Vi-52
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| Viborn Vi-52 | |
|---|---|
 Vi-52s line up for a three abreast take off | |
| General information | |
| Type | Figher-Bomber |
| Manufacturer | Viborn Aeronautics |
| Status | Retired |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1958-1978 |
| Introduction date | 1st August 1960 with Libriran Military Air Service |
Vi-52
The Viborn Aeronautics Vi-52 was an Libriran supersonic Fighter-bomber developed Viborn Aeronautics for the Libriran Military Air Service. Developed for the supersonic strike role, it was capable of mach 2 at high altitude and could manage over mach 1 at low level. It was one of the first Libriran aircraft with a multi-mode radar, and full avionics suite. the type was used untill the early 1980s, before it was replaced by the PA-200, which was more specialized for the deep strike role. The type was also an early Libriran aircraft capable of mid-air refueling. The type was the largest Libriran single seat or single engine aircraft at the time and was nicknamed "the giant" by its aircrews, and "Bombtruck" referring to its size and substainial payload.
The Vi-52 remained an integral part of Libriran MAS through numerous doctrinal shifts, initially intended to deliver tactical nuclear weapons to a battlefield (hence its high speed), it eventually became a potent low level bomber and was able to leverage its capable avionics and radar, to allow it to use early guided weapons, including Air to surface missiles, Laser guided bombs and the like. It also was adapted to utilize potent Air to Air weapons and was capable to defending itself to an extent on strike missions.
The Vi-52 was eventually retired as newer SAM and air to air weapons left it vulnerable in the modern battlefield, additionally a new generation of guided air to ground weapons required a higher workload than was able to be done by the pilot. As a result the type was eventually retired in favor of the twin crew PA-200, although the Vi-52 was retained as a specilized trainer and in reserve until later.
Development
The intial development for the Vi-52 began with early in the service cycle of the then quite modern Vi-23 and Vi-27. These aircraft were designed from the outset to carry small coventional bombs and the like, and a program was started to investigate if they could be converted into tactial nuclear bombers, the newest generation of low-yield nuclear weapons were beggining to reach the point that smaller aircraft could carry them. However even with this the size of the weapons meant that the performance degregration was unacceptable to the MAS, this combined with the developement of SAMs, and other radar slaved AAA systems meant that the MAS felt they would not be effective in this role, and that instead a low-altitude high-speed delivery aircraft was required to avoid these defense systems and deliver its payload. The preformance demands required a large airframe and very powerful engine. Viborn Aeronautics utilized an upscaled and more efficent version of the engine found in the Vi-27. The Vi-52s engine was the Type A 'Asp III' afterburning turbojet. It was capable 118kn of thrust when afterburning, which was its preferred power setting when in combat.
The second part of the new aircrafts system was its avionics, the Vi-52 was equipped with a multi-mode radar, which allowed it when at low altitude to hug the terrain and avoid detection, and to serve as a assitance for its ballistic computer to ensure accurate delivery of its nuclear weapons. These avionics also included the aircraft ECM suite, a first for a Libriran single engine aircraft, a Navigation system, which utilized a basic radar based system, that allowed the Vi-52 to accurately navigate during longer range missions. these systems could be coupled with the ballistic computer to allow for accurate Release or TOT timers, aiding in the delivery of its weapon systems.