts. While a faction within the Rhynovian commanders and decision makers wanted to keep production of the new multi-role aircraft in Rhynovian hands and would stop at nothing in their unwavering conviction to procure the Rhynovian MiG-35, others wanted nothing less than to purchase the advanced multi-role fighter that would carry both the FEF and RTA into the 21st Century. Even still the realists within the powers at be knew that cost would be a big, if not deciding factor in the selection of the replacement Multi-Role. While initial bids certainly caused much debate, there seemed to be no consensus during the initial portions of the competition.
Months of research, market studies, strategic think tanks, and more fervor over the RFMR program, attention was being brought to light over the cost of the extended procurement process. With not clear decision in sight and attention from both the media and internal factions within the government, the pressure was on to conclude the RFMR program and decide on a multi-role aircraft for the Rhynovain Armed Forces. While the then defense minister, Anton Oleksandr, did not want the committee to make a snap decision for the RFMR program, due to the pressure from internal forces within the government he personally took over as chair of the committee. It was largely speculated that this was due to a large amount of influence from certain noble houses being exerted on more impressionable members of the committee to select the MiG-35. Minister Oleksandr made it clear that a selection on the RFMR program would above all be a selection in the interests of national security of Rhynovia and not to fill the coffers of Rhynovia's elite.
The Final Few
After much deliberation by the RFMR Program Committee over which aircraft would move forward to the final round of selection, it was finally decided that to effectively meet the needs of the Rhynovian Armed forces emphasis must be placed on cost and modern potential. While the cost being on the forefront of the committee’s mind was no surprise to observers, many questions what exactly the RFMR program defined modern potential as. When approached by many in the media, several of the members simply stated that it was a category that they felt was a balance of 21st Century Avionics, Innovative Design, and strategic ability. While their definitions maybe have been elusive to some observing the RFMR competition, many who had experience in the past with Rhynovian acquisitions understood the mindset of the procurement team.
While making the selection for the RFMR the committee wanted an aircraft that featured many of the staples of modern avionics giving Rhynovian forces the ability to go toe to toe with some of the more modern aircraft being flown in Belisauria and the rest of the world. AESA radars, modern targeting systems, radar cancellation, and to some degree stealth were something commanders in Rhynovia sought after. These tools were something that a lot of the indigenous Rhynovian systems lacked and thus many felt to acquire such capability it must be with the RFMR competition and a foreign air frame. With these systems the capability of each aircraft would also be key, as the role the RFMR would fill in the FEF an RTA would be a smaller sub section opposed to many other nations which would use it for a variety of roles. The RFMR would not see much in the way as a air superiority fighter, instead backing up the Su-35s which would fill this role. Thus, how heavy or how much ordnance the RFMR carried would be something for debate as some felt flexibility would be a nice to have for strategic needs in the future.
By the end of deliberation two aircraft stood above the rest: the Vannoisian Rafale and the Falcus Designs Me-550. Both of these aircraft were in the middle of the competition for cost, weight, and payload capacity. The Rafale certainly was the most expensive of the two aircraft, however its dual engine opposed to the Me-550s single gave it a much better thrust, payload capacity and range. The Me-550 on the other hand was one of the lightest and cheapest aircraft in the competition, making in perfect for the austere airstrip requirement and for supporting the much larger Su-35s. Both aircraft had comparable avionics systems for both targeting, sensors, and electronic warfare which made them perfect for selection as they did not exhibit the large price tag of the Tempest or sacrifice lighter weights like the Shrike.
The Winner
In the end the choice between the Vannoisian Rafale and the Falcus Designs Me-550 came down to practicality of both aircraft when placed within the Rhynovian strategic frame coupled with the cost effectiveness of the aircraft. The Me-550 was comparable to the Rafale's avionics maturity, only slightly behind in payload capacity, and had a price tag that could not be beaten. When paired with the larger aircraft of the Rhynovian air fleet the Me-550s small stature did not matter when weighed against its ability to be light on its feet.