United Elias
30-11-2003, 20:00
Although they have provided capable and dependable service for the past 40 years, Il-38 and Tu-142 Maritime survelliance aircraft are approaching the end of their fatigue life. Faced with the first airframe retirements as early as next year, the Elias Navy required a whole system approach to preserve maritime armed surveillance intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities. That whole system is the EA-90 'Cormorant' Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA).
Design
The EA-90 is based on the advanced generation 737 using the airframe of the Boeing Business Jet to provide superior endurance and reliability over its predecessors while also being cost effective as it is based on existing components. The aiframe has however been extensively modified for its role and features advanced sensors and mission equipment, hardpoints for ant-ship missiles and a weapons bay for torpedoes or extra fuel tanks. Also effeiceincy and therefore range is further imrpoved by using a pair of High Bypass turbofans produced by Elias Precision Engineering and they have proven in tests to be ultra reliable in nearly all enviromental conditions and in conjuction with integrated fuel control systems offer very good fuel economy and performance.
Weapons Systems
The EA-90 features a Tactical Command System, a variant of the Boeing TMS-2000, as the heart of the overall mission system. The tactical crew will operate seven reconfigurable operator workstations each with large high-resolution multi-function colour display screens.
The Aircraft is equipped with a stores management system from Elias Aerospace which carries out inventory tracking and control, air-to-air and air-to-sea weapon control, and built-in test and fault diagnostics.
The aircraft has a weapons bay with side opening doors at the bottom of the fuselage which can carry fuel tanks,up to 4 torpedoes and depth charges. A pair of underwing hardpoints on each side of the aircraft can carry a range of missiles including the Yakhont-3 (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=79445&highlight=) Anti-ship missile, HARM anti radiation missiles or sidewinder AAMs.
Systems
The systems aboard the 'Cormorant' are a combination of new technologies and those devloped for the EA-60 (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=84701&highlight=) although the 737 platform dramatically imrpooves performance and importnantly endurance.
Specifications
Powerplants: 2x EPE-58 High bypass turbofans producing 27,990lb of thrust each.
Performance:
Max Speed: Mach 0.82
Cruise Speed: Mach 0.80
Max Ferry Range: 6200nm
Mission Radius: 2000nm
Service Ceiling: 41,000ft
Wing Span: 117.5ft
Length: 105ft
Flight Crew: 2 + Misssion Specific Crew, Normally 7-12
Weapons:
Internal Weapons Bay for up to 4 Torpedoes/Depthbombs or 8 mines
Wing hardpoints for up to 4 anti-surface/air to air missiles
Systems:
Navigation: full open architecture navigation system with auto pilot, GPS, radio compas and advanced INS
Weapons and missions handling: full open architecture missions software, open standard stores managment system. For self defense giudance a MK5007 Multimode IR/EO system is employed. It features surface surveillance mode with 50x magnification and detection of targets at 180km. In air IRST mode up to 10 targets with ranges of up to 75km can be tracked.
CFES MK20B Warsphere Data link, integrates all onboard systems and provides digital links for
the transmission of data to and from (and through ie using the aircraft as a relay) the aircraft features full voice and other coms systems with high level of encryption.
ERS/EM-1134 Sonarbuoy dispenser: internally stores up to 36 sonarbouys/marine markers/noise makers, uses cartridge actuating devices to dispense.
MK2010 Radar (Crookfur): optimised for naval surveillance operations, the MK2010 can detect periscope sized targets at over 200km (and ship size targets at over 500km).
MK8003 MAD (Crookfur)
MK9505 Sonarbuoy handling system (Crookfur): Combines receiver, data interpretation with 128 channel processing and data transmission and display for over 100 sonarbouys.
Prices
EA-90 Cormorant: 112 million
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/mma-boeing.jpg
Design
The EA-90 is based on the advanced generation 737 using the airframe of the Boeing Business Jet to provide superior endurance and reliability over its predecessors while also being cost effective as it is based on existing components. The aiframe has however been extensively modified for its role and features advanced sensors and mission equipment, hardpoints for ant-ship missiles and a weapons bay for torpedoes or extra fuel tanks. Also effeiceincy and therefore range is further imrpoved by using a pair of High Bypass turbofans produced by Elias Precision Engineering and they have proven in tests to be ultra reliable in nearly all enviromental conditions and in conjuction with integrated fuel control systems offer very good fuel economy and performance.
Weapons Systems
The EA-90 features a Tactical Command System, a variant of the Boeing TMS-2000, as the heart of the overall mission system. The tactical crew will operate seven reconfigurable operator workstations each with large high-resolution multi-function colour display screens.
The Aircraft is equipped with a stores management system from Elias Aerospace which carries out inventory tracking and control, air-to-air and air-to-sea weapon control, and built-in test and fault diagnostics.
The aircraft has a weapons bay with side opening doors at the bottom of the fuselage which can carry fuel tanks,up to 4 torpedoes and depth charges. A pair of underwing hardpoints on each side of the aircraft can carry a range of missiles including the Yakhont-3 (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=79445&highlight=) Anti-ship missile, HARM anti radiation missiles or sidewinder AAMs.
Systems
The systems aboard the 'Cormorant' are a combination of new technologies and those devloped for the EA-60 (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=84701&highlight=) although the 737 platform dramatically imrpooves performance and importnantly endurance.
Specifications
Powerplants: 2x EPE-58 High bypass turbofans producing 27,990lb of thrust each.
Performance:
Max Speed: Mach 0.82
Cruise Speed: Mach 0.80
Max Ferry Range: 6200nm
Mission Radius: 2000nm
Service Ceiling: 41,000ft
Wing Span: 117.5ft
Length: 105ft
Flight Crew: 2 + Misssion Specific Crew, Normally 7-12
Weapons:
Internal Weapons Bay for up to 4 Torpedoes/Depthbombs or 8 mines
Wing hardpoints for up to 4 anti-surface/air to air missiles
Systems:
Navigation: full open architecture navigation system with auto pilot, GPS, radio compas and advanced INS
Weapons and missions handling: full open architecture missions software, open standard stores managment system. For self defense giudance a MK5007 Multimode IR/EO system is employed. It features surface surveillance mode with 50x magnification and detection of targets at 180km. In air IRST mode up to 10 targets with ranges of up to 75km can be tracked.
CFES MK20B Warsphere Data link, integrates all onboard systems and provides digital links for
the transmission of data to and from (and through ie using the aircraft as a relay) the aircraft features full voice and other coms systems with high level of encryption.
ERS/EM-1134 Sonarbuoy dispenser: internally stores up to 36 sonarbouys/marine markers/noise makers, uses cartridge actuating devices to dispense.
MK2010 Radar (Crookfur): optimised for naval surveillance operations, the MK2010 can detect periscope sized targets at over 200km (and ship size targets at over 500km).
MK8003 MAD (Crookfur)
MK9505 Sonarbuoy handling system (Crookfur): Combines receiver, data interpretation with 128 channel processing and data transmission and display for over 100 sonarbouys.
Prices
EA-90 Cormorant: 112 million
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/images/mma-boeing.jpg