Defense Technology International - May 2008 - (Page 42)

AIRCRAFT TACTICAL is a 60-year-old concept in which Saab is responsible for the airframe and system integration, while subsystems are developed by, or with, overseas partners. This development process is continued in the Gripen Demo program. The differences between the original Gripen and the Demo start with a new main landing gear—furnished by APPH of the U.K.—which retracts into underwing bulges. The structural bays that were the wheel wells on the original are now fuel cells, boosting internal fuel capacity by 40%. The RM12 engine (a custom-modiﬁed version of the General Electric F404) is replaced by the F414G, which is based on the Super Hornet engine with some minor changes (for example, control hardware and software are modiﬁed to provide a “getyou-home” mode which the twin-engine Hornet does not need). Two new weapon stations are installed under the fuselage, ﬂanking the existing centerline station. Flight tests are imminent and installed engine runs were completed in March. Following the ﬁrst phase of ﬂight tests, which are being conducted to clear the F414G engine and the new landing gear, AESA radar will be installed in 2009. Saab has announced its choice of a partner to develop the radar—Thales, SAAB DTI Editor-in-Chief Bill Sweetman gets a close look at Saab’s Gripen Demo, which was unveiled on Apr. 23. The warplane has performance upgrades developed to increase its export sales. power and a small, compact electronicwarfare system. The Gripen Demo carries a Saab Avitronics missile-warning system, and an all-digital enhancement to the EWS 39 is under development. Not to be overlooked is the avionics mental satellite communications system developed by Thales Norway and Saab, using an Iridium receiver and a UHF air-to-ground video link for close air-support missions, underscoring the fact that the Gripen is the world’s most network-ready ﬁghter, with intraﬂight data links that directly share electronicwarfare and radar data. Gripen tactics, in fact, baffled adversaries when the C/Ds took part in the U.S. Air Force exercise Red Flag Alaska in 2006. The jets would typically ﬂy in a box with the ﬁrst pair 40 km. apart and the second pair 50-60 km. in trail. The shooter would ﬁre “nose cold” with targeting from the other front-rank jet and then break away, with one of the trailing Gripens continuing to track the target and guide the missile. “They didn’t grasp what we were doing,” a Swedish air force officer told DTI. Possibly the most remarkable part of today’s Gripen program, though, is its speed and price. The Demo is ready to ﬂy a little over six months after contract signature, and the entire contract is valued at SeK 3.9 billion ($662 million). And that’s not just the Gripen Demo prototype but the comprehensive rebuilding of 31 A/Bs into the new C/D version. If that’s a pointer to a price tag for a Gripen Next Generation, the world’s smallest ﬁghter has a big future. ■ To read posts on Gripen, go to DTI's home page, AviationWeek.com/dti, and click on “Extras for this issue” under “DTI Interactive.” AviationWeek.com/dti GRIPEN BY THE NUMBERS BASIC DATA Length excluding pitot tube Wing span including launchers Number of stations Empty weight Internal fuel Engine thrust Maximum takeoff weight Payload Source: Saab GRIPEN C 46.2 ft. 27.5 ft. 8 14,960 lb. 100% 18,000 lb. 30,800 lb. 11,000 lb. GRIPEN NG 46.2 ft. 27.5 ft. 10 15,400 lb. ~140% >22,000 lb. 35,200 lb. 13,200 lb. which is currently developing AESA radar for Dassault Aviation’s Rafale. The test aircraft will have a Thales antenna combined with upgraded processing and receiver/exciter hardware from the Gripen’s Saab Microwave Systems PS-05/A, pointing the way to a more advanced system for a production aircraft. A production Next Generation aircraft will feature improvements to the EWS 39 electronic-warfare system, which is already comprehensive. A Saab Microwave engineer points out that the Gripen is small and incorporates measures to reduce its radar cross-section. That makes it possible to jam effectively with less 42 program for the Gripen Next Generation, which will be tested on the rig rather than the Gripen Demo. The system represents a major move into the use of commercial off-the-shelf processing in a ﬁghter avionics system, backed up by model-based development that generates code automatically. At the same time, the system is based on the Arinc 653 integrated modular avionics standard, which makes it possible to securely partition ﬂight-critical functions from other functions. As a result, it should be possible to upgrade non-critical systems much more quickly and at less cost. The Gripen Demo carries an experi- DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL MAY 2008 http://AviationWeek.com/dti http://AviationWeek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - May 2008 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Learn and Live Think Again Vive la Difference En Route Out of the Box Package Deal On Watch Inside Job Programs Update The Net Back to the Future Busy Signal Mighty Mites Hull of an Idea Tough Enough Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - May 2008

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