The Gripen E is probably the future for the platform:
Gripen E Multirole Fighter Aircraft, Switzerland
Gripen E is an enhanced version of the
Gripen C/D multi-role aircraft. The new fighter aircraft, whose initial delivery is scheduled for 2018, will replace the Swiss Air Force's fleet of Northrop F-5E/F Tiger. Saab will carry out the modifications and related construction works for Gripen E by utilising components supplied by Swiss companies.
Saab started the construction of the pre-production Gripen E test aircraft, designated as 39-8, in July 2013. Initial construction works involve the assembly of the aircraft's front fuselage, while the payload mounting works will be carried out by RAUG.
New equipments to be integrated into the Gripen E were tested and proved in the Gripen 39-7 E/F demonstrator programme during which the test aircraft has flown for more than 250 hours in Sweden, the UK, India and Switzerland since 2008. The testing of the Gripen E is being overseen by Armasuisse.
Gripen E design details
The Gripen E has an overall length of 15.2m, wingspan of 8.6m, and maximum takeoff weight of 16,500kg. The maximum speed of the aircraft is Mach 2 at high altitude, whereas the speed at low altitude is 1,400km/h.
The one seater aircraft features ten pylon stations, which enable it to carry reconnaissance pods, weapons and external fuel tanks. Its turnaround time is ten minutes in air-to-air configuration and 20 minutes while carrying weapons for air-to-ground combat.
The Gripen multirole fighter aircraft, developed by Saab, was first flown in December 1988 and entered operational service with the Swedish Air Force in 1997.
The aircraft's internal fuel tanks with a combined capacity of 3.4t are approximately 40% larger than those of its former version. The increased volume is made possible by moving the landing gear from the fuselage of the aircraft out to the inner wings.
Cockpit
The Gripen E features a digital cockpit with three large multi-functional displays (MFD) including a few 3D screens. The cockpit also features a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) which provides superior situational awareness for the pilot.
Weapons carried on the Gripen E
The
air-to-air missiles on the Gripen E include infrared-guided short range IRIS-T missile, and the Meteor missile, which is a beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM). The aircraft also has the flexibility to be fitted with Sidewinder and A-Darter missiles to replace the IRIS-T, and the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) missile to replace the Meteor. It can further be fitted with long range weapons such as R-Darter and Derby, and short range weapons such as ASRAAM and Python.
The Gripen E can also be integrated with a number of air-to-surface weapons including unguided Mk82, Mk83 and Mk84 bombs, laser-guided bombs such as GBU-12, GBU-16 and GBU-10, and advanced bombs such as GBU-49 and GBU-39. Air-to-surface missiles such as RBS15F ER, TAURUS KEPD 350, AGM-65 Maverick, and MBDA's dual-mode Brimstone (DMB) can also be integrated into the Gripen E.
The aircraft features a 27mm all-purpose Mauser BK27 high velocity gun providing both air-to-air and air-to-surface attack capability. It is also equipped with a missile approach warning (MAW) system and is capable of carrying more chaff packets and flares compared to similar aircraft, enhancing its survivability.
Gripen E's radars, sensors and communication systems
The Gripen E is fitted with Selex's ES-05 Raven active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system. Fitted on a swashplate at the nose of the aircraft, the radar provides an angular field of view of 100° and look behind capability.
The passive Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensor system fitted to the aircraft is the Skyward G supplied by Selex. It is also mounted on the nose of the aircraft and does not emit signals. The aircraft is further fitted with a passively listening advanced electronic warfare (EW) system.
Rafael's Litening III Laser Designation Pod (LDP) is fitted to the aircraft for attacking ground targets using laser-guided bombs. The LDP also integrates a forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor and a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera.
The Gripen E can be optionally fitted with different pod systems including Saab's own Modular Reconnaissance Pod System (MRPS), Rafael's Reccelite and Thales' digital joint reconnaissance pod (DJRP).
The aircraft can be fitted with regular radios, Havequick/SATURN frequency hopping secure radio, long distance satellite communication systems including the Link 16 for wide-area command and control (C2), which is compatible with FLORAKO radar system.
The aircraft is also fitted with a ground data link called ROVER, which provides
communication to a Forward Air Controller (FAC) or Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) on the ground.
GE F414G engine for Gripen E
The Gripen E is driven by General Electric's (GE) F414G turbofan engine rated at 22,000lbs (98kN). It features a new high-pressure turbine and a new six-stage, high-pressure compressor.
GE was awarded a $250m contract by the Government of Switzerland in December 2011 to supply the engines for the Gripen E. The aircraft's engine and design enable it to fly at supersonic speed without the use of an afterburner, thus saving more fuel and enabling it to stay longer in the air.
Gripen E orders and deliveries
Orders for the new generation aircraft for Sweden are based on the initial agreements signed between Saab and Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in February and March 2012. The agreement calls for the modification of 60 Gripen C aircraft to Gripen E configuration for Sweden from 2013 to 2026. Three development orders under the agreement have been made and the remaining orders are expected in 2014. The total value of the orders under the agreement is estimated to be SEK47.2bn ($7.4bn).
A framework agreement was signed in August 2012 between the Swedish Defence and Security Export Agency (FXM) and Armasuisse. Switzerland has an option to procure 22 Gripen E aircraft to be delivered between 2018 and 2021 under the agreement.
Both chambers of the Swiss Parliament - National Council (Nationalrat) and Council of States (Ständerat) - won majority approvals from its members for the procurement of Gripen E in August 2013 and September 2013 respectively. The final referendum on the procurement is expected in 2014.
Gripen E Multirole Fighter Aircraft - Airforce Technology
Is Saab’s New Gripen The Future Of Fighters?
New Gripen may be the next wave
Mar 24, 2014 Bill Sweetman | Aviation Week & Space Technology
Lockheed Martin labeled the
F-35 a “fifth-generation” fighter in 2005, a term it borrowed from Russia in 2004 to describe the
F-22. Some of their rivals tumbled into this rhetorical trap and tried to argue that “fourth-generation” was just as capable. Whether it is true or not, making such a case is an uphill struggle.
But if “fifth-generation” means more than “the ultimate driving machine,” a sixth generation will emerge.
Saab can argue that the JAS 39E
Gripen, rather than some of the wildly expensive-looking artist's concepts we have seen, is the first such aircraft.
The Gen 5 concept is almost 30 years old. It dates to the final turning point in the Cold War, when the Reagan administration accelerated the arms race, believing (correctly) that the Soviet economic engine would throw a rod first. The F-22 was designed for a challenging but simple war: If you were in a NATO fighter and the nose was pointed east, pretty much everyone headed your way was trying to kill you.
Defense technology led aerospace in those days, and aerospace drove many other technologies. Today's gaming, simulation and movies are descended from 1980s military simulators.
The world has changed a bit. Operation Allied Force in 1999 presaged the air campaigns of the 2000s, when targets were soft but hard to find, and harder yet to pick out of the civilian environment. We can say little for certain about the nature of future conflict, except that it is likely to be led by, and revolve around, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). For the individual pilot, sailor or soldier, that translates into situational awareness.
Demographics and economics are squeezing the size of the world's militaries—nations with more than 100 combat aircraft are few and becoming fewer. There are no blank checks for overruns.
Much of the technology of 1995, let alone 1985, has a Flintstones look from today's perspective. (My 1985 computer boasted 310 kb. of storage and communicated at a screaming 300 bits per second.) Software is no longer what makes machines work; an iPhone is hardware that is valued because of the apps that it supports. This technology is characterized by development and deployment cycles measured in months. In aerospace, the lead in materials and manufacturing has gone to the commercial side.
The conundrum facing fighter planners is that, however smart your engineering, these aircraft are expensive to design and build and have a cradle-to-grave product life that is far beyond either the political or technological horizon.
The reason that the JAS 39E may earn a Gen 6 tag is that it has been designed with these issues in mind. Software comes first: The new hardware runs Mission System 21 software, the latest roughly biennial release in the series that started with the JAS 39A/B.
Long life requires adaptability, both across missions and through-life. Like Ed Heinemann's A-4 Skyhawk, the Gripen was designed as a small aircraft with a relatively large payload. And by porting most of the software to the new version, the idea is that all C/D weapons and capabilities, and then some, are ready to go on the E.
The Swedes have invested in state-of-the-art sensors for ISR and situational awareness (AW&ST March 17, p. 28), including what may be the first in-service electronic warfare system using gallium-nitride technology. It's significant that a lot of space is devoted to the identification friend-or-foe system. Good IFF is most important in a confused situation where civilian, friendly, neutral, questionable and hostile actors are sharing the same airspace.
Sweden's ability to develop its own state-of-the-art fighters has long depended on blending home-grown and imported technology. Harvesting technology rather than inventing it becomes more important as commercial technology takes a leading role and becomes more global. The JAS 39E engine is from the U.S., the radar from Britain, and the infrared search and track system is Italian. Much of the airframe may be built in Brazil.
However, what should qualify the JAS 39E for a Gen 6 tag is what suits it most for a post-Cold War environment. It is not the world's fastest, most agile or stealthiest fighter. That is not a bug, it is a feature. The requirements were deliberately constrained because the JAS 39E is intended to cost less to develop, build and operate than the JAS 39C, despite doing almost everything better. As one engineer says: “The Swedish air force could not afford to do this the traditional way”—and neither can many others.
It's an ambitious goal, and it is the first time that Sweden has undertaken such a project in the international spotlight. But if it is successful, it will teach lessons that nobody can afford not to learn.
Is Saab’s New Gripen The Future Of Fighters? | AWIN content from Aviation Week
