2024-02-21 19:38:00
As you know, this morning the first flight was carried out by an experimental prototype of the Turkish promising multirole fighter KNAAS, developed by Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii (TUSAŞ) as part of the TF-X program in the period from 2010 to 2023.
The Turkish stealth fighter of the 5th generation TF-X KAAN (“Kagan”), despite the much less refined bearing surfaces of the airframe and aerodynamic contours in comparison with both the domestic Su-57 and the American F-22A Raptor, also boasts a number of visible technical advantages characteristic of promising multi-purpose tactical aviation platforms of the 21st century.
First of all, it is a more reliable twin-engine power plant based on two proven F110-GE-129 afterburner turbojet engines from General Electric. This modification of the engines of the F110 line is equipped with multi-role fighters of the 4+ generation F-16C Block 50. A special feature of the F110-GE-129 turbofan engine is that it is equipped with an ejector nozzle block, which increases the operational life of the product to 2000 hours. The architecture of the ejector nozzle is an additional annular cooling circuit that supplies a “film-like” air flow from the compressor external engine block to the deflectable flaps and nozzle seals, which, due to the impact of the high-temperature jet stream, are subject to maximum wear in a fairly limited time. The cold air flow generated by the mixing chamber of the ejector nozzle makes it possible to reduce the operating temperature of the heat-resistant flaps and nozzle seals by 220 – 445 °C, which increases the service life by more than 50%.
Another distinctive feature of the F110-GE-129 engines is more stable and efficient operation when flying in low-altitude terrain-following modes and flying a few meters above the “crest” of a wave at transonic speeds (up to 1050 – 1170 km/h). Thus, a KAAN fighter equipped with a pair of similar engines will become a very effective tool for overcoming air defense and missile defense, given its relatively low radar signature/intensifier tube. Speaking about the efficiency of this engine at low altitudes, it should be noted that at a speed of 980 km/h and at an altitude of 600 m, the F110-GE-129 turbofan engine can boast 1.30 – 1.33 times higher thrust than, for example, F-110-GE-100/400.
The total thrust of these turbofans in afterburner mode reaches 26,300 kgf, providing the vehicle with a thrust-to-weight ratio of about 1.1 – 1.13 kgf/kg at a normal take-off weight of 23,000 – 24,000 kg. This thrust-to-weight ratio is quite sufficient for a climb rate of about 290 – 300 m/s, as well as power maneuvering with overloads of 8.5 units. and an angular turning speed of about 27 degrees/s during close air combat.
An important design detail of the power plant is the separation of engine nacelles with turbofan engines at a distance between the longitudinal axes of the order of 2.35 – 2.5 m. This feature makes it possible to reduce the accident rate of the power plant. In particular, even if one F110-GE-129 is damaged, the second can continue to work, ensuring either the return of the vehicle to its home air base or its departure to the pilot’s safe ejection zone. A similar separation of engine nacelles is implemented both in the MiG-29SMT/35 line and in all Su-27 line vehicles, including Su-30SM/½, Su-34, Su-35S and Su-57.
The vehicle has developed all-moving rudders with a large area, a diamond-shaped wing with an area of 62 square meters. m, ensuring a specific wing load of about 387 – 400 kg/sq. m, as well as a vertical tail with a camber angle of about 60 – 70 degrees. Taking into account the abundance of structural fractures in airframe elements and the widespread use of composite materials, the calculated effective reflective surface can be about 0.1 – 0.2 square meters. m in the X-wave range, which will allow it to be detected using the Irbis-E airborne radars at a distance of 165 – 200 km.
The circular cross-section of the nozzle allows you to maintain the infrared and radar signatures of the vehicle at the level of the F/A-18E/F Block III Advanced Super Hornet.
The vehicle will receive a multi-mode onboard AFAR radar with high noise immunity, as well as a multispectral optical-electronic sighting system of the Pirate-IRST type, located in a specialized niche on the radio-transparent nose fairing of the radar. This station will operate in the television, mid- (3 – 5 µm) and long-wave (8 – 12 µm) IR ranges, and will also have a laser range finder and target designator.
A high-resolution infrared matrix photodetector will ensure the detection of F-35A type targets in the front hemisphere in non-afterburning mode; this complex will be able to detect at a distance of up to 40 km, in the rear hemisphere – about 75 km, in afterburning mode in the front hemisphere – about 75 km, and in the rear hemisphere — 130 — 150 km. Quantum optical-electronic sighting systems such as OLS-50 of the domestic 5th generation Su-57 fighters have similar parameters.
As for the radar complex to be installed on KAAN fighters, then, according to the Azerbaijani publication caliber.az, we are talking about an AFAR radar based on gallium arsenide microwave transistors of the X/J range, capable of detecting targets with an effective reflective surface of the order of 3 sq. m at a distance of 270 – 300 km. Nothing is known about the number of transceiver modules, the presence of tunable radio frequency filters (to implement the possibility of operating in electronic warfare jamming mode) and other features of the radar. However, it can be argued that the product will be able to operate in synthetic aperture mode, detecting and classifying surface and ground-based (surface) objects at a distance of up to 200 km (depending on the effective reflective surface).
Another notable detail is the presence of a visible radio-transparent panel in the onboard generatrix of the front part of the fuselage, which indicates the presence of onboard AFAR modules for processing targets in the left and right hemispheres. As is known, the N036 Belka has two more side-view AFAR modules, located under the side elements of the fuselage nose and increasing the azimuthal viewing area to approximately 240 degrees.
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