Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Eurofighter Typhoon

Eurofighter Typhoon


The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter.[6][7] The Typhoon was designed and is manufactured by a consortium of three companies; EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems, who conduct the majority of affairs dealing with the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, which also acts as the prime customer.[8]
Development of the aircraft effectively began in 1983 with the Future European Fighter Aircraft programme, a multinational collaborative effort between Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain. Due to disagreements over design authority and operational requirements, France left the consortium to independently develop the Dassault Rafale instead. A technology demonstration aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, first took flight on 6 August 1986; the first prototype of the finalised Eurofighter made its first flight on 27 March 1994. The name of the aircraft, Typhoon, was formally adopted in September 1998; the first production contracts were signed that same year.
Political issues in the partner nations significantly protracted the Typhoon's development; the sudden end of the Cold War reduced European demand for fighter aircraft, and there was debate over the cost and work share of the Eurofighter. The Typhoon was introduced into operational service in 2003. Currently, the type has entered service with the Austrian Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the German Air Force, the Royal Air Force, the Spanish Air Force, and the Royal Saudi Air Force. The Royal Air Force of Oman has also been confirmed as an export customer, bringing the procurement total to 571 aircraft as of 2013.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft, designed to be an effective dogfighter when in combat with other aircraft; later production aircraft have been increasingly more well-equipped to undertake air-to-surface strike missions and to be compatible with an increasing number of different armaments and equipment. The Typhoon saw its combat debut during the 2011 military intervention in Libya with the Royal Air Force and the Italian Air Force, performing reconnaissance and ground strike missions. The type has also taken primary responsibility for air defense duties for the majority of customer nations.

Origins

The UK had identified a requirement for a new fighter as early as 1971. The AST 403 specification, issued by the Air Staff in 1972, resulted in the P.96 conventional "tailed" design, which was presented in the late 1970s. While the design would have met the Air Staff's requirements, the UK air industry had reservations as it appeared to be very similar to the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, which was then well advanced in its development. The P.96 design had little potential for future growth, and when it entered production it would secure few exports in a market in which the Hornet would be well established.[9] However, the simultaneous West German requirement for a new fighter had led by 1979 to the development of the TKF-90 concept.[10][11] This was a cranked delta wing design with forward canard controls and artificial stability. Although the British Aerospace designers rejected some of its advanced features such as vectoring engine nozzles and vented trailing-edge controls[12] (a form of Boundary layer control), they agreed with the overall configuration.
In 1979, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) and British Aerospace (BAe) presented a formal proposal to their respective governments for the ECF, the European Collaborative Fighter[13] or European Combat Fighter.[11] In October 1979 Dassault joined the ECF team for a tri-national study, which became known as the European Combat Aircraft.[13] It was at this stage of development that the Eurofighter name was first attached to the aircraft.[14] The development of different national prototypes continued. France produced the ACX. The UK produced two designs; the P.106[N 1]was a single-engined "lightweight" fighter, superficially resembling the JAS 39 Gripen, the P.110 was a twin-engined fighter. The P.106 concept was rejected by the RAF, on the grounds that it had "half the effectiveness of the two-engined aircraft at two thirds of the cost".[9] West Germany continued to refine the TKF-90 concept.[11] The ECA project collapsed in 1981 for several reasons including differing requirements, Dassault's insistence on "design leadership" and the British preference for a new version of the RB199 to power the aircraft versus the French preference for the new Snecma M88.[14]
Consequently the Panavia partners (MBB, BAe and Aeritalia) launched the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) programme in April 1982.[16] The ACA was very similar to the BAe P.110, having a cranked delta wing, canards and a twin tail. One major external difference was the replacement of the side mounted engine intakes with a chin intake. The ACA was to be powered by a modified version of the RB199. The German and Italian governments withdrew funding, and the UK Ministry of Defence agreed to fund 50% of the cost with the remaining 50% to be provided by industry. MBB and Aeritalia signed up with the aim of producing two aircraft, one at Warton and one by MBB. In May 1983, BAe announced a contract with the MoD for the development and production of an ACA demonstrator, the Experimental Aircraft Programme.[16][17]
In 1983, Germany, France, UK, Italy and Spain launched the "Future European Fighter Aircraft" (FEFA) programme. The aircraft was to have short take off and landing (STOL) and beyond visual range (BVR) capabilities. In 1984 France reiterated its requirement for a carrier-capable version and demanded a leading role. West Germany, UK and Italy opted out and established a new EFA programme.[11] In Turin on 2 August 1985, West Germany, UK and Italy agreed to go ahead with the Eurofighter; and confirmed that France, along with Spain, had chosen not to proceed as a member of the project.[18] Despite pressure from France, Spain rejoined the Eurofighter project in early September 1985.[19] France officially withdrew from the project to pursue its own ACX project, which was to become the Dassault Rafale.
By 1986, the cost of the programme had reached £180 million.[20] When the EAP programme had started, the cost was supposed to be equally shared by both government and industry, but the West German and Italian governments wavered on the agreement and the three main industrial partners had to provide £100 million to keep the programme from ending. In April 1986, the BAe EAP was rolled out at BAe Warton, by this time also partially funded by MBB, BAe and Aeritalia.[20] The EAP first flew on 6 August 1986.[21] The Eurofighter bears a strong resemblance to the EAP. Design work continued over the next five years using data from the EAP. Initial requirements were: UK: 250 aircraft, Germany: 250, Italy: 165 and Spain: 100. The share of the production work was divided among the countries in proportion to their projected procurement – DASA (33%), British Aerospace (33%), Aeritalia (21%), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) (13%).
EJ200 engine on display at Paris Air Show 2013.
The Munich based Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was established in 1986 in order to manage development of the project[22] and EuroJet Turbo GmbH, the alliance of Rolls-Royce, MTU Aero Engines, FiatAvio (now Avio) and ITP for development of the EJ200. The aircraft was known as Eurofighter EFA from the late 1980s until it was renamed EF 2000 in 1992.[23]
By 1990, the selection of the aircraft's radar had become a major stumbling block. The UK, Italy and Spain supported the Ferranti Defence Systems-led ECR-90, while Germany preferred the APG-65 based MSD2000 (a collaboration between Hughes, AEG and GEC-Marconi). An agreement was reached after UK Defence Secretary Tom King assured his West German counterpart Gerhard Stoltenberg that the British government would approve the project and allow GEC to acquire Ferranti Defence Systems from its troubled parent. GEC thus withdrew its support for the MSD2000.[24]

Testing

Close up view of an RAF Typhoon F2, showing the deflected canard control surface immediately below the pilot.
The maiden flight of the Eurofighter prototype took place in Bavaria on 27 March 1994, flown by DASA Chief Test Pilot Peter Weger.[1] On 9 December 2004, Eurofighter Typhoon IPA4 began three months of Cold Environmental Trials (CET) at the Vidsel Air Base in Sweden, the purpose of which was to verify the operational behaviour of the aircraft and its systems in temperatures between −25 and 31 °C.[25] The maiden flight of Instrumented Production Aircraft 7 (IPA7), the first fully equipped Tranche 2 aircraft, took place from EADS' Manching airfield on 16 January 2008.[26]
In May 2007, Eurofighter Development Aircraft 5 made the first flight with the CAESAR demonstrator system,[27] a development of the Euroradar CAPTOR incorporating Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology. The production version of the CAPTOR-E radar was being proposed as part of Tranche 3 of the Typhoon from 2012. Tranche 2 aircraft use the non AESA, mechanically scanned Captor-M which incorporates weight and space provisions for possible upgrade to CAESAR (AESA) standard in the future.[28] The Italian Air Force doubted that the AESA radar would be ready in time for Tranche 3 production.[29] In July 2010, Eurofighter announced that the AESA radar would enter service in 2015.[30][31] In June 2013, Finmeccanica Selex's Chris Bushell warned that the failure of European nations to invest in an AESA radar was putting export orders at risk.[32]

 

 

Upgrades

In 2000, the UK selected the MBDA Meteor as the long range air-to-air missile armament for her Typhoons with an in-service date (ISD) of December 2011.[60] In December 2002, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden joined the British in a $1.9bn contract for Meteor on Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale and the Saab Gripen.[60] The protracted contract negotiations pushed the ISD to August 2012,[60] and it was further put back by Eurofighter's failure to make trials aircraft available to the Meteor partners.[61] Meteor is now in production and first deliveries to the RAF are scheduled for Q4 2012[62] but full clearance on Typhoon is not planned until mid-2016.[63]
An Active Electronically Scanned Array radar first flew in a Typhoon on 8 May 2007.[64] On 22 June 2011, it was announced that the partner nations had agreed to fund development of the next generation of "E-Scan" Captor-E radar, with entry into service planned for 2015.[65] The British are pursuing an independent Technology Demonstrator Programme called Bright Adder, which will give the Typhoon an Electronic Attack mode among other things.[66] Bright Adder is based on Qinetiq's ARTS radar demonstrator for the Tornado GR4 and could evolve into an alternative to the main E-Scan project should E-Scan falter.[66] In the meantime, a succession of radar software upgrades have enhanced the air-to-air capability of the Captor-M radar.[63] These upgrades have included the R2P programme (initially UK only, and known as T2P when 'ported' to the Tranche 2 aircraft)[67] which is being followed by R2Q/T2Q. R2P was applied to eight German Typhoons deployed on Red Flag Alaska in 2012.
Eurojet is attempting to find funding to test a thrust vectoring nozzle (TVN) on a flight demonstrator.[68] Additionally, the RAF has sought to develop conformal fuel tanks (CFT) for their Typhoons to free up underwing space for weapons



Design

Airframe and avionics

Typhoon flight demonstration
The Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft at both supersonic and low speeds, achieved through having an intentionally relaxed stability design. It has a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system providing artificial stability, manual operation alone could not compensate for the inherent instability. The fly-by-wire system is described as "carefree", and prevents the pilot from exceeding the permitted manoeuvre envelope. Roll control is primarily achieved by use of the wing flaperons. Pitch control is by operation of the foreplanes and flaperons, the yaw control is by rudder.[70] Control surfaces are moved through two independent hydraulic systems, which also supply various other items, such as the canopy, brakes and undercarriage; powered by a 4000 psi engine-driven gearbox.[71]
Navigation is via both GPS and an inertial navigation system. The Typhoon can use Instrument Landing System (ILS) for landing in poor weather. The aircraft also features an enhanced ground proximity warning system based on the TERPROM Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) system used by the Panavia Tornado.[72] The Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) provides a Link 16 data link.[73]
The aircraft employs a sophisticated and highly integrated Defensive Aids Sub-System named Praetorian[74] (formerly called EuroDASS).[75] Praetorian monitors and responds automatically to air and surface threats, provides an all-round prioritized assessment, and can respond to multiple threats simultaneously. Threat detection methods include a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) and a Laser Warning Receiver (LWR, only on UK Typhoons). Protective countermeasures consist of chaff, jaff and flares, an electronic countermeasures (ECM) suite and a towed radar decoy (TRD).[76]
The Typhoon features lightweight construction (82% composites consisting of 70% carbon fibre composites and 12% glass reinforced composites)[77] with an estimated lifespan of 6000 flying hours.[78]

Cockpit

MHDDs and pedestal panel with centre stick in the Typhoon cockpit
The Eurofighter Typhoon features a glass cockpit without any conventional instruments. It incorporates three full colour multi-function head-down displays (MHDDs) (the formats on which are manipulated by means of softkeys, XY cursor, and voice (Direct Voice Input or DVI) command), a wide angle head-up display (HUD) with forward-looking infrared (FLIR), a voice and hands-on throttle and stick (Voice+HOTAS), a Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS), a Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS), a manual data-entry facility (MDEF) located on the left glareshield and a fully integrated aircraft warning system with a dedicated warnings panel (DWP). Reversionary flying instruments, lit by LEDs, are located under a hinged right glareshield.[79]
Needs of the user were given very high priority in the design of the cockpit: the layout and functionality was created through feedback and assessments from military pilots and a specialist testing facility.[80] The pilot controls the aircraft by means of a centre stick (or control stick) and left hand throttles, designed on a Hand on Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) principle to lower pilot workloads.[81] Emergency escape is provided by a Martin-Baker Mk.16A ejection seat, with the canopy being jettisoned by two rocket motors.[82] The HMSS has been delayed for many years but should be operational by the end of 2011.[83] The aircraft's standard g-force protection is provided by the full-cover anti-g trousers (FCAGTs).[84] This specially developed g suit provides sustained protection up to 9 g. The Typhoon pilots of the German Air Force and Austrian Air Force wear a hydrostatic g-suit called Libelle (dragonfly) Multi G Plus instead,[85][86][87] which also provides protection to the arms, theoretically allowing for more complete g tolerance.
In the event of pilot disorientation, the Flight Control System allows for rapid and automatic recovery by the simple press of a button. On selection of this cockpit control the FCS takes full control of the engines and flying controls, and automatically stabilises the aircraft in a wings level, gentle climbing attitude at 300 knots, until the pilot is ready to retake control.[88] The aircraft also has an Automatic Low-Speed Recovery system (ALSR) which prevents it from departing from controlled flight at very low speeds and high angle of attack. The FCS system is able to detect a developing low-speed situation and to raise an audible and visual low-speed cockpit warning. This gives the pilot sufficient time to react and to recover the aircraft manually. If the pilot does not react, however, or if the warning is ignored, the ALSR takes control of the aircraft, selects maximum dry power for the engines and returns the aircraft to a safe flight condition. Depending on the attitude, the FCS employs an ALSR "push", "pull" or "knife-over" manoeuvre.[89]
The Typhoon Direct Voice Input (DVI) system utilises a speech recognition module (SRM), developed by Smiths Aerospace (now GE Aviation Systems) and Computing Devices (now General Dynamics UK). It was the first production DVI system utilised in a military cockpit. DVI provides the pilot with an additional natural mode of command and control over approximately 26 non-critical cockpit functions, to reduce pilot workload, improve aircraft safety, and expand mission capabilities. An important step in the development of the DVI occurred in 1987 when Texas Instruments completed the TMS-320-C30, a digital signal processor, enabling reductions in the size and system complexity required. The project was given the go ahead in July 1997, with development and pilot assessment carried out on the Eurofighter Active Cockpit Simulator at BAE Systems Warton.[90]
The DVI system is speaker-dependent; i.e., requires each pilot to create a template. It is not used for any safety-critical or weapon-critical tasks, such as weapon release or lowering of the undercarriage, but is used for a wide range of other cockpit functions.[91][92] Voice commands are confirmed by visual or aural feedback. The system is seen as a major design feature in the reduction of pilot workload. All functions are also achievable by means of a conventional button-press or soft-key selections. The functions include display management, communications, and management of various systems.[93] EADS Defence and Security in Spain has worked on a new non-template DVI module to allow for continuous speech recognition, speaker voice recognition with common databases (e.g. British English, American English, etc.) and other improvements.[93]

Search and track system

The Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE) system is an infrared search and track system (IRST) mounted on the port side of the fuselage, forward of the windscreen. SELEX Galileo is the lead contractor which, along with Thales Optronics (system technical authority) and Tecnobit of Spain, make up the EUROFIRST consortium responsible for the system's design and development. Eurofighters starting with Tranche 1 block 5 have the PIRATE. The first Eurofighter Typhoon with PIRATE-IRST was delivered to the Italian Aeronautica Militare in August 2007.[94] More advanced targeting capabilities can be provided with the addition of a targeting pod such as the LITENING pod.[95]
PIRATE operates in two IR bands, 3–5 and 8–11 micrometres. When used with the radar in an air-to-air role, it functions as an infrared search and track system, providing passive target detection and tracking. In an air-to-surface role, it performs target identification and acquisition. It also provides a navigation and landing aid. PIRATE is linked to the pilot’s helmet-mounted display.[96]

Performance

A Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon T1
In 2004, United States Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. Jumper said after flying the Eurofighter, "I have flown all the air force jets. None was as good as the Eurofighter."[97][98]
The Typhoon's combat performance, compared to the F-22 Raptor and the upcoming F-35 Lightning II fighters and the French Dassault Rafale, has been the subject of much discussion.[99] In March 2005, Jumper, then the only person to have flown both the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Raptor, talked to Air Force Print News about these two aircraft. He said,
The Eurofighter is both agile and sophisticated, but is still difficult to compare to the F/A-22 Raptor. They are different kinds of airplanes to start with; it's like asking us to compare a NASCAR car with a Formula One car. They are both exciting in different ways, but they are designed for different levels of performance. …The Eurofighter is certainly, as far as smoothness of controls and the ability to pull (and sustain high g forces), very impressive. That is what it was designed to do, especially the version I flew, with the avionics, the color moving map displays, etc. — all absolutely top notch. The maneuverability of the airplane in close-in combat was also very impressive.
—[100]
In July 2007, Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighters participated in the Indra-Dhanush exercise with Royal Air Force's Typhoon. This was the first time that the two jets had taken part in such an exercise.[101][102] The IAF did not allow their pilots to use the MKI's radar during the exercise to protect the highly classified N011M Bars.[103] RAF Tornado pilots stated the Su-30MKI had superior manoeuvrability, but the IAF pilots were also impressed by the Typhoon's agility.[104]
RAF Typhoon FGR4 at Nellis AFB
The Typhoon is capable of supersonic cruise without using afterburners (referred to as supercruise).[105][N 5][107] Air Forces Monthly gives a maximum supercruise speed of Mach 1.1 for the RAF FGR4 multirole version.[108] As with the F-22, the Eurofighter can launch weapons while under supercruise in order to extend their ranges via this "running start".[109]
The Eurofighter consortium states their fighter has a higher sustained subsonic turn rate, sustained supersonic turn rate, and faster acceleration at Mach 0.9 at 6,100 metres (20,000 ft) than the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, Dassault Mirage 2000, Dassault Rafale, Sukhoi Su-27, and Mikoyan MiG-29.[110][111]
In the 2005 Singapore evaluation, the Typhoon won all three combat tests, including one in which a single Typhoon defeated three RSAF F-16s, and reliably completed all planned flight tests.[112] In July 2009, Former Chief of Air Staff for the Royal Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, said that "The Eurofighter Typhoon is an excellent aircraft. It will be the backbone of the Royal Air Force along with the JSF".[113]

Radar signature reduction features

The Typhoon uses radar absorbent materials to reduce its radar cross section. Note the colour difference.
Although not designated a stealth fighter, measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's radar cross section (RCS), especially from the frontal aspect.[114][115] An example of these measures is that the Typhoon has jet inlets that conceal the front of the jet engine (a strong radar target) from radar. Many important potential radar targets, such as the wing, canard and fin leading edges, are highly swept, so will reflect radar energy well away from the front sector.[116] Some external weapons are mounted semi-recessed into the aircraft, partially shielding these missiles from incoming radar waves.[114] In addition radar absorbent materials (RAM) developed primarily by EADS/DASA coat many of the most significant reflectors, e.g., the wing leading edges, the intake edges and interior, the rudder surrounds, and strakes.[114][117] The Typhoon does not use internal storage of weapons. External mounting points are used instead, which increases its radar cross section but allows for more and larger stores.[118]
The Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls (EMCON) to reduce the Electro-Magnetic emissions of the current mechanically scanned Radar.[114] The Captor-M was the first NATO-Radar with three rather than two working channels, one intended for classification of jammer and for jamming suppression.[119] The German BW-Plan 2009 indicates that Germany will equip/retrofit their Eurofighters with the AESA Captor-E from 2012.[120] The conversion to AESA will give the Eurofighter a low probability of intercept radar with much better jam resistance.[121][122] These include an innovative design with a gimbal to meet RAF requirements for a wider scan field than a fixed AESA.[123] The coverage of a fixed AESA is limited to 120° in azimuth and elevation.[124]
According to the RAF, the Eurofighter's RCS is better than RAF requirements. Comments from BAE Systems suggest the radar return is around one quarter of that of the Tornado it replaces.[114] The Eurofighter is thought to have an RCS of less than one square metre in a clean configuration by author Doug Richardson, although no official value is available.[116]
The manufacturers have carried out tests on the early Eurofighter prototypes to optimize the low observability characteristics of the aircraft from the early 1990s. Testing at BAE's Warton facility on the DA4 prototype measured the RCS of the aircraft and investigated the effects of a variety of RAM coatings. Another measure to reduce the likelihood of discovery is the use of passive sensors, which minimises the radiation of treacherous electronic emissions. While canards generally have poor stealth characteristics,[125] the flight control system is designed to minimise the RCS in flight, maintaining the elevon trim and canards at an angle to minimise RCS.[126][127]

Armament

The Typhoon is a multi-role fighter with maturing air-to-ground capabilities. The initial absence of air-to-ground capability is believed to have been a factor in the type's rejection from Singapore's fighter competition in 2005. At the time it was claimed that Singapore was concerned about the delivery timescale and the ability of the Eurofighter partner nations to fund the required capability packages.[128] Tranche 1 aircraft could drop laser-guided bombs in conjunction with third-party designators but the anticipated deployment of Typhoon to Afghanistan meant that the UK required self-contained bombing capabilities before the other partners.[N 6] On 20 July 2006 a £73m deal was signed for Change Proposal 193 (CP193) to give an "austere" air-to-surface capability using GBU-16 Paveway II II[130] and Rafael/Ultra Electronics Litening III laser designator.[131] just for the RAF Tranche 1 Block 5 aircraft.[132] Aircraft with this upgrade were designated Typhoon FGR4 by the RAF.
Similar capability will be added to Tranche 2 aircraft on the main development pathway as part of the Phase 1 Enhancements. P1Ea (SRP10) will enter service in 2013 Q1 and adds the use of Paveway IV, EGBU16 and the cannon against surface targets.[63] P1Eb (SRP12) adds full integration with GPS bombs such as GBU-10 Paveway II, GBU-16 Paveway II, Paveway IV and a new realtime operating system that allows multiple targets to be attacked in a single run.[63] This new system will form the basis for future weapons integration by individual countries under the Phase 2 Enhancements. A definite schedule has not yet been agreed, but will likely see the Storm Shadow and KEPD 350 (Taurus) cruise missiles integrated in 2015, followed by Brimstone anti-tank missiles.[63] An anti-shipping capability is required by 2017, and such a capability is also important for potential export customers such as India.[133] The Typhoon can accommodate two RBS-15 or three Marte-ERP under each wing but neither has been integrated yet.[133] Synthetic Aperture Radar is expected to be fielded as part of the AESA radar upgrade which will give the Eurofighter an all-weather ground attack capability.[134]
The table below gives an overview of weapons, which are compatible with the Typhoon and the hardpoints on which they can be employed. Not all weapons are fully integrated yet and more systems might be added in future production tranches.


General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Avionics







 From Wikipedia
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