NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: The point is that I still see significant sales of the MiG-21 and stuff like that. What's up with that? Someone has to make a cheap affordable fighter for the riff-raff. RPs won't be fun as our jets advance to the point of obscenely advanced that the MiG-29 would be just a tiny blip on our super radars that would blast them to death with ultrasuper lasers.

GR-15E "Obsidian" Lightweight Stealth Fighter

http://www.imagepup.com/up/NQfb_1210387083_gr_15.gif

Abstract

Large countries like Doomingsland and Automagfreek soar over the skies with impunity, swatting aside MiG-21s and F-15s like the flies they are. It's time for the small guy to strike back. Too long has the arms industry been churning out the same low priced fighters with no new development in the field. The GR-15 "Obsidian" uses the most affordable developments in stealth technology to help keep things low cost yet stealthy.

Stealth Technology

The GR-15 "Obsidian"'s shape is the first part of its stealth suite. The angled shape combined with a fat underbelly simultaneously reflects RADAR waves away from the aircraft and flatten out sonic booms, greatly reducing the loud pop as the aircraft exceeds the sound barrier by 60%. The many sharp corners and unusual juts reflect RADAR away from the aircraft.

The entire skin is coated with iron ball paint that induce an alternating magnetic field in the aircraft's skin which converts RADAR energy into heat.

Weapons Hardpoints

One internal hard point holds either two missiles or a cluster of 6 250kg bombs. On each wing, below a stealth panel there are the electronics and equipment to hook up a missile rail and there are hidden electronics for wingtip rails if the client wishes to sacrifice some of the stealth capability for a missile truck.

For backup a 23mm autocannon with 150 rounds is included for dogfighting or for strafing missions.

Avionics

The "Obsidian's" avionics system is sold in two versions.

The Export version is the standard analog version with an independent weapons management system that is retrofitted onto a regular analog cockpit.

The aircraft is flown with a center stick and left hand throttle controls and uses the Emerson AN/APQ-159 with a range of around 40km. A simple Infrared Search and Tracking System with solid state components allows tracking of stealth targets via their heat signatures. A simple GPS system allows more accurate bomb delivery when the GR-15E is used as a multirole fighter-bomber. A neutered version of the Wolfpack III electronics countermeasures suite is included along with a basic RADAR jammer and flares.


Specificiations

Crew: 1
Length: 15.45 m
Wingspan: 11.13 m
Height: 4 m
Empty weight: 4,349 kg
Max takeoff weight: 8,986 kg
Powerplant: 1× Tumansky R-25-300 afterburning turbojet, 70 kN (97 kN with extreme afterburner)

Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 1.3 at Altitude
Combat radius: 1,405 km
Ferry range: 3,720 km
Service ceiling: 15,800 m

Armament

Gun: 1x 23mm Autocannon
Missiles: 2 missiles in internal bay or 2 3x 250kg bomb clusters

Price

Cost: $12 million USD

I'm tempted to run this against my much older FMA-6C design (which is considered obsolete by my nation's active military due to ineffectiveness of stealth-CAS strikers as ADFs)...

My guess is the practical speed that matters for your plane is about 400 knots at sea level BTW.
Since supersonic + stealth + cheap = critical system failure

And don't feel sad that my plane is less than half as expensive as yours, it's at least 50 knots @ sea level slower, and can only fly half as high as yours. Though I'd almost bet the farm mine is a tad more stealthy in the right hands than yours.

Yours also has a radar, so I suppose that's where most of the cost bloat went.

May I retrofit a different electronics package with my order?
(Number to be determined afterwards)

OOC: One word: Cool!

OOC: One word: Cool!

OOC: Indeed. I plan to buy some as soon as my nation gets out of the new nation glitch type thing where you have no defense budget. What nation has no defense budget! Stupid calculators! Even Switzerland has a defense budget!

Official Leocardian Response

We have evaluated and have shown interest in the stealth fighter. However, we would like to ask if you may produce a variant specifically for Leocardia with better, enhanced avionics within the aircraft.

We would also like to point out that we plan to order 5,000 of the GR-15E.

OOC: Indeed. I plan to buy some as soon as my nation gets out of the new nation glitch type thing where you have no defense budget. What nation has no defense budget! Stupid calculators! Even Switzerland has a defense budget!

you sure? i mean that could be a fiing error it is the swits

I'm tempted to run this against my much older FMA-6C design (which is considered obsolete by my nation's active military due to ineffectiveness of stealth-CAS strikers as ADFs)...

My guess is the practical speed that matters for your plane is about 400 knots at sea level BTW.
Since supersonic + stealth + cheap = critical system failure

And don't feel sad that my plane is less than half as expensive as yours, it's at least 50 knots @ sea level slower, and can only fly half as high as yours. Though I'd almost bet the farm mine is a tad more stealthy in the right hands than yours.

Yours also has a radar, so I suppose that's where most of the cost bloat went.

May I retrofit a different electronics package with my order?
(Number to be determined afterwards)

OOC: I tried to get the shelf as possible along with first generation stealth. A lot of the systems were put together by university student interns who are paid in credits, then looked over by actual military engineers to check for faults.

You may retrofit whatever you want on it. The original designs called for the Zaslon S-800 but that wouldn't fit.

I wouldn't mind seeing the FMA-6C Design.

Official Leocardian Response

We have evaluated and have shown interest in the stealth fighter. However, we would like to ask if you may produce a variant specifically for Leocardia with better, enhanced avionics within the aircraft.

We would also like to point out that we plan to order 5,000 of the GR-15E.

A version with a glass cockpit would cost another $2.2 million per aircraft to install and integrate, but the F version of this aircraft already exists with such a glass cockpit and we can easily produce a large amount for you.

OOC: I tried to get the shelf as possible along with first generation stealth. A lot of the systems were put together by university student interns who are paid in credits, then looked over by actual military engineers to check for faults.

You may retrofit whatever you want on it. The original designs called for the Zaslon S-800 but that wouldn't fit.

I wouldn't mind seeing the FMA-6C Design.
How much for sale with existing gun and GPS, replaced with a universal gun attachment point (inside bomb-bay) and ECM?

The FMA-6 (Formerly went by FMX civillian designation) can be found in the aviation section of my storefront, immediately underneath the military ultralights.
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10723803&postcount=4
She isn't fast, but that wasn't an important design consideration at the time.*

*Before IAR was feasable, and when it was among the faster tactical planes in inventory
Its better selling points were rough field STOL and touted marketing that it could withstand 88 mm Flak-17. [1]

The "[FM]A-6C" was a slightly improved X-6B, replacing the guns with a single centerline gun mount and using the internal space for 'quick-replace' ammo drums (allowing a full re-arming in less than a minute with a trained Hurtian ground crew). A few designs considered a flexible 'chin-mount' similar to the one originally proposed for the MV-22A. the prop being moved to the rear as a ducted 'pusher'.

Any performance improvement/deterioration due to these modificatins were not considered nor tested prior to fielding or subsequent passing into obselescence due to a rapid procurement of Leafanistani F-4 Phantom IIs. (In short, I scrapped the program and it went the way of the Boeing F-32)

The FAM-6C model made a production-run of only 300 units before the assembly was permemently halted, though the jigs and toolings were ordered to be presserved at the Federal government's expense. An additional stockpile of over 2,000 FMX series aircraft are known to exist, which are also curently in storage at the government's expense.

Local area defense of these 'boneyard' storage facilities are conducted by territorial and federal police forces, and not Hurtful Outcomes Incorporated mercenaries.