Animarnia
11-09-2005, 03:33
Hammerhead Fighter MKI
http://www.animeonscifi.co.uk/images/hammerhead.jpg
Brief Summary:
The Hammerhead light fighter is the direct successor to the Startracker, taking all of its strengths and non of its weaknesses the Hammerhead delivers rapid response where its needed to quickly destroy enemies it encounters. However the Hammerhead is best suited for dogfights with other fighters rather than combat with capital vessels. The ASA-43 Hammerhead Fighter is truly a magnificent weapon system capable for both Atmospheric and Space flight
Aerodynamics
The Hammerhead got his name because of its resemblance to a hammerhead shark. Apart from the main wings, the hammerhead has two smaller wings (or fins) on both sides of the fuselage and in front of the cockpit. This makes the front of the ASA-43 look like the head of a hammerhead shark.
Both main wings and smaller wings point forward (which is the opposite of what you see when looking at more conventional wings). The foremost set of small wings are also known as "canard"-wings. This configuration is known to offer better aerodynamic efficiency, making higher manoeuvrability possible. Furthermore, a canard wing usually stalls earlier than the main wing, causing the craft to pitch down, which in turn causes an increase in speed when flying in a gravitational field. This increase in speed immediately counteracts the stall.
Also note that the leading edge of both main wings and canard are almost perpendicular to the fuselage, whereas the trailing edges still make up for the triangular shape of the wings, albeit that this triangle is reversed front-to-back, as compared to traditional wing designs. "Canard" is French term and means "duck".
Earlier canard configurations were found on the Israeli CFIR C7 and F-21A CFIR, Sukhoi Su-37 Flanker, Mikoyan Mi-1.42 (although this project was cancelled in 1997), SAAB JA-37 Vigen (and its recon complement SAAB SF-37 Vigen), SAAB Gripen, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter 2000 Typhoon
Engines:
He3 fuelled scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet). Enables the ASA-43 to fly from inside an atmospheric envelope to a Trans-orbital phase in the (almost complete) vacuum of space without having to rely on huge containers with liquid propellant.
The ASA-43 has a maximum exo-atmospheric Acceloration of 45 miles per second squared (45mp/s^2), and an atmospheric maximum speed of Mach 3.4.The ASA-43 has an atmospheric flight stall speed of 157 miles per hour. And a takeoff speed around 132 miles per hour.
Ramjet:
When air enters a jet engine its speed decreases and its pressure increases called the ram compression effect. At high speeds this process can be fairly effective, and can compress enough oxygen to efficiently burn the fuel for the engine all on its own. Typically the speed needed to make this process work effectively is above 600mph, and doesn't outperform traditional designs until supersonic.
Ramjets are built to utilise this compression effect through a careful inlet design. Beyond that the engine is largely nothing more than a well-designed tube. A ramjet thus contains no (major) moving parts and is particularly useful in cases where you need small and simple engine for high-speed use. On the downside they need to be flying at high speed to start with, making them less than useful for general tasks. As you might expect they have found use almost exclusively in missiles, where they are boosted to operating speeds by a rocket motor, or by being attached to another aircraft (typically a fighter). Today small turbofans or rockets have generally replaced ramjets.
Scramjet:
When the air inside a ramjet exceeds the speed of sound (meaning an aircraft speed of around Mach 5+) combustion fails to occur properly. This is overcome in a scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet): the inlet is much wider (typically the entire underside of the craft) so the compression is less and the air remains at supersonic speeds. But conventional fuels are unusable at these speeds, so reactive chemicals or gases are used and the design of the jet is much more complex. Like a ramjet the scramjet must already be moving extremely fast before it will start working, but theoretically, speeds in excess of Mach 20 are possible.
Role
The ASA-43 is a multi-role and even a "swing role" spacecraft. This means it can carry out various roles equally well.
Whatever the role, the ASA-43 is capable of both Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) attacks and Close-In-Combat (CIC) attacks.
]Primary roles:
- Air/Space superiority: obtained by the ASA-43's BVR and CIC capabilities. The goal is to obtain and maintain superiority by defending and securing sectors in (air) space. Air superiority will ensure and facilitate ground-based Ops.
- Fleet Air/Space Defence
- Air/Space combat manoeuvring, i.e. dog fighting (A/SCM), isn't a specific role. It's one of the capabilities of all fighters. The ASA-43 is well suited for SCM but requires a skilled pilot to get the most out of it.
- Combat Space Patrol (CSP)
- Recon
- Armed escort
Secondary roles:
- Interception of enemy fighters
- Anti Surface Forces Air Ops (ASFAO) (CAS in particular, possibly AI)
- Close Air Support (CAS): the ASA-43 can operate for longer periods of time. In order to execute CAS missions successfully, it has to be equipped with both air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons configurations (esp. the latter!)
- Battlefield Air Interdiction (BAI): requires enough resources and capabilities in order to cover long distances, day or night. Air Interdiction is also a secondary role. On top of that, the ASA-43 is well equipped to carry out missions for Interdiction of enemy LOC (logistics support lines)
Special Features
Modularity
The ASA-43 has various modular components, easily replaced in case of malfunction.
Detachable cockpit
The cockpits is detachable (not just the canopy), Enabling it to act as an escape pod should the craft be damaged irreparable this cockpit can be ejected for pilot safety
Armaments
- 1 x frontal forward facing, gimbal-mounted Vulcan Electro-magnetic Rail gun (capable of covering a 50° kill-zone) which fires 20mm depleted Urainium-238 round
- 1 x dual-barrel aft-mounted Rail Gun Turret, capable of automatic target seeking and tracking which fires 15mm depleted Urainium-238 round. This Turret is capable of covering the rear and front of the plane should it be needed in a dogfight.
6 x hard points, capable of carrying:
Missiles:
- SRAAM AIM-130 radar guided missile "Ripper" Missiles - The Ripper is aptly named, since that is exactly what they do, fighters and light ships such as bombers and light destroyers are especially vulnerable to these fast attack missiles
- AIM-139 Heat Seeking "Firestorm" Missiles – These are an Upgrade of the Ripper, with better guidance and a higher payload, however to accommodate this extra firepower they trade off speed and mobility
Bombs/Torpedoes:
- UGB-500 "Sun fury" Torpedo - Slow, big and dumb, the Sun Fury torpedoes are a high yield propelled weapon for use against battleships and carriers that cannot out manoeuvre the weapon, there lack of speed and guidance makes them useless against faster ships or fighters.
- UGB-1000 "Sun Slayer" Torpedo - Slow, Bigger and dumb; the Sun Slayer is the next generation of Torpedo, capable of delivering a powerful blow to a capital ship, the Sun Slayer like its predecessor has no guidance system relying on a "Point and shoot" system but delivers twice the payload.
- GAB-200lb-2000lb "Rabbit hole" Unguided Ground Attack Bomb - What it says on the tin, a Ground attack bomb of varying yield as required.
Pods: for carrying special electronic Equipment or instrument modules as required
Optronics and Electronics
- LIDAR: (Light Detection And Ranging) A long range, configurable, light-emission based piece of equipment. Can track and engage up to 100 independent targets. Being basically an active light source, LIDAR can be blocked and distorted. These characteristics make LIDAR vulnerable, as jamming a LIDAR is possible.
- HUD: Advanced Head-Up Display. Mainly used for displaying flight parameters, navigational information and overall combat intelligence as well as remaining ammunition.
- ODP: (Optical Disk Playback) Used for mission data recordings. Can be used for post-mission evaluation (mission debrief).
Controls
The ASA-43 utilises a series of chemical thrusters that serve to stabilise and control the pitch, yaw, roll, bank, and heading of the aircraft. These thrusters are at key locations on the nose, wingtips, centre, and rear of the aircraft, and are controlled by the ASA-43's "fly-by-wire" system. When the pilot inputs a control movement on the flight stick (or rudder as is in some earlier versions of the ASA-43), the computer calculates what the pilot's intent is, and delivers the commands for the thrusters to fire.
When the ASA-43 encounters an atmospheric envelope, the pilot switches the computer to Outer atmospheric mode, and several control surfaces become available, after the initial breaking and cooling of the craft upon its re-entry. The computer acts in the same way as before, except now it commands hydraulic motors to move the control surfaces. In theory, the ASA-43 could operate in an atmospheric envelope without the functionality of the control surfaces, but this has not tested, nor is it recommend practice, save emergency situations.
Technical Specifications
Type: Endo/Exo Trans-atmospheric attack jet
Length: 11.5 m
Height: 1.7 m
Wingspan: 12.5 m
Max Speed: Atmospheric (Mach 3.5) Space (650Mp/s ^2)
Max Range: N/A
Crew: 1
http://www.animeonscifi.co.uk/images/ham_scam.jpg
Price: $90 Million Per Unit.
http://www.animeonscifi.co.uk/images/hammerhead.jpg
Brief Summary:
The Hammerhead light fighter is the direct successor to the Startracker, taking all of its strengths and non of its weaknesses the Hammerhead delivers rapid response where its needed to quickly destroy enemies it encounters. However the Hammerhead is best suited for dogfights with other fighters rather than combat with capital vessels. The ASA-43 Hammerhead Fighter is truly a magnificent weapon system capable for both Atmospheric and Space flight
Aerodynamics
The Hammerhead got his name because of its resemblance to a hammerhead shark. Apart from the main wings, the hammerhead has two smaller wings (or fins) on both sides of the fuselage and in front of the cockpit. This makes the front of the ASA-43 look like the head of a hammerhead shark.
Both main wings and smaller wings point forward (which is the opposite of what you see when looking at more conventional wings). The foremost set of small wings are also known as "canard"-wings. This configuration is known to offer better aerodynamic efficiency, making higher manoeuvrability possible. Furthermore, a canard wing usually stalls earlier than the main wing, causing the craft to pitch down, which in turn causes an increase in speed when flying in a gravitational field. This increase in speed immediately counteracts the stall.
Also note that the leading edge of both main wings and canard are almost perpendicular to the fuselage, whereas the trailing edges still make up for the triangular shape of the wings, albeit that this triangle is reversed front-to-back, as compared to traditional wing designs. "Canard" is French term and means "duck".
Earlier canard configurations were found on the Israeli CFIR C7 and F-21A CFIR, Sukhoi Su-37 Flanker, Mikoyan Mi-1.42 (although this project was cancelled in 1997), SAAB JA-37 Vigen (and its recon complement SAAB SF-37 Vigen), SAAB Gripen, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter 2000 Typhoon
Engines:
He3 fuelled scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet). Enables the ASA-43 to fly from inside an atmospheric envelope to a Trans-orbital phase in the (almost complete) vacuum of space without having to rely on huge containers with liquid propellant.
The ASA-43 has a maximum exo-atmospheric Acceloration of 45 miles per second squared (45mp/s^2), and an atmospheric maximum speed of Mach 3.4.The ASA-43 has an atmospheric flight stall speed of 157 miles per hour. And a takeoff speed around 132 miles per hour.
Ramjet:
When air enters a jet engine its speed decreases and its pressure increases called the ram compression effect. At high speeds this process can be fairly effective, and can compress enough oxygen to efficiently burn the fuel for the engine all on its own. Typically the speed needed to make this process work effectively is above 600mph, and doesn't outperform traditional designs until supersonic.
Ramjets are built to utilise this compression effect through a careful inlet design. Beyond that the engine is largely nothing more than a well-designed tube. A ramjet thus contains no (major) moving parts and is particularly useful in cases where you need small and simple engine for high-speed use. On the downside they need to be flying at high speed to start with, making them less than useful for general tasks. As you might expect they have found use almost exclusively in missiles, where they are boosted to operating speeds by a rocket motor, or by being attached to another aircraft (typically a fighter). Today small turbofans or rockets have generally replaced ramjets.
Scramjet:
When the air inside a ramjet exceeds the speed of sound (meaning an aircraft speed of around Mach 5+) combustion fails to occur properly. This is overcome in a scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet): the inlet is much wider (typically the entire underside of the craft) so the compression is less and the air remains at supersonic speeds. But conventional fuels are unusable at these speeds, so reactive chemicals or gases are used and the design of the jet is much more complex. Like a ramjet the scramjet must already be moving extremely fast before it will start working, but theoretically, speeds in excess of Mach 20 are possible.
Role
The ASA-43 is a multi-role and even a "swing role" spacecraft. This means it can carry out various roles equally well.
Whatever the role, the ASA-43 is capable of both Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) attacks and Close-In-Combat (CIC) attacks.
]Primary roles:
- Air/Space superiority: obtained by the ASA-43's BVR and CIC capabilities. The goal is to obtain and maintain superiority by defending and securing sectors in (air) space. Air superiority will ensure and facilitate ground-based Ops.
- Fleet Air/Space Defence
- Air/Space combat manoeuvring, i.e. dog fighting (A/SCM), isn't a specific role. It's one of the capabilities of all fighters. The ASA-43 is well suited for SCM but requires a skilled pilot to get the most out of it.
- Combat Space Patrol (CSP)
- Recon
- Armed escort
Secondary roles:
- Interception of enemy fighters
- Anti Surface Forces Air Ops (ASFAO) (CAS in particular, possibly AI)
- Close Air Support (CAS): the ASA-43 can operate for longer periods of time. In order to execute CAS missions successfully, it has to be equipped with both air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons configurations (esp. the latter!)
- Battlefield Air Interdiction (BAI): requires enough resources and capabilities in order to cover long distances, day or night. Air Interdiction is also a secondary role. On top of that, the ASA-43 is well equipped to carry out missions for Interdiction of enemy LOC (logistics support lines)
Special Features
Modularity
The ASA-43 has various modular components, easily replaced in case of malfunction.
Detachable cockpit
The cockpits is detachable (not just the canopy), Enabling it to act as an escape pod should the craft be damaged irreparable this cockpit can be ejected for pilot safety
Armaments
- 1 x frontal forward facing, gimbal-mounted Vulcan Electro-magnetic Rail gun (capable of covering a 50° kill-zone) which fires 20mm depleted Urainium-238 round
- 1 x dual-barrel aft-mounted Rail Gun Turret, capable of automatic target seeking and tracking which fires 15mm depleted Urainium-238 round. This Turret is capable of covering the rear and front of the plane should it be needed in a dogfight.
6 x hard points, capable of carrying:
Missiles:
- SRAAM AIM-130 radar guided missile "Ripper" Missiles - The Ripper is aptly named, since that is exactly what they do, fighters and light ships such as bombers and light destroyers are especially vulnerable to these fast attack missiles
- AIM-139 Heat Seeking "Firestorm" Missiles – These are an Upgrade of the Ripper, with better guidance and a higher payload, however to accommodate this extra firepower they trade off speed and mobility
Bombs/Torpedoes:
- UGB-500 "Sun fury" Torpedo - Slow, big and dumb, the Sun Fury torpedoes are a high yield propelled weapon for use against battleships and carriers that cannot out manoeuvre the weapon, there lack of speed and guidance makes them useless against faster ships or fighters.
- UGB-1000 "Sun Slayer" Torpedo - Slow, Bigger and dumb; the Sun Slayer is the next generation of Torpedo, capable of delivering a powerful blow to a capital ship, the Sun Slayer like its predecessor has no guidance system relying on a "Point and shoot" system but delivers twice the payload.
- GAB-200lb-2000lb "Rabbit hole" Unguided Ground Attack Bomb - What it says on the tin, a Ground attack bomb of varying yield as required.
Pods: for carrying special electronic Equipment or instrument modules as required
Optronics and Electronics
- LIDAR: (Light Detection And Ranging) A long range, configurable, light-emission based piece of equipment. Can track and engage up to 100 independent targets. Being basically an active light source, LIDAR can be blocked and distorted. These characteristics make LIDAR vulnerable, as jamming a LIDAR is possible.
- HUD: Advanced Head-Up Display. Mainly used for displaying flight parameters, navigational information and overall combat intelligence as well as remaining ammunition.
- ODP: (Optical Disk Playback) Used for mission data recordings. Can be used for post-mission evaluation (mission debrief).
Controls
The ASA-43 utilises a series of chemical thrusters that serve to stabilise and control the pitch, yaw, roll, bank, and heading of the aircraft. These thrusters are at key locations on the nose, wingtips, centre, and rear of the aircraft, and are controlled by the ASA-43's "fly-by-wire" system. When the pilot inputs a control movement on the flight stick (or rudder as is in some earlier versions of the ASA-43), the computer calculates what the pilot's intent is, and delivers the commands for the thrusters to fire.
When the ASA-43 encounters an atmospheric envelope, the pilot switches the computer to Outer atmospheric mode, and several control surfaces become available, after the initial breaking and cooling of the craft upon its re-entry. The computer acts in the same way as before, except now it commands hydraulic motors to move the control surfaces. In theory, the ASA-43 could operate in an atmospheric envelope without the functionality of the control surfaces, but this has not tested, nor is it recommend practice, save emergency situations.
Technical Specifications
Type: Endo/Exo Trans-atmospheric attack jet
Length: 11.5 m
Height: 1.7 m
Wingspan: 12.5 m
Max Speed: Atmospheric (Mach 3.5) Space (650Mp/s ^2)
Max Range: N/A
Crew: 1
http://www.animeonscifi.co.uk/images/ham_scam.jpg
Price: $90 Million Per Unit.