Since the times of World War II and Vietnam, it has become obvious that it is very difficult to win an armed confrontation without air support. All recent years have been marked by the rapid development of attack and fighter aircraft, and industry is attracting more and more scientific developments for this.
One of the most significant results of the merger of defense science and technology was the Typhoon fighter. According to leading foreign and domestic experts in the field of aviation, it is one of the most high-quality models of Western weapons. What kind of aircraft is this and what is it characterized by, we will tell in this article.
We note right away that his distant ancestor, the Typhoon, a World War II fighter, was also notable for its high maneuverability and excellent combat characteristics.
Basic information
At its core, this is a fourth-generation twin-engine fighter. It features a triangular wing and is built according to the "duck" scheme. It should be noted that the modifications of "Typhoons", which were released in recent years, belong to the 4+ or 4 ++ generation. In general, the development of such a promising aircraft was launched back in 1979.
The machine is available in four versions at once. Separate versions are for Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Of particular interest is the fact that parts for the production of aircraft are not available in one place: several aircraft building consortia are involved in this at once.
State contract
Let's list those that produce the most important parts of the fuselage and engine:
Alenia Aeronautica. Makes the back of the hull, flaperons, and left wings.
BAE Systems. Partially duplicates the first manufacturer in the production of parts for the rear of the aircraft, is engaged in the production of the front of the fuselage (together with the PGO), gargrot, lamp. It is also responsible for the tail stabilizer.
EADS Deutschland. It makes a center section, and also produces the central part of the hull.
EADS CASA. The company produces slats and a right wing.
Key Design Features
In general, the Typhoon fighter was created largely taking into account the use of the most advanced achievements of electronics and aircraft construction. The designers did a lot to ensure maximum maneuvering characteristics, even when approaching the attack at extreme angles.
The aircraft was designed according to a scheme involving the use of a triangular wing with a sweep of 53 degrees. Slats and flaps - two-section, the front horizontal tail is made according to the rotary type, the keel and rudder - without a stabilizer. Such a scheme is just as good as a sharp increase in aircraft maneuverability and a decrease in air resistance at supersonic speeds.
Invisible plane
To reduce the visibility of the radar machine, the leading edge of the front plumage is made of a material that absorbs radio waves. Although officially the Typhoon fighter does not belong to the category of stealth vehicles, technologies and materials that are able to efficiently disperse radio emission are actively used in its production. In fact, such a task was posed before the designers initially: to make the aircraft as invisible as possible from the front for modern means of radar detection.
What has been done to achieve this? Firstly, the air intakes were drowned as much as possible into the casing, the engine entrance stages were masked with special devices. All the bearing planes of the wing and the leading edges of the stabilizers and plumage were coated from the front edge with materials that absorb radar radiation. In addition, the suspension of guided missiles was also brought as close as possible to the hull, which also makes it possible to hide them from the radiation of enemy radars.
It is necessary to mention here that at present the Typhoon is a multi-purpose fighter-bomber, and therefore it is impossible to ensure its complete invisibility in principle (and it is not so necessary).
Core developers
Almost all of the new components and alloys that make it possible to achieve such high performance were developed by EADS / DASA engineers. In addition, the same company was among the creators, and then manufacturers of many of the most important structural elements of the aircraft. These include almost the entire front edge of both wings, the external and internal surfaces of the air intakes, as well as elevators and adjacent components.
The main materials that were used in the design
There are a lot of materials used, and there are not so many aluminum alloys traditional for aviation. So, more than 40% of the total mass of the airframe is carbon fiber. The amount of lithium and aluminum alloys reaches 20%, pure aluminum alloys account for 18%. High-strength materials based on titanium occupy 12%, while fiberglass accounts for 10%. The surface of the aircraft is covered by 70% carbon fiber, 12% is fiberglass based materials.
About 15% of the area is accounted for by metal, and another 3% is occupied by particularly durable plastics and other structural materials. By the way, among all European combat aircraft, the Typhoon fighter is the most technologically advanced: 5% of all technical solutions used have not yet been disclosed, being secret designs by European aerospace agencies.
Even during the initial planning of the aircraft structure, the terms of reference laid down the condition that the weight of an empty aircraft should not exceed 9999 kilograms. In addition, the possibility of using new alloys based on magnesium and aluminum in the design has been structurally laid. Resource glider is at least six thousand hours. Thus, the Typhoon fighter significantly outperforms the American F-35, in which this figure ranges from 2-4 thousand hours.
Features of structural elements
The case is made according to the semi-monocoque scheme. There is a fairly effective patch armor of the cockpit, which protects the pilot from the fire of individual small arms. The lantern of the cockpit is fully formed, protrudes relatively far beyond the body. This decision allowed the pilot to provide the best possible visibility. This is extremely important in modern maneuverable aerial combat. In this case, the Typhoon fighter, the photo of which is in the article, is one of the best NATO vehicles.
As we have already said, the design with a single-tail plumage, which has a fairly large area, was used in the design. The massive air intake of the heat exchange system is quite noticeable. All wing cladding is made of especially durable carbon fiber. However, there is one exception. We are talking about containers and deflectable socks, which are located at the ends of the wings. They are made of aluminum and lithium alloys.
The total area of horizontal plumage is 2.40 m 2 . Light polymers (for the most part) also go to its manufacture. Simply put, the Typhoon fighter (you can see the photo in this material) is a high-tech aircraft, the production of which is simply impossible without a powerful industrial base.
Chassis
The landing gear is tricycle. Equipped with unicycle racks. The peculiarity is that the first two go towards the body, while the front one retracts forward. Another trait unusual for NATO technology is that the chassis is perfectly optimized for landing on very rough, poorly repaired runways. But there is a problem. Initially, it was assumed that the minimum length of GDP for planting would be five hundred meters. According to this indicator, the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter was also to become an advanced one.
But already during the first field tests it became clear that under such conditions there is a strong overheating of the brake mechanisms, and therefore the minimum possible length was increased to 750 meters. However, in extreme cases, the pilot can use a brake parachute.
Engine development, main specifications of the power plant
The engine began to be developed back in 1983. Work began far from empty: they took the engine from the Tornado plane as the basis. However, there is evidence that the power plant was taken from an experimental Rolls-Royce XG.40 machine. Be that as it may, bench tests were not started until 1988.
The result of the development was the EJ200. This is a dual-circuit turbofan engine, one of the distinguishing features of which is a massive afterburner. Turbine blades are made with wide use of single-crystal materials, all disks are made by powder stamping. The powertrain control system is fully digital. Moreover, the engine has an integrated diagnostic system. Almost all fixed parts of the engine are made of composite materials. The combustion chamber is protected against wear by a ceramic-based compound.
Such attention to detail makes the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter one of the most durable combat aircraft of our time. So, as of 2010, more than 250 engines had already been assembled, the resource of which was brought up to 10 thousand hours.
The air intake is located under the fuselage, its contours are unchanged. The side walls are straight, the bottom is curved. With a vertical partition, this design is divided into two channels, and the lower part of each of them can deviate, providing better air flow under heavy loads.
Engine Specifications
Note that even at the design stage of the aircraft, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Italy signed an agreement under which countries pledged to jointly develop and modify the power plant for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The main feature of the engine is not even its durability and resource, but a modular design. This bold technical solution allowed to reduce the time required for its dismantling, up to 45 minutes.
The engine has the following characteristics:
Thrust “dry” is 6120 kgf.
The boost value of the indicator is 9097 kgf.
Under normal flight conditions, fuel consumption varies from 0.745 to 0.813 kg / kgf per hour.
In the afterburner mode, this figure is already much larger - from 1.65 to 1.72 kg / kgf per hour.
The temperature of the gases emitted by the turbine can reach 1840 ° K.
The average air flow rate is 76 kg / s.
The main diameter of the turbine is 740 mm.
The total length of the power plant is 4 meters.
Its weight is 989 kg.
The resource of old modifications is 6 thousand hours, but modern engines can already fly by 10 thousand.
The interval between engine checks is 1 thousand hours.
This is what the Typhoon (fighter) is characterized by. The power of the aircraft is such that it can reach a maximum speed of up to 2 Machs, which is about 2.5 thousand kilometers per hour.
Fuel reserves
The fuel supply is located both in the fuselage itself, and in the keel part and in the wings, being placed in tanks made of especially durable materials. It is possible to place two spare tanks at once on the suspension nodes, the capacity of which is 1,500 liters and 1,000 liters, respectively. It should be especially noted that the designers provided for the possibility of air refueling, which is especially the difference between the Typhoon (fighter). Using this model fighter plane, using all the fuel reserves, it can fly about four thousand kilometers (in fact - no more than 3.2 thousand).
Flight control systems
Quadruplex adaptive flight control system. Note that there is no backup mechanical channel. It is due to complex electronic systems that the highest maneuverability at maximum flight speeds is ensured, as well as the confident behavior of the aircraft in such conditions. The PIRATE front view system and the ECR90 pulse-Doppler station are part of the main armament complex.
Inertial navigation system. It has ring laser gyroscopes, the pilot can use a special indicator sight, as well as equipment that automatically predicts priority means of attack of the enemy. In addition, the same system is responsible for determining the evasion and attack maneuvers of enemy equipment. Of course, electronics can give recommendations on the weapon system that is most rationally used in aerial combat.
Defensive systems and attack systems
The most expensive electronic filling is the DASS system. For a long time it was created by the advanced institutes of Germany and Great Britain. The system processes and interprets the data that the aircraft receives from laser and radar equipment. It is she who is responsible for the emission of false targets and sources of active interference. It also controls passive aircraft protective equipment. Containers with this equipment are located on the wing. A laser rangefinder with the function of indicating the target is also located on the wing end section.
Note that this fighter, in principle, does not have internal arms bays. They are replaced by external suspension units, which greatly simplify the detection of aircraft for enemy radar systems, but this can significantly expand the range of weapons used.
Especially for this fighter model, semi-conformal fuel tanks were designed and used.
In total, the aircraft has thirteen suspension units. As a rule, up to four unmanned SkyFlash (British Air Force) or Aspid (Italian Air Force) missiles are placed on them. They are placed in a slightly "recessed" position under the aircraft body. Two small ASRAAM or AIM-9 guided missiles are also allowed. They are hung on knots under the wings.
In total, the aircraft can be equipped with ten air-to-air missiles, but even in this case the take-off mass of the machine should not exceed 18 tons. Three separate suspension units are designed to suspend additional fuel tanks. Note that the Typhoon multipurpose fighter is additionally equipped with an automatic 27 mm caliber gun manufactured by Mauser.
Bomb load
If it is planned to carry out shock operations on the ground, then up to 6,500 kilograms of bombs, as well as at least six air-to-air guided missiles, can be placed on seven external suspension nodes. The radius of action can exceed a thousand kilometers. The lowest battle height for this fighter is considered to be 325 meters, the maximum - a kilometer. With full armament, a Typhoon fighter-bomber (a photo of it is in this material) can carry out combat missions for three and a half hours.
Distribution of funds for production
In total, it was planned to produce 620 cars of this type. Since initially there were four states that expressed a desire to participate in the program, the aircraft were distributed between them, in accordance with the available production capacities.
So, the factories of Great Britain pledged to assemble 232 Typhoons, 180 units were collected in Germany, 121 aircraft went to Italy. The Spaniards, due to poor production conditions, were entrusted with collecting only 87 fighters. The first aircraft began to arrive in 2003. Great Britain also received the first fighters of this model at the same time, and some of them immediately went to the formation of 17 squadrons. In it, the aircraft were tested in the most thorough manner. Oddly enough, officially, the aircraft entered the EU Air Force only on July 1, 2005. In the first batch, 148 pieces of fighter aircraft were delivered, all of them still in service.
Already in 2002, the Austrian government expressed interest in acquiring 18 units of equipment, having invested $ 2.55 billion in production right away. However, already in June 2007, due to an approaching crisis, the contract was revised: according to the new conditions, the Austrians wanted to get 15 aircraft already, moreover, in a more “kutsey” configuration. To date, similar agreements have been concluded with the UAE and a number of other customers. It is reported that the factories of the EU must deliver on them immediately 707 fighters.
The agreement on the start of production of the second batch was signed on December 14, 2004. For the first time, the plane of this tranche took to the air in 2008. Each multipurpose fighter "Typhoon" (photo of machines is in the article) is fully accompanied by the manufacturer from release to the end of the warranty period.
Differences of modifications
Initially, it was believed that the aircraft of this model will be used exclusively for battles against enemy aircraft. But after the start of the campaign in Afghanistan, they began to be actively used to suppress ground targets. By the way, did the Typhoon fighter act against the MiG? Unlikely. Yes, Soviet cars could remain in Afghanistan, but only by that time there was not a single pilot there who could take them into the air.
Already in 2008, upgraded aircraft could rightfully be called multi-functional fighters. They can be distinguished by the abbreviation FGR4 (if the name contains T3, in front of you is a two-seat version of the aircraft). Prior to the new modification, all available Typhoons were upgraded by the end of 2012. Currently, the Typhoon 5 fighter is being developed at full speed. Its characteristics are still unknown.
Improvements resulted in a significant increase in chassis struts, a completely new set of on-board equipment, including an improved avionics system. In addition, air-to-ground weapons systems were significantly strengthened, which was dictated by the need for the aircraft to perform the functions of an attack aircraft. Negotiations are underway to create a third generation of these fighters. EU countries have big plans for them: it is believed that in the UK alone there should be at least 170 Typhoons by 2030.
In the third version, the aircraft will receive fully conformal fuel tanks, once again the on-board electronics will be completely replaced. More importantly, the fighter will be equipped with a more powerful power plant, as well as a radar station with a phased active antenna array.
But the most interesting is the modification of the "Typhoon", designed for the British Air Force (fighter "Typhoon MK 1"). In this version, the aircraft received completely new targeting systems and laser rangefinders, which were specially developed by the Israeli defense company Rafael. Significantly improved and bomb weapons. So, the presence of guided bombs weighing 450 kilograms is envisaged. They are produced by the American corporation Raytheon. They have the ability to point along the laser beam, as well as a GPS correction system.
The aircraft of the third and fourth series are tentatively supposed to enter the arsenal of the contracting countries and some buyers no earlier than 2017. It is assumed that the fifth-generation Typhoon fighter should begin to be developed at about the same time.