The main weapon of Gripen is the adequacy of its creators. The art of cutting off the obviously impossible requirements, focusing on real challenges and opportunities.
According to the generally accepted theory, the 4th generation of fighter aircraft should be followed by the “fifth” with a prescribed set of certain qualities. Stealth. Cruising supersonic. Avionics of a new sample. While maintaining the high agility of the Generation 4.
The only possible layout for such an aircraft was the Raptor layout with a trapezoidal wing and a two-keel V-tail. All the rest are interpretations of this scheme. One solution giving two correct answers:
c) meeting the requirements of the "stealth" technology due to the parallelism of the edges of the trapezoidal wing and a decrease in the RCS in the lateral projection due to the collapse of the keels;
b) maintaining high maneuverability due to four-vortex aerodynamics. The primary vortices generated by the slugs interact with the V-shaped keels to maintain control at all angles of attack.
This is what a fifth generation fighter should look like. But the designers of SAAB have their own opinion on this issue. According to the Swedes, the established set of characteristics for the "fifth generation", as well as its technical features, are just ways to achieve the goal. What is the main task of a modern fighter? Survive over the battlefield!
Hiding in the hope of remaining unnoticed by the enemy, according to the Swedes, is not the most effective option. When creating the Gripen E fighter, a complex parameter “survivability” was put at the forefront, combining the pilot's situational awareness with the ability to counter various threats.
Be the first to detect danger. Bypass the ambush. Use fired traps in time. Confuse the enemy. "Suppress" missile homing heads with active interference. Ideally, use the weapon from the maximum distance, without the need for rapprochement with the target.
The bold theory is based on the latest developments in the European military industry. The Swedish Air Force was the first to adopt the long-range airborne missile system MBDA Meteor. Thanks to the use of a sustainer ramjet, the Meteor is 3-6 times more energetic than other air-to-air missiles. At the same time, in contrast to the French "Raphals", the Swedish "Gripenes" use a more advanced modification of the Meteor with a two-way data exchange channel.
Melee weapon - IRIS-T. The high sensitivity of the seeker and the ability to perform maneuvers with 60-fold overload allows intercepting small targets, incl. missiles and airborne missiles fired by the enemy.
The new modification "Gripen E" (or "Gripen NG"), according to the developers, provides situational awareness at the level of 5th generation fighters through the use of key components:
- radar ES-05 RAVAN with AFAR, which provides the pilot with a larger viewing angle;
- all-aspect electro-optical detection system Skyward-G, operating in the thermal range. European analogue of the AN / AAQ-37 system installed on F-35 fighters;
- a network-centric data exchange system that allows Gripen pilots to monitor the status of other aircraft in their combat group (weapon status, fuel amount, warning of detected threats, distribution of targets in battle).
And:
- all-aspect warning system of exposure and active jamming (EW);
- fuel supply increased by 40%;
- 10 points for the suspension of weapons and suspended containers with reconnaissance and sighting equipment.
All this allows “Gripen E” to fully justify its designation JAS (fighter-strike-reconnaissance).
According to the Swedes, the "Gripenes" of the new modification are capable of creating significantly greater problems for the enemy than the fourth generation multirole fighters. This means that they are a new round in the evolution of fighter aircraft.
The concept of “survival” is the first thing.
Second, the combat aircraft must take to the skies regularly, allowing pilots to hone their skills and prowess. Here the JAS-39E continues the tradition of the Gripen family, which has gained a reputation as the simplest and cheapest to operate among the fourth generation fighters.
According to the Janes handbook for 2012, the cost of one hour of flight for the JAS-39C was $ 4,700, half the price of its closest competitor, the single-engine F-16.
Among other records of the little "Gripen": for thirty years of operation, he killed one person. The Swedish fighter jet has the lowest accident rate among its peers.
Now let's talk about its shortcomings.
The Swedes were unable to create their own engine.
Volvo's RM-12 is a licensed copy of the General Electric F404, created for the F / A-18 Hornet fighter and the F-117 bomber.
Gripen E also uses an American-made F414 engine, modification GE-39-E.
Despite the similar designation, the F414 is considered a new development based on the YF-120 engine, created for the fifth generation fighter YF-23 (rival of the YF-22 Raptor).
Compared to its predecessor (F404), the pressure ratio of the F414 compressor has been increased from 25 to 30, engine thrust has increased by 30%. In general, experts respect the F404 / F414 family, emphasizing their fairly high performance and design perfection. The latter develops a thrust of about 6 tons in a non-afterburner mode (afterburner - all 10), with an own engine weight of about 1 ton. A quarter of a century ago, no one had such indicators. And in terms of the ratio of specific thrust to air consumption, it still holds the absolute world record (air consumption at afterburner 77 kg / s).
Obviously, the Swedes do not see a problem in the use of American power plants. They are not threatened with sanctions and embargoes. Otherwise, these are the best engines for combat aircraft on the world market.
In my opinion, the only real problem is the low thrust-to-weight ratio of the Gripen. In the single-engine layout itself, there is no problem if there is a sufficiently powerful and high-torque engine.
Unfortunately for the Swedes, the F404 / F414 doesn't have enough traction for solo work. It is no coincidence that the multi-purpose deck-based Hornet / SuperHornet, which are considered light fighters, have a twin-engine layout.
In the variant of a fighter-interceptor, with a combat weight of 9-10 tons (corresponding to 40% of the remaining fuel and 4-6 air missiles), the Swedish “Gripen” has a thrust-to-weight ratio of less than 0.9. Even the small weight of the aircraft itself does not save (three tons lighter F-16), because the single-engine "Falcon" is equipped with engines of a different order (its F100 produces 13 tons at afterburner with a dry weight of 1.7 tons).
The new generation "Gripen E" is in a more advantageous position, however, the thrust of the F414 increased by a third is offset by the increased weight of the fighter itself (max. Takeoff - 16 tons).
The Swedes themselves arrogantly note that flight qualities are undoubtedly important, but they are not a priority in air combat and when overcoming the boundaries of modern air defense.
Conclusion
The story about the Gripen fighter is devoted to the recent debriefing, which analyzed the confrontation between the JAS-39E and the Su-57.
In an attempt to find out whether the "Gripen E" meets the requirements of the fifth generation, many controversial statements were made, and as a result the Swedish fighter itself was relegated to the Yak-130 level. Which in itself is absurd: a combat fighter has three times more thrust-to-weight ratio than the TCB.
I hope this article can clarify some points and understand the concept of "Gripen". The JAS-39C and the promising JAS-39E are not primitive little toys, but serious combat vehicles, with their own advantages and disadvantages. If someone else is interested in the question of whether the Gripen E is a competitor to our Su-57, then the answer depends on the conditions of the problem. For those wishing to purchase "top" fifth generation fighters, for example the Su-57 or F-35, the Swedish "Gripen E" is of no interest. As for meeting fighters in battle, everything is much simpler here. Someone says Gripen will win; someone, on the contrary, that he will immediately be shot down. But, in all honesty, no one knows. One thing is clear: "Gripen E" is not so weak as not to be taken seriously.
