Jinmu ZF-8 Phoenix

Jinmu ZF-8 Phoenix
The ZF-8A in its initial iteration, introduced in 1983.
Role	Multirole combat aircraft
National origin	Zhenia
Manufacturer	Jinmu Heavy Industries
First flight	1978
Introduction	1983
Primary user	Greater Eastern Union Air Force
Produced	1983-Present
Number built	2,704 (2019)
Variants	See Variants

The Jinmu ZF-8 Phoenix (Zhenian designation: 진무 ZF-8 불사조), nicknamed Phoenix both domestically and internationally, is a Zhenian single-engine, all-weather, lightweight multirole fighter aircraft developed and built by Jinmu Heavy Industries. It is one of the most widely-produced Zhenian-made military aircraft since 1980, with over 2,700 units produced since its introduction.

The most notable characteristics of the ZF-8 Phoenix include the usage of fly-by-wire controls on a delta wing and canard design all powered by a single engine, which is the core factor in its high maneuverability and relatively light weight, optimizing it for close-range air-to-air combat and scrambling. Improvements to its highly adaptable platform as well as its versatile payload, however, has resulted in it gaining an edge in beyond visual range (BVR) and air-to-surface combat as well. While its primary operator is the Greater Eastern Union Air Force, it has been widely exported to foreign air forces.

Development

Advanced Lightweight Fighter Program

Initial work on a new lightweight, multirole fighter began around 1969, when the existing ZF-6 Ikrans proved to be costly to operate in large numbers and the lighter ZF-5 Swordsman interceptors were showing its platform limits. The Greater Eastern Union Air Force and Greater Eastern Union Navy initially demanded that said replacement show high levels of agility, a high thrust-to-weight ratio and the capacity to carry at least 6,000 kg of payload with a combat radius of at least 1,200 km. This project was later formally designated the Advanced Lightweight Fighter Program (ALF) in 1971, after which a number of contenders, including the Paragon Group and Jinmu Heavy Industries, made their bid towards the development of new aircraft. While proposals from Paragon Group depicted a more traditional wing-tail airframe, Jinmu Heavy Industries had proposed a delta wing and canard configuration, which was deemed appropriate and even advantageous for STOL. Jinmu Heavy Industries eventually won the contract in 1971, after which development initiated.

Although the Air Force and Navy initiated their development from generally similar requirements, they differed significantly in how such requirements would be achieved. While the Air Force focused on the early development of the aircraft instead of navalizing the aircraft, the Navy insisted that the development of a carrier-based naval variant be in tandem with the land-based variant; in the process, the Navy also demanded two engines to prepare for cases in which one goes down, directly opposing the argument on lower costs and engine commonality with the ZF-7 Typhoon, coming from the Air Force. Although the reliability of single-engine aircraft was at the point deemed reasonable, the Navy refused a compromise and insisted upon a twin-engine platform, ultimately resulting in the naval component of the program diverging to become the ZF-9 Sea Phoenix.

Design Characteristics

Airframe

The airframe of the ZF-8 itself is built mostly from aircraft aluminum alloys among other elements for high durability with low weight, although later variants, particularly the ZF-8E/F, are constructed more from composite materials rather than metal alloys. Uniquely for most Zhenian military aircraft, it is built on a tailless canard delta wing configuration, in which a large delta wing mounted near the back of fuselage is augmented by a pair of canards positioned higher than the wing and closer to the cockpit. Such design has resulted in the maximization of aerodynamic performance; while the airframe itself was inherently designed with instability for rapid pitch and roll changes, the canard-delta configuration in particular allows for high agility in low speeds and reduces stall speeds, which proves advantageous in short takeoff and landing.

The air intake of the ZF-8 Phoenix is located beneath the cockpit and at the bottom of the fuselage. Initial prototypes, like its predecessors including the ZF-6 Ikran, feature a splitter plate to prevent debris from entering the air intake; the splitter plates on the air intake were replaced as divertless inlets were built into the design. Later variants feature a divertless supersonic inlet (DSI) to reduce radar cross-section while also retaining a similar amount of air intake into the engine. All variants, including the prototype, are equipped with thrust reversal systems to reduce the aircraft's landing distance.

Pilot control over the airframe is supplemented by its fly-by-wire flight control system, which generally monitors pilot input to prevent over-inputs in certain situations and flying off the originally projected flight profile. The implementation of fly-by-wire control systems in the ZF-8 has resulted in greater stability in takeoff and landing situations among others, in which unexpected control can bring fatal results to the pilot. In later variants, the onboard computer can also determine such losses of control and automatically return the aircraft into a correct course of flight.

Armament

Aside from its 6-barrel 20 mm Gatling gun for close-range combat and strafing, it has a total of 11 hardpoints - 1 on each wingtip, 3 on each of the wings, 1 on either side of the air intake and 1 along the center of the fuselage. However, in practice and among later variants, one of the hardpoints on either side of the air intake host electro-optical targeting pods, bringing down the realistic number of hardpoints to 10. While the wingtips can also house short-range air-to-air missiles and medium-range beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, ECM pods and other sensors more often than not fill at least one of the two wingtip hardpoints.

Variants

ZF-8A/B

The ZF-8A (single seat) and ZF-8B (twin seat) were the two initial variants of the ZF-8 introduced to the Greater Eastern Union Air Force in 1983. Although all GEUAF units have been upgraded to ZF-8C/D standard by 2010, some later production variants still remain in service in export markets. Although the twin-seat ZF-8B was planned to be only a trainer variant, it became the platform of many variants requiring two pilots, including reconnaissance and deep strike missions.

ZF-8C/D

The ZF-8C (single seat) and ZF-8D (twin seat) was introduced in 1990. A technological leap from the existing ZF-8A/B, the variants feature improved engines, avionics and sensors to further improve the airframe's all-weather multirole capability.

ZF-8E/F

Built from minor improvements of the ZF-8C/D, the ZF-8E (single seat) and ZF-8F (twin seat) is a further improvement on the platform's capabilities, including the addition of an AESA radar, conformal fuel tanks to increase range, improved engines and simplified fly-by-wire controls. It was first introduced to GEUAF service in 2001.

ZF-8R

A derivative of the ZF-8D, the ZF-8R is an ISR variant of the ZF-8R, sporting reconnaissance pods and SIGINT sensors.

ZF-9 Sea Phoenix

A twin-engine, expanded version aimed for operation in the Greater Eastern Union Navy. While it uses different engines and is significantly larger than the ZF-8 Phoenix, it was developed directly from the existing ZF-8 Phoenix line.

Operators

Current Operators

• Greater Eastern Union Air Force: 985 units still in operation as of February 2020. Almost all units to be replaced by the ZF-33 Dragon by 2030.

Specifications

ZF-8C (single seater)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15.75 m (51.7 ft) ()
• Wingspan: 9.81 m (32.2 ft) ()
• Height: 5.22 m (17.1 ft) ()
• Wing area: 33.4 m² (360.0 ft²)
• Empty weight: 8,700 kg (19,200 lb) ()
• Loaded weight: 12,200 kg (26,900 lb) ()
• Max. takeoff weight: 19,400 kg (42,800 lb) ()
• Powerplant: 1 × Li-Jien Dynamics AE-300S-129 afterburning turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 73.9 kN (16,600 lbf) ()
  • Thrust with afterburner: 129 kN (29,000 lbf) ()

Performance

• Maximum speed:
  
  • At altitude: Mach 2.2 (2,716 km/h)
  • At sea level: Mach 1.3 (1,605.2 km/h)
• Combat radius: 1,450 km (782.9 nm) on internal fuel
• Ferry range: 4,500 km (2,429.8 nm) with two external fuel tanks
• Service ceiling: 17,000 m (56,000 ft) ()
• Rate of climb: 13,411 m/min (44,000 ft/min) maximum ()
• Wing loading: 365.27 kg/m² (74.7 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 1.08 (clean, internal fuel only)
• Instantaneous Turn Rate: 32⁺ degrees per second
  
• Roll Rate: 300⁺ degrees per second

Armament

• Guns: 1 x Jinmu GA-20 20 mm autocannon
• Hardpoints: 11 hardpoints with a capacity of 7,000 kg and provisions to carry combinations of:
  • Bombs: Bombs up to 1,000kg (2,200 lbs)
  • Other:
    
    • Drop tanks:
      • Drop tank with 800 kg fuel (centerline)
      • Drop tank with 1200 kg fuel (under wing)