Halberdgardia
13-01-2006, 23:54
XB-7 "Peregrine" Hypersonic Weapons Delivery System (HWDS)
[OOC: Picture to come soon...hopefully.]
[Abstract]
In war, speed is a critical factor. He who deploys first, reaches a superior position first, strikes first -- generally speaking -- has the advantage. Keeping this adage in mind, the Halberdgardian Air Force found itself desiring an extremely-swift aerospace vehicle capable of fulfilling three basic types of mission profiles: prompt global strike (the ability to strike a target anywhere within a massive range on short notice), prompt theater strike (the ability to strike a target within a specified theater on short notice), and persistent area strike (the ability to rapidly reach a target area and loiter for a time in anticipation of striking a target). The HAF primarily intended for such a craft to be used in the early hours of a conflict, desiring the capability to rapidly strike a target with deadly force, without the need for large mobilizations and intratheater build-up. The HAF thus began the top-secret Project Dreamscape, and enlisted the help of Consolidated Arms, Inc., manufacturer of the F-150 "Ebonhawk" and F-150A/S "Strikehawk," to produce such a vehicle. While the requirements were imposing, Consolidated Arms eventually found a plausible solution, deciding to adapt the concept of the Hypersonic Weapons Delivery System (hereafter referred to as the HWDS) as set forth in the April 2003 U.S. Air Staff study titled "Long-Range Global Precision Engagement." The study described a concept for a hypersonic vehicle as follows:
The [HWDS] would be based on [Halberdgardian] territory. It would be reusable, having aircraft-like properties that enable it to take off from a conventional military runway. The system would:
Be capable striking targets 10,350 miles away within two hours.
Be capable of carrying a 12,000-pound payload.
Be capable of engaging multiple, diverse, and widely dispersed targets.
Be retargetable and recallable.
With their inspiration in hand, and the HAF supplying the near-unlimited funding typical of "black projects," Consolidated Arms turned a U.S. pipe dream into a reality, and produced the B-7 "Peregrine" HWDS.
[Airframe]
The airframe of the Peregrine was far and away the source of the most trouble encountered in the development of the aircraft. Consolidated Arms was faced with a nearly-impossible task: to find or create a material that would be able to withstand the conditions of prolonged hypersonic flight -- the intense heat chief among them -- that would not be too cost-prohibitive. While the Peregrine was not planned to be produced in large numbers, Consolidated Arms nevertheless knew that there was a limit on how much the HAF would be willing to spend per Peregrine. Several exotic materials were proposed, but all were rejected, due to the exorbitant price of manufacturing them on such a large scale. It appeared that Consolidated Arms had reached an impasse until reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) came to the designers' attention.
Carbon is well-known for its tremendous ability to resist heat; in fact, it has the best heat-conduction properties of any element known to man. Reinforced carbon-carbon is a composite material consisting of carbon fiber reinforcement in a matrix of graphite, often with a silicon carbide coating to prevent oxidation. Renowned as a particularly resilient form of carbon for its superb heat-resistant properties, it is used as heat shielding for the nose cone and leading edges of the U.S. space shuttle. However, while RCC has excellent heat-conduction properties, it lacks impact resistance; that is, it is susceptible to cracking or breaking when struck with sufficient force. Obviously, this is not a desirable quality to have for a material composing an aircraft that would attain hypersonic speeds, and so another material with incredible tensile strength was also needed to supplement the RCC. Despite its cost and potential manufacturing difficulties, the designers at Consolidated Arms chose to reinforce the RCC with C60, buckminsterfullerene, which has been hailed by some scientists as the strongest material known to man.
The outer layer of RCC is bonded with an underlying layer of C60, thus providing the necessary qualities: a mix of heat-resistance and tensile strength. These qualities made the new material, dubbed "C60-reinforced RCC" by the Consolidated Arms engineers, the perfect choice for the airframe of the B-7, and so, consequently, the Peregrine is composed of a fifty-millimeter layer of C60-reinforced RCC.
[Propulsion]
Given the stringent requirements in the areas of extreme speed, range, and altitude, the engineers at Consolidated Arms had little choice but to develop their own pulse-detonation wave engine in order to power the Peregrine concept. After nearly forty months of research and development prior to the start of Project Dreamscape, Consolidated Arms had made halting progress on its PDE-700 pulse-detonation wave engine (PDWE) concept. With the support of the HAF on Project Dreamscape, however, the PDE-700 project was put on the fast track for completion. Some twenty months later, Consolidated Arms produced its first production model of the PDE-700 PWDE. As such, the B-7 is powered by a pair of the newly-completed Consolidated Arms, Inc. PDE-700 pulse-detonation wave engines, for a combined total thrust of 200,000 pounds.
[Avionics]
The engineers at Consolidated Arms took the attitude of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" when designing the avionics of the Peregrine, adapting nearly the entire avionics suite from the F-150 "Ebonhawk."
The Peregrine features an advanced Fly-by-Optics control system -- almost a necessity considering the high speeds the Peregrine would be attaining -- for enhanced response time, better control, and increased reliability.
The Peregrine Advanced RADAR Tracking System (PARTS), an upgraded AN/APG-77 AESA RADAR unit, serves as the main component of the Peregrine's sensor suite, with a range of three hundred twenty kilometers. Additionally, the PARTs contains a module similar to the one employed by the Ebonhawk; this module cycles through a wide range of frequencies twice a second, so as to prevent the aircraft's radar from being jammed. The PARTS is augmented by a LIDAR/LADAR suite, with a range of thirty and seventy kilometers, respectively.
The Peregrine also fields multiple new avionics technologies adapted from the Sarzonian components used in the F-150. Chief among these is the Holographic Heads-Up Display (HHUD) system, adapted from the Sarzonian AHDS-1 Helmet-Mounted HUD System, which allows for the pilots of the aircraft to simply look at the target to achieve a lock. When the HHUD is used in conjunction with the new Advanced Voice-Command System (AVCS), the pilot has unparalleled capabilities when receiving, integrating, and utilizing in-flight information to his best advantage. The aircraft's superb sensor suite allows for up to one hundred twenty aircraft or ground targets to be tracked at any given time via an HMSC-10 Mobile Supercomputer system, similar to the Sarzonian SCS-1 Mobile Super Computer unit, which gives the aircraft nearly unmatched processing power, and for eight of them to be targeted and engaged simultaneously at ranges exceeding eighty miles.
[Armament]
Due to its unusual abilities and operating conditions, it follows that the Peregrine's weaponry would be similarly unique, and this is certainly the case. For a craft with such a specialized mission profile, the B-7 is well-equipped to fulfill it, capable of mounting no less than five armament variations, which are detailed below.
Variant One: A payload of up to 12,000 pounds of modified conventional explosives, whose casings have been reinforced and made temperature-resistant to ensure that the explosive can survive hypersonic conditions, can be mounted on six modular hardpoints in the Peregrine's internal bay.
Variant Two: A payload of the equivalent of 12,000 pounds of conventional explosives in nuclear free-fall bombs, also mounted on six modular hardpoints in the Peregrine's internal bay. The typical weapon used is the Mk-83H bomb: an updated, modified version of the United States' Mk-83 (http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/B83.html). The bomb has been given reinforced, temperature-resistant casings to survive a drop from high altitude and hypersonic speed, and has had its various electronic systems updated to modern standards.
Variant Three: A separately-designed Rocket-Boosted Autonomous Gliding-Reentry Vehicle (RAGV), carrying small independent warheads with high-explosive munitions or submunitions, would be launched from the internal bay, and would descend from high altitude to deliver its payload in a more conventional (and possibly more precise) fashion than the Peregrine itself.
Variant Four: A modified Rods-of-God (RoGs) system, whereby an upscaled rotary launcher, similar to the one mounted on the F-150 "Ebonhawk," would hold six twelve-meter-long RoGs. The Peregrine would then ascend to a high altitude, release its RoG(s) at a designated point, and let the Rod(s) glide to its target.
Variant Five: A military-grade spy or communications satellite can be mounted in the Peregrine's internal bay for the rapid deployment of satellites and other autonomous space-based assets.
B-7 "Peregrine" Specifications
Classification: High-altitude, hypersonic strategic bomber
Length: 32 m.
Wingspan: 16 m.
Height: 12 m.
Propulsion: 2 x Consolidated Arms, Inc. PDE-700 pulse-detonation wave engines (200,000 lbs. maximum thrust)
Range: 33,140 km.
Supercruise: Mach 12
Maximum Speed: Mach 15
Cruising Altitude: 60,960 m.
Maximum Altitude: 76,200 m.
Normal Payload: 9,000 lbs.
Maximum Payload: 12,000 lbs.
Empty Weight: 17,235 kg.
Maximum Weight: 34,470 kg.
Crew: One
Price: $2.5 billion
[OOC: Picture to come soon...hopefully.]
[Abstract]
In war, speed is a critical factor. He who deploys first, reaches a superior position first, strikes first -- generally speaking -- has the advantage. Keeping this adage in mind, the Halberdgardian Air Force found itself desiring an extremely-swift aerospace vehicle capable of fulfilling three basic types of mission profiles: prompt global strike (the ability to strike a target anywhere within a massive range on short notice), prompt theater strike (the ability to strike a target within a specified theater on short notice), and persistent area strike (the ability to rapidly reach a target area and loiter for a time in anticipation of striking a target). The HAF primarily intended for such a craft to be used in the early hours of a conflict, desiring the capability to rapidly strike a target with deadly force, without the need for large mobilizations and intratheater build-up. The HAF thus began the top-secret Project Dreamscape, and enlisted the help of Consolidated Arms, Inc., manufacturer of the F-150 "Ebonhawk" and F-150A/S "Strikehawk," to produce such a vehicle. While the requirements were imposing, Consolidated Arms eventually found a plausible solution, deciding to adapt the concept of the Hypersonic Weapons Delivery System (hereafter referred to as the HWDS) as set forth in the April 2003 U.S. Air Staff study titled "Long-Range Global Precision Engagement." The study described a concept for a hypersonic vehicle as follows:
The [HWDS] would be based on [Halberdgardian] territory. It would be reusable, having aircraft-like properties that enable it to take off from a conventional military runway. The system would:
Be capable striking targets 10,350 miles away within two hours.
Be capable of carrying a 12,000-pound payload.
Be capable of engaging multiple, diverse, and widely dispersed targets.
Be retargetable and recallable.
With their inspiration in hand, and the HAF supplying the near-unlimited funding typical of "black projects," Consolidated Arms turned a U.S. pipe dream into a reality, and produced the B-7 "Peregrine" HWDS.
[Airframe]
The airframe of the Peregrine was far and away the source of the most trouble encountered in the development of the aircraft. Consolidated Arms was faced with a nearly-impossible task: to find or create a material that would be able to withstand the conditions of prolonged hypersonic flight -- the intense heat chief among them -- that would not be too cost-prohibitive. While the Peregrine was not planned to be produced in large numbers, Consolidated Arms nevertheless knew that there was a limit on how much the HAF would be willing to spend per Peregrine. Several exotic materials were proposed, but all were rejected, due to the exorbitant price of manufacturing them on such a large scale. It appeared that Consolidated Arms had reached an impasse until reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) came to the designers' attention.
Carbon is well-known for its tremendous ability to resist heat; in fact, it has the best heat-conduction properties of any element known to man. Reinforced carbon-carbon is a composite material consisting of carbon fiber reinforcement in a matrix of graphite, often with a silicon carbide coating to prevent oxidation. Renowned as a particularly resilient form of carbon for its superb heat-resistant properties, it is used as heat shielding for the nose cone and leading edges of the U.S. space shuttle. However, while RCC has excellent heat-conduction properties, it lacks impact resistance; that is, it is susceptible to cracking or breaking when struck with sufficient force. Obviously, this is not a desirable quality to have for a material composing an aircraft that would attain hypersonic speeds, and so another material with incredible tensile strength was also needed to supplement the RCC. Despite its cost and potential manufacturing difficulties, the designers at Consolidated Arms chose to reinforce the RCC with C60, buckminsterfullerene, which has been hailed by some scientists as the strongest material known to man.
The outer layer of RCC is bonded with an underlying layer of C60, thus providing the necessary qualities: a mix of heat-resistance and tensile strength. These qualities made the new material, dubbed "C60-reinforced RCC" by the Consolidated Arms engineers, the perfect choice for the airframe of the B-7, and so, consequently, the Peregrine is composed of a fifty-millimeter layer of C60-reinforced RCC.
[Propulsion]
Given the stringent requirements in the areas of extreme speed, range, and altitude, the engineers at Consolidated Arms had little choice but to develop their own pulse-detonation wave engine in order to power the Peregrine concept. After nearly forty months of research and development prior to the start of Project Dreamscape, Consolidated Arms had made halting progress on its PDE-700 pulse-detonation wave engine (PDWE) concept. With the support of the HAF on Project Dreamscape, however, the PDE-700 project was put on the fast track for completion. Some twenty months later, Consolidated Arms produced its first production model of the PDE-700 PWDE. As such, the B-7 is powered by a pair of the newly-completed Consolidated Arms, Inc. PDE-700 pulse-detonation wave engines, for a combined total thrust of 200,000 pounds.
[Avionics]
The engineers at Consolidated Arms took the attitude of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" when designing the avionics of the Peregrine, adapting nearly the entire avionics suite from the F-150 "Ebonhawk."
The Peregrine features an advanced Fly-by-Optics control system -- almost a necessity considering the high speeds the Peregrine would be attaining -- for enhanced response time, better control, and increased reliability.
The Peregrine Advanced RADAR Tracking System (PARTS), an upgraded AN/APG-77 AESA RADAR unit, serves as the main component of the Peregrine's sensor suite, with a range of three hundred twenty kilometers. Additionally, the PARTs contains a module similar to the one employed by the Ebonhawk; this module cycles through a wide range of frequencies twice a second, so as to prevent the aircraft's radar from being jammed. The PARTS is augmented by a LIDAR/LADAR suite, with a range of thirty and seventy kilometers, respectively.
The Peregrine also fields multiple new avionics technologies adapted from the Sarzonian components used in the F-150. Chief among these is the Holographic Heads-Up Display (HHUD) system, adapted from the Sarzonian AHDS-1 Helmet-Mounted HUD System, which allows for the pilots of the aircraft to simply look at the target to achieve a lock. When the HHUD is used in conjunction with the new Advanced Voice-Command System (AVCS), the pilot has unparalleled capabilities when receiving, integrating, and utilizing in-flight information to his best advantage. The aircraft's superb sensor suite allows for up to one hundred twenty aircraft or ground targets to be tracked at any given time via an HMSC-10 Mobile Supercomputer system, similar to the Sarzonian SCS-1 Mobile Super Computer unit, which gives the aircraft nearly unmatched processing power, and for eight of them to be targeted and engaged simultaneously at ranges exceeding eighty miles.
[Armament]
Due to its unusual abilities and operating conditions, it follows that the Peregrine's weaponry would be similarly unique, and this is certainly the case. For a craft with such a specialized mission profile, the B-7 is well-equipped to fulfill it, capable of mounting no less than five armament variations, which are detailed below.
Variant One: A payload of up to 12,000 pounds of modified conventional explosives, whose casings have been reinforced and made temperature-resistant to ensure that the explosive can survive hypersonic conditions, can be mounted on six modular hardpoints in the Peregrine's internal bay.
Variant Two: A payload of the equivalent of 12,000 pounds of conventional explosives in nuclear free-fall bombs, also mounted on six modular hardpoints in the Peregrine's internal bay. The typical weapon used is the Mk-83H bomb: an updated, modified version of the United States' Mk-83 (http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/B83.html). The bomb has been given reinforced, temperature-resistant casings to survive a drop from high altitude and hypersonic speed, and has had its various electronic systems updated to modern standards.
Variant Three: A separately-designed Rocket-Boosted Autonomous Gliding-Reentry Vehicle (RAGV), carrying small independent warheads with high-explosive munitions or submunitions, would be launched from the internal bay, and would descend from high altitude to deliver its payload in a more conventional (and possibly more precise) fashion than the Peregrine itself.
Variant Four: A modified Rods-of-God (RoGs) system, whereby an upscaled rotary launcher, similar to the one mounted on the F-150 "Ebonhawk," would hold six twelve-meter-long RoGs. The Peregrine would then ascend to a high altitude, release its RoG(s) at a designated point, and let the Rod(s) glide to its target.
Variant Five: A military-grade spy or communications satellite can be mounted in the Peregrine's internal bay for the rapid deployment of satellites and other autonomous space-based assets.
B-7 "Peregrine" Specifications
Classification: High-altitude, hypersonic strategic bomber
Length: 32 m.
Wingspan: 16 m.
Height: 12 m.
Propulsion: 2 x Consolidated Arms, Inc. PDE-700 pulse-detonation wave engines (200,000 lbs. maximum thrust)
Range: 33,140 km.
Supercruise: Mach 12
Maximum Speed: Mach 15
Cruising Altitude: 60,960 m.
Maximum Altitude: 76,200 m.
Normal Payload: 9,000 lbs.
Maximum Payload: 12,000 lbs.
Empty Weight: 17,235 kg.
Maximum Weight: 34,470 kg.
Crew: One
Price: $2.5 billion