Fighter "Typhoon": characteristics and photos

Since the Second World War and Vietnam, it has become clear that without air support, it is very difficult to win an armed confrontation. All the recent years have been marked by the rapid development of assault and fighter aviation, and the industry is attracting new and new scientific developments for this.

One of the most revealing results of the merger of defense science and technology was the Typhoon fighter. According to the leading foreign and domestic experts in the field of aviation, it is one of the most qualitative examples of Western weapons. What this aircraft is and what it is characterized, we will tell in this article.

Just note that his distant ancestor, "Typhoon" - a fighter of the Second World War, also distinguished by high maneuverability and excellent combat characteristics.

Basic information

At its core, it is a twin-engine fighter of the fourth generation. It is distinguished by a triangular wing and built according to the "duck" scheme. It should be noted that the modifications of the Typhoon, which were released in recent years, belong to the 4+ or 4 ++ generation. In general, the development of such a promising aircraft was started in 1979.

The machine is produced in four versions at once. Separate versions are available for Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Particularly interesting is the fact that parts for the production of aircraft are not produced in one place: several aircraft consortiums are engaged in this at once.

Public contract

Let's enumerate those of them that produce the most important parts of the fuselage and engine:

• Alenia Aeronautica. It makes the back of the body, flaperons, and also the wings are left.

• BAE Systems. Partially duplicates the first manufacturer in the production of parts for the rear of the aircraft, engaged in the production of the front fuselage (together with PGO), gargrot, flashlight. Responsible also for the tail stabilizer.

• EADS Deutschland. It makes the center section, and also produces the central part of the hull.

• EADS CASA. The company produces slats and the right wing.

Main design features

In general, the Typhoon fighter was created in many respects taking into account the use of the most advanced achievements of electronics and aircraft construction. The designers did a lot to ensure maximum maneuvering performance, even when entering 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 by turning type, keel and rudder - without stabilizer. Such a scheme is just as good as a sharp increase in the maneuverability of the aircraft and a decrease in air resistance at supersonic speeds.

The airplane "invisible"

To reduce the visibility of the machine for radar, the front edge of the front tail is made of a material that absorbs radio waves. Although officially, the Typhoon fighter is not classified as a stealth-type vehicle, its production uses technologies and materials that can effectively dissipate radio waves. In fact, this task was put before the designers initially: to make the aircraft as inconspicuous as possible from the front for modern radar detection equipment.

What was done to achieve this goal? Firstly, the air intakes were drowned in the body as much as possible, the input cascades of the engines were masked by special devices. All the bearing planes of the wing and the leading edges of the stabilizers and tail surfaces were covered from the front edge by materials absorbing radar radiation. In addition, the suspension of guided missiles is also as close as possible to the hull, which also makes it possible to hide them from the radar of the enemy.

Here it should be mentioned that at present the Typhoon is a multi-purpose fighter-bomber, and therefore it is impossible to ensure its complete invisibility in principle (yes, it is not so necessary).

Key Developers

Virtually all the new components and alloys that can achieve this high performance have been developed by engineers from the EADS / DASA group. In addition, the same company was among the creators, and then the manufacturers of many of the most important structural elements of the aircraft. These include virtually the entire front edge of both wings, the outer and inner surfaces of the air intakes, as well as the elevator and the components adjacent to them.

The main materials that were used in the design

The materials used are numerous, and there are not so many traditional aluminum alloys. So, more than 40% of the total mass of the glider is carbon fiber. The number of alloys of lithium and aluminum reaches 20%, pure aluminum alloys account for 18%. High-strength materials based on titanium occupy 12%, and the share of fiberglass accounts for 10%. The surface of the aircraft covers 70% of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, 12% is occupied by materials based on fiberglass.

About 15% of the area falls on metal, and another 3% is occupied by extra-strong plastics and other structural materials. By the way, among all European combat aircraft, the most technologically the same is the Typhoon fighter: 5% of all used technical solutions are still not disclosed, being secret developments of European aerospace agencies.

Even with the initial planning of the aircraft 's design, the condition was laid down in the terms of reference that the weight of an empty aircraft should not exceed 9,999 kilograms. In addition, the possibility of using new alloys based on magnesium and aluminum is constructively incorporated. The glider resource is not less than six thousand hours. Thus, the Typhoon fighter significantly outperforms the American F-35, which has a range of 2-4,000 hours.

Characteristics of structural elements

The body is made according to the semi-monocoque scheme. There is a fairly effective overhead armor cabin, which protects the pilot from the fire of individual small arms. The lantern of the cabin is unshaped, comparatively far beyond the hull. Such a solution allowed the pilot to provide the best possible overview. This is extremely important in the conditions of modern maneuverable air combat. In this case, the "Typhoon" fighter, whose photo is in the article, is one of the best NATO cars.

As we already said, the design used a scheme with single-keystone, which has a rather large area. The massive air intake of the heat exchange system is quite noticeable. All the covering of the wings is made of a particularly strong carbon fiber reinforced plastic. However, there is one exception. It's about containers and deflected socks, which are located at the ends of the wings. They are made of aluminum and lithium alloys.

The total area of the horizontal tail is 2.40 m ² . Light polymers are also used for its manufacture (in the majority). Simply put, the Typhoon fighter (photo you can see in this material) is a high-tech aircraft, the production of which is simply impossible without a powerful industrial base.

Chassis

The chassis of the aircraft is three-axial. Equipped with single-column racks. The peculiarity is that the first two leave in the direction of the hull, while the front one is retracted forward. Another feature unusual for NATO technology - the chassis is perfectly optimized for landing on very rough, poorly repaired runways. But here there is a problem. Initially, it was assumed that the minimum length of GDP for landing will be equal to five hundred meters. According to this indicator, the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter also had to become an advanced fighter.

But already during the first field tests it was found out that under these 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 the braking parachute.

Engine development, the main specifications of the power plant

The engine began to develop in the distant 1983. The work did not start from scratch: the engine from the Tornado airplane was taken as the basis. However, there is information that the power plant was taken from the experimental machine Rolls-Royce XG.40. Whatever it was, bench trials were started only in 1988.

The result of the development was the EJ200. This is a two-circuit turbofan engine, one of the hallmarks of which is a massive afterburner. Turbine blades are made with wide use of single-crystal materials, all disks are made by the method of powder stamping. The power plant control system is completely digital. Moreover, the engine has a built-in diagnostic system. Virtually all fixed parts of the engine are made of composite materials. The combustion chamber is protected against wear by a composition based on ceramics.

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 were already assembled, the resource of which was brought to 10 thousand hours.

The air intake is located under the fuselage, its contours are unchangeable. The lateral walls are straight, the lower is curvilinear. Vertical partition, this design is divided into two channels, with the lower part of each of them can be deflected, providing better airflow at high loads.

Specifications of engines

Note that even at the design stage of the aircraft Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Italy signed an agreement, under which the countries pledged to jointly develop and modify the power unit 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 "on dry" is 6120 kgf.

• The forcible value of the indicator is 9097 kgf.

• Under normal flight conditions, fuel consumption varies from 0.745 to 0.813 kg / kgf / h.

• In the afterburner mode, this figure is much more - 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 consumption 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.

• Resource old modifications - 6 thousand hours, but modern engines can fly already for 10 thousand.

• The interval between engine checks is 1 thousand hours.

That is what "Typhoon" (fighter) is characterized by. The aircraft's power is such that it can develop a maximum speed of up to 2 Machs, which is about 2.5 thousand kilometers per hour.

Fuel reserves

The fuel reserve is located both in the fuselage itself, and in the keel section and in the wings, being placed in tanks of particularly durable materials. It is possible to place on the suspension nodes two spare tanks at once, the capacity of which is 1500 liters and 1000 liters, respectively. It should be specially noted that the designers have envisaged the possibility of air refueling, what is especially different is the "Typhoon" (fighter). The fighter aircraft of this model, using all the fuel reserves, can fly about four thousand kilometers (in fact - no more than 3.2 thousand).

Flight control systems

Flight control system quadruplex adaptive. Note that there is no backup mechanical channel. It is due to complex electronic systems that the highest maneuverability at the 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.

The navigation system is inertial. Has ring laser gyroscopes, the pilot can use a special indicator sight, as well as equipment that automatically predicts the priority means of attacking the enemy. In addition, the same system is responsible for determining the maneuvers of evasion and attack of enemy equipment. Of course, electronics can give recommendations on the weapon system that is most rational to use in air combat.

Defensive systems and systems of attack

The most expensive electronic stuffing is the DASS system. For a long time it was created by the leading institutions of Germany and Great Britain. The system processes and interprets the data that the aircraft receives from the laser and radar equipment. It is she who is responsible for the release of false targets and sources of active interference. It also controls passive means of aircraft protection. Containers are located with this equipment on the wing. A laser rangefinder with a target indication function is also located at the end of the wing.

Note that this fighter basically does not have internal compartments for weapons. They are replaced by suspension external nodes, which greatly simplify the detection of aircraft for enemy radar systems, but this can significantly expand the range of used weapons.

Especially for this fighter model, semi-conformal fuel tanks were designed and used.

In total, the aircraft has thirteen suspension points. As a rule, they are deployed to four unguided rockets "Skyflash" (British Air Force) or "Aspid" (Air Force of Italy). They are placed in a slightly "recessed" position under the hull of the aircraft. It is also allowed to place two small guided missiles ASRAAM or AIM-9. They are suspended on knots under their wings.

In total, the aircraft can be equipped with ten air-to-air missiles, but in this case the take-off mass of the machine should not exceed 18 tons. To suspend additional fuel tanks are designed three separate suspension units. Note that the multipurpose fighter "Typhoon" is additionally equipped with an automatic cannon of caliber of 27 mm, produced by the firm "Mauser".

Bomb load

If it is planned to carry out percussion operations on the ground, seven external nodes of the suspension can accommodate up to 6,500 kilograms of bombs, as well as at least six guided air-to-air missiles. The radius of combat operations can exceed one thousand kilometers. The lowest combat altitude for this fighter is 325 meters, the maximum - a kilometer. With full armament, the fighter-bomber "Typhoon" (his photo is in this material) can perform 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 planes were distributed among them, in accordance with the available production capacities.

So, the factories of Great Britain undertook to collect 232 "Typhoon", in Germany 180 units were collected, 121 planes took part in Italy. The Spaniards, because of poor production conditions, were entrusted to collect only 87 fighters. The first aircraft began to arrive in 2003. Britain also received the first fighters of this model at the same time, with some of them immediately went to the formation of 17 squadron. The aircraft were thoroughly tested in it. Strangely enough, officially the Air Force of the European Union aircraft arrived only on July 1, 2005. In the first batch, 148 fighter jets were delivered, all of them still in service.

Already in 2002, the Austrian government expressed interest in purchasing 18 units of equipment, investing $ 2.55 billion at once. However, already in June 2007, due to the approaching crisis, the contract was revised: according to the new conditions, the Austrians wanted to get 15 planes already, in a more "short" configuration. To date, similar contracts have been concluded with the UAE and a number of customers. It is reported that the factories of the EU must deliver 707 fighter jets at once.

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 off in 2008. Each multi-purpose fighter "Typhoon" (photo of the machine is in the article) is completely accompanied by the manufacturer from the release and to the end of the warranty period.

Differences of modifications

Originally it was believed that the aircraft of this model will be used exclusively for fighting against enemy aircraft. But after the beginning of the campaign in Afghanistan, they were actively used to suppress ground targets. By the way, did the Typhoon fighter operate against the MiG? Hardly. Yes, in Afghanistan, Soviet cars could remain, but only by that time there was not a single pilot who could take them into the air.

Modernized cars already in 2008 with full right could be called multifunctional fighters. They can be distinguished by the abbreviation FGR4 (if there is a T3 in the name, before you - a two-seat version of the aircraft). Until the new modification, all available "Typhoons" were modernized before the end of 2012. At present, the Typhoon 5 fighter is being developed at full speed. His characteristics are still unknown.

Improvements resulted in a significant increase in chassis racks, 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. At the moment, negotiations are underway to create a third generation of these fighters. On them the EU countries have big plans: it is believed that in the UK alone there should be at least 170 "Typhoons" until 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, intended for the British Air Force (the Typhoon MK 1 fighter). In this version, the aircraft received completely new target guidance systems and laser rangefinders, which were specially developed by the Israeli defense company Rafael. Significantly improved and bomb armament. Thus, it is provided for the presence of controlled bombs weighing 450 kilograms. They are produced by the American corporation Raytheon. They have the ability to guide the laser beam, as well as a GPS-correction system.

Aircraft of the third and fourth series should approximately come into service in the countries-participants of the contract and some buyers not earlier than 2017. It is assumed that the "Typhoon" fighter of the 5th generation should begin to develop around the same time.