Soviet Bloc
13-06-2004, 00:59
F-87A "Zvezda" High Performance Multi-Role Fighter
http://img21.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Chlevenkov/F-87.gif
Due to the cost of the F-57A Molniya air superiority fighter, it'd be impractical and expensive to outfit it as the ARSB's primary fighter/interceptor, therefore, we've developed the F-87A Zvezda to be a fairly cheap, yet advanced fighter to take on multiple roles, from dogfighter to fighter-bomber. The F-87A is to us what the F-16 is to the United States, although she's FAR MORE advanced and potent with a lethality that surpasses every aircraft in the ARSB's arsenal except the F-57A Air Superiority Fighter and the advanced DP-02A fighter-bomber (Both at least twice the cost of an F-87 and are specialized for use in a single area [air superiority and air to ground, respectively]).
The F-87A was developed for numerous reasons, one of them to be a cheaper aircraft to fill the ranks of the ARSB air forces and naval air corps. Another was to give the ARSB a small and agile fighter, unlike the large, fast, and powerful F-57A which was also far more expensive. The F-87A was also designed to fulfill numerous duties from interceptor to fighter to fighter-bomber. (Some of these are repeated from the paragraph above)
To make up for the fact that the canopy is not a 'bubble' like the F-16, the F-87 employs hundreds of fiber optic cable cameras wired into a single system to project images onto a HUD-like display system that provides real-time vision down the sides of the cockpit and to the rear, along with areas alongside the primary control panel, giving the pilot views an F-16 pilot could only dream of. Of course this takes some time to get used to, but with minimal training it can be done. The HUD-like system is lighted and enemy aircraft are usually surrounded in a red shroud, friendly aircraft in a green (or blue) shroud, and unknowns in either yellow or blue.
Engine
The F-87A utilizes a single ARSB-developed advanced SB-AITF-DLH-14XW turbofan which gives the F-87A unmatched speed and maneuverability in its class. The massive engine, coupled with the ARSB's advanced turbine system and the ARSB's Advanced Three-Dimensional AQT-80 Vectored Thrust system which can vector the engine's massive amount of thrust at angles up to 80 degrees and using enough speed to complete a full 160 degree conversion in about three seconds, meaning this aircraft can do full S-maneuvers without losing speed, control, or stability and can even fly to the side! The engine can put out an amazing 44,000 pounds of thrust which can propel this aircraft to speeds of Mach 2.3 although the normal cruising speed is Mach ~1.6.
Design
The F-87A was designed with aerodynamics and speed in mind, her wings, which combine with the body seamlessly, provide optimal lift and airflow abilities, giving her the ability to make instant changes in altitude and get her in a banking position nearly insantaneously. Her two air intakes, which lead to the single turbine, were set part ways into the main fuselage so air sliding across the nose and along the fuselage would enter with minimal resistance, increasing the turbine and engine's efficiency.
She was also given a set of canard-type wings mounted near the thrust vectoring system to give her even more maneuverability and allowing her to make maneuvers normal planes couldn't possibly hope to achieve.
The F-87 was also designed to be modular and allow for an easy reconfiguration of the aircraft, taking a minimum amount of time to change it from an air to air fighter to a fighter bomber to a complete ground attack aircraft. She can also be configured to fulfill both roles in one mission, carrying air-to-air munitions and air-to-ground munitions and the systems to operate both.
Weaponry
Being chiefly designed as a low cost but high-performance aircraft, the F-87A was primarily developed to maintain and use air to air munitions of medium to close range type as well as ground munitions and sensor pods when the mission called for it. It has numerous hardpoints for weapons to be mounted on including wingtips, four hardpoints underneath each wing, and three hardpoints underneath the fuselage.
The F-87A also maintains a single 30mm advanced chain gun which uses a small ALMRS/TTAC-03Mk II firing solution computer to track targets in a small cone in front of the weapon. This cannon system, the ACST-30 System, uses the computer to utilize information from the aircraft's radar and other sensors to track an aircraft in front of the F-87A in a small cone that radiates outwards. The ACST-30 is mounted in a semi-sealed 'bubble' underneath the aircraft and can maneuver inside this bubble to fire on enemy aircraft. This means that the F-87 only has to point its nose in a general direction while its cannon moves and locks onto the aircraft then opens fire either on its own or by the pilot's control. Six hundred rounds are stored near the ACST-30 for use.
Systems (Avionics and Weapons)
The ARC/MSR-87 is the central targetting, tracking, and firing solution computer and branches out into the following other subsystems:
SB-AIRCST-15S which is the ARSB-developed Infrared Search and Track system. This system scans the entire area and at ranges up to 120 km for any heat signature. When a signature is found, the system tracks the target and provides the weapons computer a firing solution, then a missile can be fired and that missile's own guidance system can take over and steer the missile to its target or it can receive updates from the aircraft's computer.
SB-AMRQ/R72 This system is the F-87A's advanced medium range radar.
ARC-87 computer system is the F-87A's tracking portion of the ARC/MSR-87 computer package. Using the IRST and the AMRQ/R72 radar, this system can track nearly three-hundred (300) targets at ranges of nearly 350 km. This powerful system can also bring firing solutions on up to 50 targets in a 100km range depending on the range of the missile and can also identify up to 20 of those targets. The ARC-87 can also identify target headings and trajectories at the farthest range and display them inside the pilot's helmet or on the advanced deep HUD.
MSR-87: This portion of the package is the main targetting computer. It can actively target nearly one hundred of the tracked objects that the ARC-87 is tracking and can bring up firing solutions on 60 of them at once and fire on up to six simultaneously. This system also relies on the IRST and the radar to provide up to date target information for it to process and turn into firing solutions.
AHVDS- The Advanced Helmet-mounted Visual Display system is a three-visor system mounted on the pilot and weapon officer's helmets. One visor folds over the left eye and displays target information as well has current speed, heading, weapons selected, a small forward-facing radar screen cut, and altitude. The second visor folds over the right eye and displays weapon information, fuel, ammunition, lock-on variables, displays arrows to show where enemy fighters are and display a chevron over an enemy fighter when its locked on. The third visor covers the entire face and can track targets across the visor, it displays other information the two smaller visors don't. A fourth visor is the basic sun-visor. But, when the sun-visor is down, the three information-displaing visors change brightness to where the information is easy to read in the darker conditions.
ACST-30 uses the computer to utilize information from the aircraft's radar and other sensors to track an aircraft in front of the F-87A in a small cone that radiates outwards. The ACST-30 is mounted in a semi-sealed 'bubble' underneath the aircraft and can maneuver inside this bubble to fire on enemy aircraft. This means that the F-87 only has to point its nose in a general direction while its cannon moves and locks onto the aircraft then opens fire either on its own or by the pilot's control. the firing solution computer for the ACST-30 is a small version of the ALMRS/TTAC-03Mk II.
AMS/MC-MS3: This system links together the motor controls in the wings, aileroins, tail, canards, and the thrust vectoring into one system. Combined, these control surfaces make the F-87A so maneuverable it's almost hard to believe. This system also links them with fiber optic cable technology and advanced servo systems to provide smooth, precise handling and quick response to commands, making this fighter so smooth and agile to operate, a trainee who's flown a trainer jet could hop in one of these and seem like he's been flying it for years.
AMRQ/L13- This is the laser designator system for when it uses laser-guided munitions.
AMRQ/SU9- This is the satellite uplink system that allows it to choose targets from satellites and can therefore program coordinates into weaponry, or use it to engage targets.
AEISCN-87AA- The AEISCN system enters this fighter into the nation-wide defensive net and allows it to send and receive target data (well, any data for that matter) to/from ANY ARSB asset including naval vessels, satellites, army units, other aircraft, and command centers, giving it the ability to coordinate mass strikes using other aircraft, ground units, naval units, and missiles. This makes it a very potent weapon on the battlefield.
AM/FCID-14K- This is the HUD-like screen system and computer system that can track targets on any of the screens located through-out the cockpit. It also allows the fighter to lock onto an aircraft in any direction and fire a missile at that aircraft, the missile then tracks that aircraft and engages it.
FLIR, LANTIRN and other pods can be afixed to the F-87.
Crew Survivability
The aircraft maintains one SB-ASEV-41A ejection seat that meets all ARSB standards for safe operation and has three activation points: between the pilot's legs, just under the seat; one to the right of the pilot, next to the seat; and one located to the left of the pilot.
The cockpit area is armor protected and strengthened.
Stealth Features
The F-87A wasn't necessarily designed with stealth in mind although it does have a few notable stealth features:
Radar-absorbing paint, significantly reduces RCS along with a well-designed
Advanced heat-dampering systems that fool infrared systems. Most notably the SB-EEDCS, which uses tanks of liquid nitrogen or freon to cool the leading edges of the wings and the area around the engine. A system also uses the airflow around the aircraf to dissipate heat over a wide area, therefore creating a larger, but cooler target that makes it harder for an infrared missile to accurately hit the aircraft, it will most likely detonate prematurely.
Countermeasures
The F-87A maintains a single electronic countermeasures system (the AFFC/SIRR-12) which uses a small radar dome underneath the aircraft to locate the incoming radar pulses of a radar-guided missile, it then fires its own radar pulses at a set frequency and size (determined from the missile's radar pulses). This confuses the enemy radar and usually causes it to believe that it has reached its target, it then explodes... The secondary portion of this countermeasures suite is its medium range (40km for this jamming) computer jamming system which can jam radars at their computer core and infrared systems. This usually proves very effective.
The F-87A has three types of disposable countermeasures, numbers listed in ( ) :
Flares- infrared countermeasure (16)
Chaff pods- radar countermeasure (22)
Electrical Disturbance pods- creates a surge of electricity in an area and can mess up a missile's computer (4)
Also, due the fact that she was meant for close combat in the skies, her turbofan and nozzle sets are cooled by numerous systems including:
A system that cools air by running it through the leading edges of the wings where cold air impacting the edge is radiated through a 'radiator'-type device which cools the liquid to air temperature, it is then run through a freon system to further cool it. It then runs over the turbofan and through the tunnel assembly, as well as across the nozzle system, taking heat away and dissipating it through out the wings. Therefore, infrared missiles have a harder time finding the aircraft and are more susceptible to countermeasures, such as flares. Also, if an infrared missile were to pick up the heat through the wings and it happened to impact there, it would at least improve the survivability chances of the aircraft (the F-87A can fly with part of its wing missing) and at least guarantee the pilot's survival by ejecting.
Also, numerous dissipator units cool the engine using outside air and dissipating its heat through the air around it, creating a larger but much harder to identify and lock onto heat target.
Other
This aircraft has an air-refueling nozzle for boom-type refueling.
Specifications
Role: High-Performance Multi-Role Fighter
Crew: 1 (pilot)
Length: 49.50 ft.
Wingspan: 34.00 ft.
Height: 17.23 ft.
Empty Weight: 22,000 lb.
Maximum Take-Off Weight: ~42,000 lb
Fuel Weight- 7000 lb
Armament Weight: Up to 13,000 lb.
Powerplant: 1x SB-AITF-DLH-14XW turbofan engine
Maximum Thrust: 44,014 lbs per engine
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.3 Usual Cruise speed (provides optimum speed to fuel used ratio): Mach 1.6
Initial Climb Rate: 42,000 ft/min
Service Ceiling: 69,650 ft.
Range: 1,140nm (combat); 2,100nm (ferry)
G-Limits: -3 / +9
Weapons: Two wingtip hardpoints, four hardpoints underneath each wing, three fuselage hardpoints TOTAL HARDPOINTS= 13
1x SB-AGX-30 30mm Six-barreled cannon with 500 rounds of ammunition
Total armament weight that can be carried: 13,100 pounds
Cost-
$26.3 Million USD
---------
10% discount to region members
20% discount to allies
http://img21.photobucket.com/albums/v63/Chlevenkov/F-87.gif
Due to the cost of the F-57A Molniya air superiority fighter, it'd be impractical and expensive to outfit it as the ARSB's primary fighter/interceptor, therefore, we've developed the F-87A Zvezda to be a fairly cheap, yet advanced fighter to take on multiple roles, from dogfighter to fighter-bomber. The F-87A is to us what the F-16 is to the United States, although she's FAR MORE advanced and potent with a lethality that surpasses every aircraft in the ARSB's arsenal except the F-57A Air Superiority Fighter and the advanced DP-02A fighter-bomber (Both at least twice the cost of an F-87 and are specialized for use in a single area [air superiority and air to ground, respectively]).
The F-87A was developed for numerous reasons, one of them to be a cheaper aircraft to fill the ranks of the ARSB air forces and naval air corps. Another was to give the ARSB a small and agile fighter, unlike the large, fast, and powerful F-57A which was also far more expensive. The F-87A was also designed to fulfill numerous duties from interceptor to fighter to fighter-bomber. (Some of these are repeated from the paragraph above)
To make up for the fact that the canopy is not a 'bubble' like the F-16, the F-87 employs hundreds of fiber optic cable cameras wired into a single system to project images onto a HUD-like display system that provides real-time vision down the sides of the cockpit and to the rear, along with areas alongside the primary control panel, giving the pilot views an F-16 pilot could only dream of. Of course this takes some time to get used to, but with minimal training it can be done. The HUD-like system is lighted and enemy aircraft are usually surrounded in a red shroud, friendly aircraft in a green (or blue) shroud, and unknowns in either yellow or blue.
Engine
The F-87A utilizes a single ARSB-developed advanced SB-AITF-DLH-14XW turbofan which gives the F-87A unmatched speed and maneuverability in its class. The massive engine, coupled with the ARSB's advanced turbine system and the ARSB's Advanced Three-Dimensional AQT-80 Vectored Thrust system which can vector the engine's massive amount of thrust at angles up to 80 degrees and using enough speed to complete a full 160 degree conversion in about three seconds, meaning this aircraft can do full S-maneuvers without losing speed, control, or stability and can even fly to the side! The engine can put out an amazing 44,000 pounds of thrust which can propel this aircraft to speeds of Mach 2.3 although the normal cruising speed is Mach ~1.6.
Design
The F-87A was designed with aerodynamics and speed in mind, her wings, which combine with the body seamlessly, provide optimal lift and airflow abilities, giving her the ability to make instant changes in altitude and get her in a banking position nearly insantaneously. Her two air intakes, which lead to the single turbine, were set part ways into the main fuselage so air sliding across the nose and along the fuselage would enter with minimal resistance, increasing the turbine and engine's efficiency.
She was also given a set of canard-type wings mounted near the thrust vectoring system to give her even more maneuverability and allowing her to make maneuvers normal planes couldn't possibly hope to achieve.
The F-87 was also designed to be modular and allow for an easy reconfiguration of the aircraft, taking a minimum amount of time to change it from an air to air fighter to a fighter bomber to a complete ground attack aircraft. She can also be configured to fulfill both roles in one mission, carrying air-to-air munitions and air-to-ground munitions and the systems to operate both.
Weaponry
Being chiefly designed as a low cost but high-performance aircraft, the F-87A was primarily developed to maintain and use air to air munitions of medium to close range type as well as ground munitions and sensor pods when the mission called for it. It has numerous hardpoints for weapons to be mounted on including wingtips, four hardpoints underneath each wing, and three hardpoints underneath the fuselage.
The F-87A also maintains a single 30mm advanced chain gun which uses a small ALMRS/TTAC-03Mk II firing solution computer to track targets in a small cone in front of the weapon. This cannon system, the ACST-30 System, uses the computer to utilize information from the aircraft's radar and other sensors to track an aircraft in front of the F-87A in a small cone that radiates outwards. The ACST-30 is mounted in a semi-sealed 'bubble' underneath the aircraft and can maneuver inside this bubble to fire on enemy aircraft. This means that the F-87 only has to point its nose in a general direction while its cannon moves and locks onto the aircraft then opens fire either on its own or by the pilot's control. Six hundred rounds are stored near the ACST-30 for use.
Systems (Avionics and Weapons)
The ARC/MSR-87 is the central targetting, tracking, and firing solution computer and branches out into the following other subsystems:
SB-AIRCST-15S which is the ARSB-developed Infrared Search and Track system. This system scans the entire area and at ranges up to 120 km for any heat signature. When a signature is found, the system tracks the target and provides the weapons computer a firing solution, then a missile can be fired and that missile's own guidance system can take over and steer the missile to its target or it can receive updates from the aircraft's computer.
SB-AMRQ/R72 This system is the F-87A's advanced medium range radar.
ARC-87 computer system is the F-87A's tracking portion of the ARC/MSR-87 computer package. Using the IRST and the AMRQ/R72 radar, this system can track nearly three-hundred (300) targets at ranges of nearly 350 km. This powerful system can also bring firing solutions on up to 50 targets in a 100km range depending on the range of the missile and can also identify up to 20 of those targets. The ARC-87 can also identify target headings and trajectories at the farthest range and display them inside the pilot's helmet or on the advanced deep HUD.
MSR-87: This portion of the package is the main targetting computer. It can actively target nearly one hundred of the tracked objects that the ARC-87 is tracking and can bring up firing solutions on 60 of them at once and fire on up to six simultaneously. This system also relies on the IRST and the radar to provide up to date target information for it to process and turn into firing solutions.
AHVDS- The Advanced Helmet-mounted Visual Display system is a three-visor system mounted on the pilot and weapon officer's helmets. One visor folds over the left eye and displays target information as well has current speed, heading, weapons selected, a small forward-facing radar screen cut, and altitude. The second visor folds over the right eye and displays weapon information, fuel, ammunition, lock-on variables, displays arrows to show where enemy fighters are and display a chevron over an enemy fighter when its locked on. The third visor covers the entire face and can track targets across the visor, it displays other information the two smaller visors don't. A fourth visor is the basic sun-visor. But, when the sun-visor is down, the three information-displaing visors change brightness to where the information is easy to read in the darker conditions.
ACST-30 uses the computer to utilize information from the aircraft's radar and other sensors to track an aircraft in front of the F-87A in a small cone that radiates outwards. The ACST-30 is mounted in a semi-sealed 'bubble' underneath the aircraft and can maneuver inside this bubble to fire on enemy aircraft. This means that the F-87 only has to point its nose in a general direction while its cannon moves and locks onto the aircraft then opens fire either on its own or by the pilot's control. the firing solution computer for the ACST-30 is a small version of the ALMRS/TTAC-03Mk II.
AMS/MC-MS3: This system links together the motor controls in the wings, aileroins, tail, canards, and the thrust vectoring into one system. Combined, these control surfaces make the F-87A so maneuverable it's almost hard to believe. This system also links them with fiber optic cable technology and advanced servo systems to provide smooth, precise handling and quick response to commands, making this fighter so smooth and agile to operate, a trainee who's flown a trainer jet could hop in one of these and seem like he's been flying it for years.
AMRQ/L13- This is the laser designator system for when it uses laser-guided munitions.
AMRQ/SU9- This is the satellite uplink system that allows it to choose targets from satellites and can therefore program coordinates into weaponry, or use it to engage targets.
AEISCN-87AA- The AEISCN system enters this fighter into the nation-wide defensive net and allows it to send and receive target data (well, any data for that matter) to/from ANY ARSB asset including naval vessels, satellites, army units, other aircraft, and command centers, giving it the ability to coordinate mass strikes using other aircraft, ground units, naval units, and missiles. This makes it a very potent weapon on the battlefield.
AM/FCID-14K- This is the HUD-like screen system and computer system that can track targets on any of the screens located through-out the cockpit. It also allows the fighter to lock onto an aircraft in any direction and fire a missile at that aircraft, the missile then tracks that aircraft and engages it.
FLIR, LANTIRN and other pods can be afixed to the F-87.
Crew Survivability
The aircraft maintains one SB-ASEV-41A ejection seat that meets all ARSB standards for safe operation and has three activation points: between the pilot's legs, just under the seat; one to the right of the pilot, next to the seat; and one located to the left of the pilot.
The cockpit area is armor protected and strengthened.
Stealth Features
The F-87A wasn't necessarily designed with stealth in mind although it does have a few notable stealth features:
Radar-absorbing paint, significantly reduces RCS along with a well-designed
Advanced heat-dampering systems that fool infrared systems. Most notably the SB-EEDCS, which uses tanks of liquid nitrogen or freon to cool the leading edges of the wings and the area around the engine. A system also uses the airflow around the aircraf to dissipate heat over a wide area, therefore creating a larger, but cooler target that makes it harder for an infrared missile to accurately hit the aircraft, it will most likely detonate prematurely.
Countermeasures
The F-87A maintains a single electronic countermeasures system (the AFFC/SIRR-12) which uses a small radar dome underneath the aircraft to locate the incoming radar pulses of a radar-guided missile, it then fires its own radar pulses at a set frequency and size (determined from the missile's radar pulses). This confuses the enemy radar and usually causes it to believe that it has reached its target, it then explodes... The secondary portion of this countermeasures suite is its medium range (40km for this jamming) computer jamming system which can jam radars at their computer core and infrared systems. This usually proves very effective.
The F-87A has three types of disposable countermeasures, numbers listed in ( ) :
Flares- infrared countermeasure (16)
Chaff pods- radar countermeasure (22)
Electrical Disturbance pods- creates a surge of electricity in an area and can mess up a missile's computer (4)
Also, due the fact that she was meant for close combat in the skies, her turbofan and nozzle sets are cooled by numerous systems including:
A system that cools air by running it through the leading edges of the wings where cold air impacting the edge is radiated through a 'radiator'-type device which cools the liquid to air temperature, it is then run through a freon system to further cool it. It then runs over the turbofan and through the tunnel assembly, as well as across the nozzle system, taking heat away and dissipating it through out the wings. Therefore, infrared missiles have a harder time finding the aircraft and are more susceptible to countermeasures, such as flares. Also, if an infrared missile were to pick up the heat through the wings and it happened to impact there, it would at least improve the survivability chances of the aircraft (the F-87A can fly with part of its wing missing) and at least guarantee the pilot's survival by ejecting.
Also, numerous dissipator units cool the engine using outside air and dissipating its heat through the air around it, creating a larger but much harder to identify and lock onto heat target.
Other
This aircraft has an air-refueling nozzle for boom-type refueling.
Specifications
Role: High-Performance Multi-Role Fighter
Crew: 1 (pilot)
Length: 49.50 ft.
Wingspan: 34.00 ft.
Height: 17.23 ft.
Empty Weight: 22,000 lb.
Maximum Take-Off Weight: ~42,000 lb
Fuel Weight- 7000 lb
Armament Weight: Up to 13,000 lb.
Powerplant: 1x SB-AITF-DLH-14XW turbofan engine
Maximum Thrust: 44,014 lbs per engine
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.3 Usual Cruise speed (provides optimum speed to fuel used ratio): Mach 1.6
Initial Climb Rate: 42,000 ft/min
Service Ceiling: 69,650 ft.
Range: 1,140nm (combat); 2,100nm (ferry)
G-Limits: -3 / +9
Weapons: Two wingtip hardpoints, four hardpoints underneath each wing, three fuselage hardpoints TOTAL HARDPOINTS= 13
1x SB-AGX-30 30mm Six-barreled cannon with 500 rounds of ammunition
Total armament weight that can be carried: 13,100 pounds
Cost-
$26.3 Million USD
---------
10% discount to region members
20% discount to allies