Recently Federation of American Scientists also said Sandia National Laboratories developed a technology that would allow for nuclear-powered UAVs.  Results from Sandia’s research are not being used nor are they being made publicly available. Sandia’s report, written in June 2011, states the tech would “provide far more surveillance time and intelligence information per mission while reducing the high cost of support activities.”

The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the U.S. government’s principal nuclear research and development agency – and defense contractor Northrop Grumman, were designed to increase flying time “from days to months” while making more power available for operating equipment, according to a project summary published by Sandia,’ the paper reported.”

They would be similar to a nuclear attack submarines. Solar-powered UAVs, such as Boeing’s hydrogen-fueled Phantom Eye and are not expected to deliver multi-day endurance. This nuclear powered UAV will be designed to stay airborne for months. The new nuclear-powered will not require a costly air base network for refueling and technical maintenance.

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), all signs point to a national laboratory developing nuclear technology to power unmanned aerial vehicles, but before the tech could ever be implemented, the results were prevented from being released due to “current political conditions.” FAS also said that Sandia National Laboratories was working on developing technology that would “increase UAV sortie duration from days to months while increasing available electrical power at least two-fold.”

Martin Jetpack is a gasoline powered and twin-duct fan driven personal jetpack which has a range of 50kms and can stay airborne for at least half an hour. Both Martin Aircraft Company and M2K group hope to sell this aircraft to meet various military, civil defense and recreational needs.

Martin Jetpack has been in development for more than 30 years now and is the brainchild of New Zealand’s  Glenn Martin. It was first displayed to the public in 2008 in Oshkosh as an experimental aircraft.

In 2010 it reached an altitude of 5000fts. The jet pack is driven by a 2.0 L V4 2 stroke engine powering the two duct fans. The rate of climb is about 1000fts per minute with an estimate service ceiling of 8000fts. It can carry a payload of 120 kgs and reach speeds in excess of 100kmph. An unmanned version of the jet pack is also under testing phase.

Applications of the jetpack are wide due to its small size and ease of handling. Only 20 hours of training is required to master the jetpack and the pilot doesn’t need a valid FAA recognized pilots license since the jetpack is classified under the “ultralight aircraft” category. Military applications include rapid troop insertion, border patrol, air-mobile surveillance, counter terrorism, UAV supply support and UAV missile platform. Civilian applications are Search and Rescue, medical response, tourism and recreation.

M2K Group and Martin Aircraft Company expect preliminary sales will take place to meet military demands and the primary focus of both the parties is to fine tune the jetpack to meet these demands. When asked about how the Government and general public would react to sale of this jetpack to Pakistan the CEO of M2K replied, “With the new Mutual Harmony relationship between India and Pakistan, we don’t think that the general Public or the Government would have any objection of the sale of the Jetpack with the Neighboring country. Anyways companies around the world sell to both the countries. Unless the Indian Government wants us not to sell the product we are open to such clients.”

The developers of the Martin Jetpack have taken special care for pilot safety. The most important of them all Is the ballistic parachute which will trigger automatically in-case of any catastrophic failure or could be triggered by the pilot if he feels to do so. Apart from ballistic parachute there are a number of additional safety features designed into the jetpack, such as impact adsorbing undercarriage, roll cage, enclosed rotors, kevlar composite containment rings, high design factors of safety, +5 -10 G tested structure, hands free stability.

M2K Group is already in talks with various Indian defense departments and is waiting for a chance to demonstrate the jetpack to potential customers. Manufacturing and deliver of first Martin Jetpack in India is expected to begin from 2013 onwards.

The verification reviews and flight test were the culmination of over two years of detailed planning and coordination between Northrop Grumman, the Air Force and multiple suppliers to verify hardware, software and process requirements. The flight mission was led by the Combined Test Force team at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

“A successful event of this magnitude on a program this size is a testament to the common vision and team-centric approach that the Increment 1 team utilized,” said Josh Foster, Northrop Grumman’s EHF Increment 1 integrated project team lead. “By bringing forward lessons learned, best practices and core leadership, and merging this with innovative and detailed planning, the team was able to effectively manage cost and schedule to meet our contract commitments.”

The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber remains the only long-range, large-payload aircraft that can penetrate deeply into protected airspace. In concert with the Air Force’s air superiority fleet, which provides airspace control, and the Air Force’s tanker fleet, which enables global mobility, the B-2 helps ensure an effective U.S. response to threats anywhere in the world.

The B-2 can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling, giving it the ability to reach any point on the globe within hours.

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (also known as the Stealth Bomber) is an American heavy bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is able to deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty 500 lb (230 kg)-class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only aircraft that can carry large air to surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.

Because of its considerable capital and operational costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The winding-down of the Cold War in the later portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, the crew ejected safely.

According to Boeing, Phantom Eye traveled atop its launching cart system, reached speeds of up to 30 knots as ground teams relayed directions and information using Boeing’s advanced Common Open-mission Management Command and Control (COMC2) software. “The aircraft performed well and the data collected will help populate our models,” said Drew Mallow, Boeing Phantom Eye program manager. “This test brings us one step closer to our first flight.”

“Phantom Eye is the first of its kind and could open up a whole new market in collecting data and communications,” Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works, said at the unveiling ceremony in St. Louis on June 12, 2010.  “It is a perfect example of turning an idea into a reality. It defines our rapid prototyping efforts and will demonstrate the art-of-the-possible when it comes to persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The capabilities inherent in Phantom Eye’s design will offer game-changing opportunities for our military, civil and commercial customers.”

It is powered by two liquid Hydrogen fueled engines, which provide 150 horsepower at sea level and have been tuned so as to be able to run on hydrogen. Each system consists of modified Ford 2.3 liter engines, reduction gearbox, and 4-blade 16 foot diameter propellers attached to its huge 150 foot wings. Phantom Eye is designed to operate at an altitude of 65,000 ft for up to 4 days in one mission and has a 450-lb mission payload capacity whilst cruising at a speed of around 200 knots.

In July 2010 Boeing said it will begin a series of ground and taxi tests in preparation for its first flight in early 2011. But due to technical issues the first flight date has been postponed and has not been announced yet. Boeing is also developing a larger HALE that will stay aloft for more than 10 days and carry payloads of more than 2,000 pounds.

The world was confused as in how China a country which has been notorious for reverse engineering fighter planes of Russian origin could have indigenously developed a stealth fighter with record time and very little research & development. And now on February 2012 we have confirmed news that China is developing the second stealth fighter Shenyang J-16 code named Silent Flanker.

Thanks to Noshir Sheriarji Gowadia who I refer to as the “Father of Chinese stealth technology” I believe China was able to develop such advanced technologies in such a short time. Noshir Gowadia was born in Mumbai, India emigrated to the United States and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. He worked for Northrop from 1968 to 1986, as a design engineer, Gowadia was the principal designers of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, who conceptually designed the B-2 Bomber’s entire propulsion system and called himself the “father of the technology that protects the B-2 stealth bomber from heat-seeking missiles.” Besides the infrared suppression systems of B-2 Spirit it is unclear what other technologies of the bomber Gowadia had access to. In 1999, he founded N.S. Gowadia, Inc, which is described as providing “research and development, engineering services, technical consulting and any business related thereto.”

In October 2005, Noshir Gowadia who worked for Northrop for 18 years was accused of disclosing the stealth bomber’s infrared-suppression secrets to representatives from eight foreign governments. He was charged with one count of willfully communicating national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it, which falls under federal espionage statutes. Several classified documents from the engineer’s days at Northrop and when he was a contract engineer in the 1990s at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico were found in his $ 4 Million house in Hawai. He confessed of sharing classified information “both verbally and in papers, computer presentations, letters and other methods, to establish the technological credibility with the potential customers for future business.”  Gowadia was also charged with helping to design stealth technology for Chinese missiles, and with money laundering.

From 2003 to 2005 Noshir Gowadia made six trips to China, conspiring to conceal some of his visits by getting border agents to leave immigration stamps off his passport. The city of his interest was Chengdu, the same city home to the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and also the company that developed Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter. He’s also accused of attempting to sell classified stealth technology to the Swiss government and to businesses in Israel and Germany. On several other occasions, Gowadia provided “extensive amounts of classified information” to individuals in a third unspecified country while teaching a course on “low observable technology.” In 1999, Gowadia taught a course to foreigners in a second unspecified country, including information deemed “secret” that he had access to while working for Northrop and as a subcontractor for Los Alamos. In 2002, Gowadia faxed a proposal to develop infrared-suppression technology on military aircraft to a representative in an unspecified foreign country. The information included in the document was classified at the “top secret” level and made specific mention of the classified defense system in the United States.

For years Nohsir Gowadia marketed himself as the “father of the technology that protects the B-2 stealth bomber from heat-seeking missiles.” Attracting many potential international customers, Gowadia “has marketed and disclosed United States military technology secrets related to the B-2 to foreign governments in order to ‘assist’ them in obtaining a higher level of military technology,” says FBI Special Agent Thatcher Mohajerin. Gowadia’s engineering contract business, N.S. Gowadia Inc., made nearly $750,000 between 1999 and 2003. But prosecutors believe Gowadia’s actual income was much higher. The investigation,  showed Gowadia “likely” maintains several offshore bank accounts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson cited the sheer volume of discovery in the case, which includes information that has yet to be formally classified by the Air Force and a substantial amount of evidence from foreign countries involved.

On January, 2011, he was sentenced to 32 years in prison, the same month Chengdu J-20 Chinese stealth fighter went public. Gowadia is currently incarcerated in the ADX Florence, with a release date of September 11, 2033. Thanks to him China now has three stealth projects in development.

Shenyang J-16 Silent Flanker Chinese Intermediate Stealth Fighter

China is developing a heavily modified variant of the J-11B code named J-16 Silent Flanker. It features stealth design like internal weapons bays, stealth-optimized engine intakes, and canted vertical fins. It’s the race of the stealth fighters, the United States, Russia, India, Japan, India, China everyone seems to want to have a bite at it. China is trying hard to modernize and fill in their need for fourth generation fighters, meanwhile working very hard every way possible to develop it’s Fifth generation fighter capability. READ MORE.

Chengdu J-20 China’s first stealth fighter takes to the skies

 Chinese aviation fans say they have been snapping pics of the jet during  taxi tests. The J-20 prototype was photographed when it was preparing for high-speed taxing trial at the CAC airfield on December 22, 2010. The prototype features a pair of all-moving tail-fins and ventral stabilizing fins. It also features F-22 style air intakes but with DSI bumps installed at the upper corners, as well as a one-piece canopy. READ MORE

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Xian H-8 Chinese Stealth bomber

The H-8 bomber was a Chinese military aircraft that was a possible successor to the Xian H-6 twin-engine jet bomber. The prototype aircraft was reported to be an enlarged version of the H-6 with under-wing engines, but that the project was canceled in the early 1970s before the bomber went into production. The  Chinese military has a stealth bomber called Xian H-8 that has 4 Ws-10A engines derived from Russian and US technology. READ MORE

It seems like the Chinese have found a very much liking towards Su-27 or it seems to be a very effective platform for modification and development. Shenyang managed to convert a fourth generation Su-27 (modified into J-11B)  into a fifth generation stealth fighter called Shenyang J-16 code named Silent Flanker. This isn’t the first time a fourth generation fighter was developed into a fifth generation stealth, Boeing managed to develop a F-15 Eagle into F-15 Silent Eagle, marketed to countries like Saudi Arabia and South Korea who are far from Fifth Generation fighters capabilities. So this claim of development by the Chinese seems to be very authentic.

Unveiled in 2002, the Shenyang J-11B is a very advanced, multi-role attack fighter with Chinese-made avionics and some degree of reduced radar cross section (stealth) – ideal for trying out new ideas about increased stealth. Since 2006, it has been a testbed for the Chinese FWS-10A ‘TaiHang’ turbofan engine. The FWS-10A is similar to the Russian AL-31F, and is a candidate for next generation stealth aircraft propulsion.

Chinese are already developing Chengdu J-20 a purported fifth-generation, stealth, twin-engine fighter aircraft prototype developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). In late 2010, the J-20 underwent high speed taxiing tests. The J-20 made its first flight on 11 January 2011.  General He Weirong, Deputy Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force said in November 2009 that he expected the J-20 to be operational in 2017–2019. For now the Chinese interests are very regional, but development of the aircraft such as Shenyang J-16 and Chengdu J-20 makes one believe that China can change it’s doctrine any time soon.

While J-20 is still in development stage, China desperately needs to fill in the gap for stealth fighter because United States already have actively deployed stealth fighters, the rapid joint development by Russia and India on Sukhoi PAKFA is also no comfort. Neither can they buy Su-PAKFA because India would have the right to veto any sales to China by Russia. So, J-16 looks more of a intermediate stealth fighter developed to fill in that gap and increase the morale of over all Chinese force.

With the kind of economic boom China is enjoying and the current budget China can afford to experiment multiple 5th generation designs and finally choose the best one. The strategy used by USA and Russia were doing in the past and that is the right way to go. But the problem is that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation is unable to give any tough competition to Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group till now they have to come up with something new to challenge Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group this will bring out the best from Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and will also allow aviation industry to expand. Hope j-16 becomes a success story and a source of confidence for Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

There is no reason why the Chinese should not be aggressively developing stealth military aircraft. With over $2 trillion they can ride out the global recession in much better shape than the United States, research and development can easily be financed. If China can approach parity with the USA in numbers and quality of stealth aircraft, nuclear carrier battle groups and nuclear attack submarines, they cam become a ‘superpower’ via projection of their foreign policy and military strength. Billions of dollars spent on the F-35 program. Money spent on stealth aircraft in the United States further weaken the overall economy of the crumbling super power. In that alone, China’s ‘stealth aircraft program’ will have accomplished a great deal. Creating more affordable stealth fighters and emphasis on quantity over quality could be a positive for the race towards being a super power.

In 2005, a former Northrup B2 design engineer was arrested for selling highly classified data about the B-2 and its stealth design to China. Noshir Gowadia has admitted to the charges and so there is no question that the propulsion system and stealth design features of the B-2 have been studied intensively by those designing fighters and bombers for China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

In April 2009, China cyberwar experts attacked the US Department of Defense computers that hold classified data about the F-35 program. Apparently a great deal of data was downloaded, although theft of information in the highest security classification was not acknowledged. This could also give us some insight where J-16 would stand in terms of mission roles and technology.

To understand J-16 we need to understand J-11B, there aren’t many pictures of J-16 released to help us. Following is the specifications of J-11B

- Crew: 1
- Length: 21.9M
- Wingspan: 14.70 M
- Height: 5.92M
- Wing area: 62.04 m²
- Empty weight: 16,380 kg
- Loaded weight: 23,926 kg
- Range: 3,530 km
- Powerplant: 2 × Lyulka AL-31F or Woshan WS-10A “Taihang” turbofans

And these will have to change in J-16 platform since there will be modification to make it stealth like all the weapons will be internal. This results in decrease in the number of weapons that can be carried, fuel capacity decreases hence range decreases. Su-27 appears like a pizza on a RADAR because of it’s huge size so the size would also have to be reduced. The main concern would be the engines, they have to be designed such a way as to evade incoming heat-seaking missiles. But the Chinese probably would solve this problem easily, thanks to Noshir Gowadia who soled the designs of B-2 Spirit bomber. It would be crucial to develop these indigenous engines, mainly to be used in J-20 in the future.

Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral George Zambellas, said: “”As Commander-in-Chief Fleet, I am honoured and delighted to be asked to cut the steel that will be form part of the mighty hull of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the Royal Navy’s new 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers. Along with HMS Queen Elizabeth these two ships – each of which will be in service for over 50 years – lie at the heart of our national security posture. With the equipment that will operate from them, they will be pivotal to the UK’s ability to project power at range for decades to come.”

Mick Ord, Managing Director at BAE Systems’ Naval Ships business, said: “The steel cut for Lower Block 02 demonstrates the steady progress which continues to be made on the carrier programme.
As home of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet, everyone here is hugely proud to be involved in one of the largest engineering projects in the UK today and excited that the ships will return to Portsmouth, as their home port once complete.”

As a member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, BAE Systems is working in partnership with Babcock, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence to deliver the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK. The company has an overarching role in managing the QE Class programme, as well as playing a central role in the design and build of the ships.

Construction of the forward island, which will control vessel navigation and house the ship’s bridge, is also underway at Portsmouth, while work continues on Lower Block 02 and the stern section (known as Lower Block 05) of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Both sections are in the advanced stages of outfit, with the team focusing on preparing the blocks for their transit to Rosyth later this year, where all of the units and sections of the carriers will come together to be assembled in the dry dock.

Integration and testing of the ship’s complex mission system is currently underway at the company’s Maritime Integration and Support Centre on Portsdown Hill, whilst teams of engineers from BAE Systems and Thales are testing the advanced communications systems for the ships. Elsewhere in the Hampshire region, Southampton-based Kempsafe Limited has contracts to supply galley and laundry equipment on the vessels and Portsmouth-based Selex Communications is involved in the design of the Identification Friend or Foe system.

A significant plan of investment is underway to enhance the Naval Base, which will become the home of the two aircraft carriers when they enter service. The plan, which will cost approximately £140 million, includes the dredging the existing channel to Portsmouth to make it deeper and wider, and refurbishing the base’s jetties to ease access for both the QE Class and Type 45 fleet.

Each 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed worldwide. The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The QE Class will be the centre piece of Britain’s military capability and will routinely operate at least 12 of the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter jets, allowing for unparalleled interoperability with allied forces.

SPECTRA is divided into different modules and sensors strategically positioned throughout the airframe to provide all-round coverage. The latest advances in micro-electronic technology have led to a new system which is much lighter, more compact and less demanding than its ancestors in terms of electrical and cooling powers.

All elements of the Thales SPECTRA system are built into the airframe, have high levels of automation and system integration. SPECTRA includes radar detectors, laser warning receivers and infrared missile approach warning. Active elements of the system include chaff and flare dispensers, and radio frequency jamming. SPECTRA also has ELINT functions, for recording and analyzing the characteristics of hostile emitters and their locations.

Its advanced digital technology, provides passive long-range detection, identification and localization of threats, and allows the pilot or system to react immediately with the best defensive measures: jamming, decoys, evasive manoeuvrings and/or any combination of these actions. SPECTRA features accurate Direction-finding and reduced time for signal identification. Offering unique high sensitivity detection and multiple threat capability, and operating smart data fusion between multi-spectral sensors.

By virtue of its fully passive situational awareness capability, SPECTRA is a major contributor to the low observability concept of Rafale.  Thales Group and Dassault Aviation have mentioned stealthy jamming modes for the SPECTRA system, to reduce the aircraft’s apparent radar signature. It is not known exactly how these work or even if the capability is fully operational, but it may employ active cancellation technology, such as has been tested by Thales and MBDA. Active cancellation is supposed to work by sampling and analyzing incoming radar and feeding it back to the hostile emitter out of phase thus cancelling out the returning radar echo.

The proliferation of new generation weapons such as man-portable surface-to-air missiles has raised concern among key decision makers. Both laser and IR missile warning systems have been mounted on the fighter. They provide 360 degree coverage and ensure detection/warning of incoming threats. The IR missile warning ensures high probability of detection and low false alarm rate, even against totally passive IR-guided weapons. Four upward-firing launcher modules for various types of decoys – are built into the airframe, and the Rafale is equipped with internal chaff dispensers. The exact location and types of systems detected by Spectra can be recorded for later analysis, giving Rafale operators a substantial built-in SIGINT/ELINT capability while completing specialized dedicated intelligence platforms.

The first Spectra flight on-board a Rafale took place in September 1996, after M02 prototype had been retrofitted. Since then, the system has been thoroughly tested in very complex electronic warfare scenarios and environments. For instance, Rafale M02 was pitted against a wide variety of the latest IR-defence systems during the NATO Mace X trial organized in August 2000 in Southwest France, and its self-defence suite performed flawlessly. It is now in full production, and is already entering operational service on-board French Navy Rafale. Spectra, a particularly cost effective system, has been designed with growth in mind to keep the Rafale abreast of emerging threats.

The French government has agreed full technology transfer to India which also includes a advanced AESA radar (RBE2-AA) and software source codes which will allow India to further experiment or advance the Rafale platform.

Dassualt has also offered to fit the Kaveri engine into the Rafale which is a Indian indigenous jet engine, which would boost the development of Indian HAL Tejas ingenious fighter. Dassault Aviation also has offered Rafale M which is a carrier variant of the fighter, although not in deal it would increase the increase Indian naval capabilities since India is developing it’s own aircraft carrier. Indian Air Force already operated the French made Dassualt Mirage 2000 which had been a very capable fighter. Dassault believes that integration of Rafale into the Indian Air Force will be smoother. IAF purchased 49 Mirage 2000s, including 42 single-seaters and 7 two-seaters in the 1980s. In 2004, the Indian government approved purchase of ten more Mirage 2000Hs, featuring improved avionics, particularly an upgraded RDM 7 radar.

The IAF named the Mirage the “Vajra”, loosely translated as “Thunderbolt”. India also purchased appropriate stores along with the fighters, including ATLIS II pods and laser-guided weapons.

There have been concerns of potential sales to Pakistan since it also expresses interest in the Rafale. However there have been no serious offers or discussions. India and France have recently agreed to “go beyond a buyer-seller relationship”.

Six companies had bid for the deal, Russian Mig-35, Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet, Swedish SAAB Grippen, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper, European Eurofighter and French Dassault Rafale. European Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale were shortlisted in April 2011.

On January 31st 2012, Dassault Rafale was announced the winner of the deal, there were immediate reactions to the decisions. Officials at the British High Commission in Delhi said they were disappointed with the decision and would now study the details. They added: “It was expressly said this was about the cost of the contract, not a reflection on the health of bilateral relations between India and the involved countries.”One Indian defence ministry source confirmed to Reuters that the Rafale had been “much cheaper unit-wise”, adding: “Moreover, the Indian air force, which is well-equipped with French fighters, is favoring the French.”

Saab produce four varieties of Gripen, the JAS 39A single-seater and JAS 39B two-seater trainer used by the Swedish Air Force, and the JAS 39C and JAS 39D export versions, which feature the same highly maneuverable design and powerful Volvo engines. The Gripen is a single-engine multirole fighter with delta wings and canards, and despite it having been introduced over 14 years ago, the latest incarnation features all the latest fly-by-wire technologies as sported by the more modern Eurofighter.

Specifications
While single-engined, the Gripen’s power plant, a Volvo RM12 turbofan, enables Mach 2 at all altitudes and makes it a lighter fighter compared to the twin-engined Eurofighter. The single-seater Gripen is just over 46 ft in length, the two-seater 48 ft, but both planes have a 27 ft wing span (including launchers) and has a maximum take-off weight of 15 tons, enabling over 11,600 lbs of payload.

With over 650 combat missions to its name, and almost 2,000 flight hours, the Gripen is a more tried and tested alternative to the Typhoon. The Volvo engine is an upgraded version of the General Electric F-404-400, which alone, has notched up several million flight hours of operations

The delta wing-canard design with relaxed stability provides the Gripen with high maneuverability and enables efficient takeoff and landings. The fuselage design is extremely low in drag, maximizing the Gripen’s range and payload capabilities. Although it doesn’t have reverse thrusters to aid engine braking like the Typhoon, the canards can act as air brakes. All versions of the Gripen come equipped with a single 27 mm Mauser, the same as the Eurofighter, although the Typhoon can carry a few thousand pound more in payload.

Features
Despite its 14-year operational age, the Gripen features al the latest fighter technologies, including a Triplex, flight control system, fully integrated avionic system and an efficient human-machine interface system to relieve the workload on the pilot in combat scenarios and maximize the aircraft’s weapon systems. The cockpit and display system has three large, full color displays and holographic combiner heads up display (HUD), and also features a compact, long-range, high-performance pulse Doppler radar, which can handle air-to-air and surface to air defense, as well as reconnaissance duties.

Operational Effectiveness
As with the Eurofighter, the Gripen is designed for modern multitask warfare with emphasis placed on high performance, flexibility and survivability. The initials JAS stand for Jakt (Fighter), Attack (Attack) and Spanning (Reconnaissance) defining its multipurpose role. However, the reason the Gripen is becoming favored over the more sophisticated and maneuverable Eurofighter is the low operational costs, up to 50% lower in most cases. The Gripen can operate with minimum maintenance personnel and ground support from the simplest of road bases. The Gripen also has in-flight refueling capabilities.

Besides the Swedish Air Force’s 204 operational Gripens, the Czech Republic and Hungarian Air Forces each have 14, Thailand a fleet of 12 and South Africa has ordered 26 aircraft. Even the United Kingdom, one of the main investors and customers of the Typhoon Eurofighter project has taken delivery of a number of Gripens as part of its fast jet training program at the Empire Test Pilots’ School, demonstrating the exceptional reputation the Gripen has acquired.