NationStates Jolt Archive

As part of the modernization program being conducted by the Robotstani defense ministry, a new fighter jet has been developed.

http://1000aircraftphotos.com/PRPhotos/Hunter-3.jpg

The SAf. Hunter is a thoroughly modern combat aircraft. The pilot is equipped with a top-of-the-line zero height/zero altitude ejection seat and a radar set, and a wide range of air-to-ground armements can be fitted.

The Hunter, developed by Sidney Camm of Hawker Aviation, was chosen in 1954 as the Robotstani Air Force's next generation fighter type, but the advent of air-to-air missiles has necessitated a quick upgrade. The SAf. Hunter can carry two RS-1 missiles, with an effective range of six kilometers. This missile-carrying capability greatly enhances the Hunter's combat effectiveness and gives it an edge over its potential opponents, armed with cannon and machine guns.

The Hunter is a rugged, reliable aircraft that can take significant amounts of abuse, both on the ground and in the air. It is easy to maintain and can operate from difficult, unprepared airstrips.

The Hunter is manouverable and fast, with 35-degree wing sweep and a Robotic Aviation Avon turbojet engine. Maximum speed is 1,144 km/h, combat radius is 713 km, and ceiling is 15,240 meters.

Armement consists of four 30mm Aden cannon mounted in the nose, 3,350 kilograms of bombs, RB-03 anti-ship missiles, 70mm unguided rockets, and RS-1 anti-aircraft missiles. Auxiliary fuel tanks can also be fitted quickly and easily.

The adoption of the Hunter will facilitate the retirement of most of the Meteor squadrons and relegate the remainder to ground attack roles. The Hunter will also replace Vampires in Nos. 4, 5, 10, 13, 44, and 45 squadrons.

Not bad, but not great either. Simple, and effective.

Why four guns, by the way?

Pity I'm an early twenty-first century nation, otherwise I'd be screaming to buy some myself, or some Canadair-built Sabres.

Good work.

Port Perry, Walmington on Sea
Fighter Air Defence Command West

Air Commander Lord Cadbury regarded yet more reports of Robotstani military evolution with a guttural rumble. Increasingly it appeared that Walmington would do well to court this funny nation, as allies were thin on the ground since the unfortunate over-exuberance of Bomber Command's nuclear arm during the still unresolved American War.

On the Air Commander's insistance, the Walmingtonian military was soon casting a fairly keen gaze over the Robotstani Air Force's technology, being especially keen to learn about these new air to air missiles and how well they compared with the Wychwood Rascal and Chaspot Aeronautic Defence Rhubarb air-to-air javelins. Men like Cadbury and the other Air Commanders wanted -without making it known that they cared at all- to find out whether the Robotstanis had an all-aspect engagement capability... something that the next generation Rhubarb was striving after (as yet without reliable success).

The Hunter was a plane quite similar to the RWAF's new Attacker and Point-Defence Fighter JFMkVI Marauder, which was mostly being used as an attacker, being unable to operate the Rhubarb and relying instead on the rear-aspect infra-red guided Rascal for air-to-air combat. The optimistic notion of Mach-2-capable Hussar-2 carrying radar-guided weapons was still very much on the cards for Fighter Command.

At a low level, attaches to Robotstan voiced casual congratulation in respect of the RAF's growing capability.

Not bad, but not great either. Simple, and effective.

Why four guns, by the way?

Well, this is not a modern-era airplane (although I admit that in modern times the RAF still operates an embarrassingly large amount of heavily upgraded Hunters), so back in the day it is supposed to be quite the thing. Four guns because, well, that's how many the hunter has. And in case the AAMs don't work so well (they're not really expected to be all that effective), the Hunter has some considerable cannon punch to back itself up.

IC: It is also no secret that Robotstani Aeronautics has been considering its own Mach 2 capable interceptor, based very heavily on the Swedish Draken, but as of now all that is flying is an early prototype. Troubles with engine flameout and intake design have yet to be properly addressed.

The RS-1 is a beam-riding missile, relying on the Hunter's active radar guidance. The RS-1 is night-capable, although tests have shown it to be greatly reduced in effectiveness when faced with rain, fog, and snow. These problems will likely be remedied with the introduction of the RS-2 missile, intended to be coupled with the SAf. Dragon when it comes into service.

OOC:
4 cannons wasn't unsual for a late 40s/early 50s fighter (the americans went with 4 20mm guns on the F-86F and carried that onto the F-100).

Actually the gun mounts on the Hunter are interesting as they have an entirely modular mounting (in fact IIRC the same 4 gun pack from the hunter could be used on the Lightning in place of the 2 missiles) So they could be repalced with different systems if required (although unless you go down the soviet road or opt for american gatling types with their puny 20mm rounds, you aren't really doign to get a better gun until the introduction of the BK-27 in the 70s...

OOC:
4 cannons wasn't unsual for a late 40s/early 50s fighter (the americans went with 4 20mm guns on the F-86F and carried that onto the F-100).

Actually the gun mounts on the Hunter are interesting as they have an entirely modular mounting (in fact IIRC the same 4 gun pack from the hunter could be used on the Lightning in place of the 2 missiles) So they could be repalced with different systems if required (although unless you go down the soviet road or opt for american gatling types with their puny 20mm rounds, you aren't really doign to get a better gun until the introduction of the BK-27 in the 70s...

Yeah, I was reading about the modular Adens. I have this old military aircraft book from 1980 and it rates the Hunter as a capable aircraft even then. Out of 19 original users, something like 14 still used the Hunter in front-line service. Lebanon uses the Hunter to this day...

Bump

A slight bump for export sales...

Theyd probably make a good tank buster

Yeah, probably since the Sherman can't offer much for armor and the best they'd be dealing with in Robotic service are Chi-Ha's and Te-Ke's, neither of which were very well armored and are handily knocked-out by recoilless rifles and armored cars as it is.