| | India’s
Blue water capability is necessary to shift the balance of power to an extent
in its favour and is also SEA
GRIPEN
Carrier Borne Fighter from Saab | Saab
is actively engaged to develop a maritime version of its Gripen jet fighter and
hopes to establish the ‘Sea Gripen’ as the optimum new-generation carrier-based
fighter option for the future. The Sea Gripen will have all the capabilities of
the Gripen E, also known as Gripen NG (Next Gen). The aircraft will be highly
agile, have super-cruise capability, extended reach, full net-centric capability,
carefree manoeuvring, advanced data link and an extensive electronic warfare suite
that can be adapted to meet specific national user requirements. Aircraft
carrier landing capabilities such as low landing speed, high pitch & roll authority,
high-precision glide slope control, high-precision slow speed handling capability,
high sink rate clearance, strengthened airframe etc., are built-in from the beginning
in the Gripen E platform. All the sensors, avionics and weapons and the
GE 414G of the Gripen E will be offered. The small logistic footprint, high availability
and a smaller, lighter airframe results in significant gains from a maintainability
point of view. The Gripen spares inventory is therefore lighter, smaller and adds
less to the load of the carrier and it takes fewer personnel to maintain the aircraft.
Sea Gripen will be equipped with 10 weapon stations, including arming the
aircraft with the RBS air-to-surface missile system, and the Meteor BVR missile.
All standard weapon systems can be integrated. The Sea Gripen on offer will have
the same weapons configuration as the Gripen E, but could also be customised to
meet the exact requirements of the customer nation. Catapult launch will
allow Gripen to get airborne at maximum take-off weight of 16,500 kg and a max
landing weight of 12,500 kg. The result will be an aircraft with an operational
empty weight of 8,800 kg, including pilot, with a total fuel and weapon load of
7,500 kg. For all arrested landings, the maximum weight into the wires
is 12.5 tonnes which will allow a very significant bring- back of three tonnes.
This will enable the recovery of very expensive unexpended ordnance. For
carrier operations, the aircraft will have a service life of 6,000 flight hours
based on a 2:1 ratio distribution between land-based and ship-borne operations.
Key structural changes introduced by Saab foe the Sea Gripen include the
following:- - Stronger and longer nose gear (with larger tyres and
new shock absorber). Catapult launch will be via the nose leg assembly attachment
to the catapult shuttle •
- New main undercarriage (capable of absorbing
a 6.3 m/sec sink rate)
- Undercarriage shock absorbers changed from alloy
to steel construction for strength
- Arrestor hook
- Minor structural
reinforcements
- Removal of corrosion risks from the airframe using new
manufacturing techniques/materials
Consideration for the shipboard
environment, ship interface requirements, and the user’s at sea concept of operations
is as important to the success of a ship based air – system as the performance
of the aircraft. The following highlights the most important considerations that
are taken into account in the design of Sea Gripen. The most obvious factor
that influences the design of a ship-based aircraft is geometric compatibility.
Quite simply the aircraft must be of an acceptable size and shape to fit within
the constrained operating spaces aboard ship. Sea Gripen’s dimensions approximate
to that of the highly successful previous generation sea based fighter aircraft,
the Sea Harrier. Sea Gripen also benefits from an already built-in extremely tight
turning circle due to its exacting design requirements, to enable it to operate
from remote, short and narrow road strips. Additionally, Sea Gripen benefits
from a minimal maintenance footprint, and less consideration needs to be given
to the amount of space required per Gripen in terms of associated maintenance
equipment. Sea Gripen on analysis can use deck elevator systems on all in-service
aircraft carriers worldwide, which by definition will make Sea Gripen compatible
with any carrier now and in the future. Gripen and its mission and flight
critical systems are designed to operate in high intensity radiated fields in
close proximity to radio and radar transmitters, accentuated by the on-board carrier
environment. Also, the aircraft is already designed to withstand more severe levels
than the HIRF (High Intensity Radiation Fields) levels for shipborne operations
described in MIL-STD¬464. Due to its short landing capabilities the “over-the-nose”
field-of-view requirements in carrier landings fits well into the Gripen design.
The design allows a pilot´s eye to intersect a four degree optical glide slope,
with the aircraft in level flight 600 ft above sea level and 1-1/4 nm aft of the
touchdown point, and able to see the stern of a ship at the waterline. Gripen´s
“field-of-view” is well covered in terms of the required number of degrees for
a landing approach with an Angle of Attack (AoA) of 12 degrees. For good
bolter performance the engine must quickly accelerate to the take-off power setting
as modern engines do. Also a good pitch control power is also necessary, to rotate
the aircraft about its main gear to quickly attain a flyaway attitude. The original
design of the Gripen to land and take-off from narrow short Swedish roads provides
Sea Gripen with extremely good bolter performance – a key requirement for carrier
operations. |
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fuelled by Beijing’s “String
of Pearls” strategy in the IOR and beyond. China’s intention in building of maritime
facilities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar can be seen as an encirclement
in the Indian ocean which can have serious outcomes in the coming future. True
Blue Water capabilities would not only protect India’s own territory but also
enable power projection beyond it. Spurred by its vision, the Indian Navy
is embarked on a mission to steadily enhance its force levels to acquire Blue
Water capabilities, which also brings to focus the necessity to build its maritime
air capabilities. In lighter vein, a geographical fact fondly used by the
Navy to indicate its importance is that while Planet Earth has only 30 per cent
of its total area covered with landmass the remaining 70 per cent is covered with
oceans of water. On the other hand, the Air Force in a bid to show its own importance,
chips in by pointing at the all pervading presence of airspace that covers every
nook and corner of the Earth. In the Indian context, it is true that the
IAF (Indian Air Force) is transforming itself to become a modern aerospace power
with inter-continental strategic reach and precision strike capability. Today
with its long range multi-role fighter aircraft and mid-air refuelling capabilities,
it can show its presence in the far reaches of IOR while operating from mainland
bases. However, what is equally true is the fact that, it would have to finally
seek bases abroad if the air operations were to be carried out in a persistent
manner over prolonged periods. The above factor brings in the necessity
for the Indian Navy with blue water aspirations to acquire its own air dimension
with Carrier Battle Groups (CBGs) to cover India’s entire extended area of maritime
interest. The Indian Navy incidentally is not new to this concept. It has
been operating carrier battle groups since 1961, with its CBG formed around the
earlier INS Vikrant. As of now, the Indian Navy operates two CBGs, one centred
on INS Viraat and the other around INS Vikramaditya. INS Viraat is an updated
Centaur-class light aircraft carrier originally built for the Royal Navy as HMS
Hermes, which was laid down in 1944 and commissioned in 1959. It was acquired
for the Indian Navy in 1986. Since then it has already undergone five major refits
to give it life extensions. But, as it stands now, it is unlikely to go beyond
its latest planned date of decommissioning in 2016 with just a handful of serviceable
Sea Harriers it embarks as its offensive air element, if at all, consigned to
land-based operations till they finish their residual service life. That
would leave only INS Vikramaditya to form just one CBG till the indigenous, under
construction INS Vikrant gets commissioned sometime in 2018-19. Inducted into
the Indian Navy in 2013, INS Vikramaditya is the modified Kiev-class aircraft
carrier Admiral Gorshkov with a retro-fitted ski-jump to make it capable for STOBAR
operations. Vikramaditya can embark a maximum of 30 MiG-29K jetfighters along
with a mix of six Kamov Ka- 31AEW&C/Ka-28 ASW helicopters. INS Vikrant,
on the other hand, is slated to carry a mix of MiG-29K (20) and the HAL-built
LCA Mk II Tejas (15) along with its compliments of Ka-31/Sea King helicopters
for AEW&C/ASW duties, respectively, plus a few Dhruv helicopters for communication
duties, etc. Notably, the Indian Navy is also carrying forward its plans
to build a second indigenous aircraft carrier IAC-2, to be named INS Vishal. Compared
with INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant – both in the 40 to 45,000-tonne category,
INS Vishal would be much bigger at approximately 65,000 tonnes and could very
well be India’s first nuclear- powered carrier. According to Navy, all options
are open with regard to IAC-2’s propulsion systems. INS Vishal, because of its
size would obviously carry a much bigger Air Wing compliment that may include
a mix of light and medium jet fighters and even UAVs like DRDO’s proposed AURA
jet-propelled unmanned aircraft. The carrier would also be in a position to operate
fixed- wing AEW&C aircraft of the Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye class. In
the foreseeable future, the Indian Navy’s plans would be to have three CBGs out
of which a minimum of two would be operational at any given time to cater to the
Eastern/ South Eastern and Western/South Western seaboards of the country – up
to the limits of its maritime interests. But, the big question is: What steps
the Navy has taken to acquire combat jet fighters – the very soul and raison d’être
for the existence of the CBGs? NAVY’S COMBAT JET
FIGHTERS With the ageing Sea Harriers already slated for early oblivion,
the Navy would be left with only the MiG-29Ks to man its CBGs. The IN has on order
45 MiG-29K jet fighters out of which 30 plus have been already delivered. But,
even when the order is complete, it would clearly not be sufficient for the combined
requirement of INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant and, later on, for INS Vishal.
The more than three decades-old indigenous LCA Tejas programme is still
crawling along. It may be recalled that the LCA programme was to meet the requirements
of both IAF and the Indian Navy. The IAF received the first of IOC-cleared LCA
Mk I only in January this year with FOC still some distance away. Incidentally,
even though a naval prototype of LCA Mk I has been tried out on land-based ski-jump
take-off (see picture), this was only a demo flight. The Navy would accept only
the GE 414 higher thrust-powered navalised LCA Mk II for the carrier operations,
as and when it becomes available. In the meantime, frustrated with delays and
the looming huge slide down in its Combat Squadrons’ strength, the IAF has accepted
HAL’s offer of an improved version of the LCA Mk I, albeit with the same under-powered
GE 404 engine rather than wait for the Mk II version which still seems to be on
the far horizons, as of now. Unfortunately, in the face of stringent power
requirements for routine carrier operations, the Navy cannot go the Air Force
way but has to wait for the naval version of the LCA Mk II to fructify. In the
meantime, even though, affected by its own delays, the IAC-1, INS Vikrant is fast
moving towards completion with its commissioning planned in 2018. Clearly, there
will be a big mismatch between the operationalisation of INS Vikrant and availability
of the LCA Mk II (or Tejas 2); it was supposed to have had as one of the fighter
types to man its Air Wing. How does the Navy propose to solve this problem? ENTER
THE (SEA) GRIPEN Interestingly, the Indian Navy had asked Saab if there
was a possibility of developing a carrier version of the Gripen way back in 2009.
Recenly, Brazil has also pitched in wanting Saab to look at the possibilty of
developing a carrier version of the Gripen it had selected for its Air Force to
operate from its aircraft carrier Sao Paulo to replace its ageing Sky Hawk jet
fighters. Saab had long considered the potential for its Gripen fighter
to be adapted for maritime use. The inherent strength built into the airframe
to permit regular road-based/ short field operations in conformity to the Swedish
Air Force doctrine, the excellent forward view on approach, the outstanding handling
characteistics at all speeds meant the aircraft had all the basics to build upon
for carrier operations. As a matter of fact, of the 10 critical criteria that
all carrier-based aircraft require, Gripen already possessed seven. Since then,
through a systematic approach with a ‘Model Based Systems Engineering’ (MBSE)
design process, Saab has come up with a state-of-theart new generation carrier-borne
jet fighter, the Sea Gripen. (See Box) The Sea Gripen is ideally designed
for CATOBAR operations from medium sized platforms such as the Brazilian Navy’s
Sao Paulo 32,000-tonne aircraft carrier. Sao Paulo in fact is an old 1960 design
French Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier which after having served with the French
Navy as Foch was finally bought by the Brazilian Navy in the year 2000. After
major refits and upgrades that may include acquisition of Sea Gripen fighters,
Sao Paulo will likely continue to see active service till 2039-40. Notably however,
Sao Paulo is fitted for conventional CATOBAR operations which would make Sea Gripen’s
integration easier with the carrier. The same is not the case with Indian
Navy whose first two carriers, i.e. in operation INS Vikramaditya and under construction
INS Vikrant are designed for STOBAR operations, with ski-jumps to assist take-offs.
Only the third aircraft carrier IAC-2, to be named INS Vishal is proposed to be
fitted with the latest EMALS CATOBAR technology from General Atomics. Therefore,
while INS Vishal could be a natural contender for Sea Gripen, if acquired by the
Indian Navy, the big question would be whether the Sea Gripen could also be adapted
for STOBAR operations? Here a comparison of Sea Gripen with the indigenous
LCA Mk II that is being designed for STOBAR operations) would be of interest.
Interestingly, empty weights of both aircraft would be near identical in the eight
to ninetonne range and both aircraft would be powered by the same GE414 (98kN
Thrust) engines. This means that, calculating purely on a thrust/weight matrix,
both aircraft could be used for STOBAR operations if their max take-off weights
were kept the same. The same would of course have to be further refined by taking
into account other parameters that have an effect on take-off performance of an
aircraft. But, by rationalising Sea Gripen’s external loads, the aircraft could
easily be adapted for STOBAR operations as well. For example, Sea Gripen has a
phenomenal 7,500 kg (armament + fuel) external load carrying capability versus
LCA Mk II’s which is not likely to exceed 5,000 kg. Without sacrificing its weapon
loads, Sea Gripen could take-off from a STOBAR carrier by reducing its external
fuel loads, still maintaining better than comparable radii of action vis-à-vis
the LCA Mk II. On special occasions when max range is needed, it could hook up
to an aerial tanker after take-off before proceeding for the mission. This way
Sea Gripen could operate from all Indian Navy’s present and future aircraft carriers
with great effect. In the final analysis however, Sea Gripen programme
would be linked to the larger issue of land-based Gripen NG programme for the
IAF. It may be recalled that even though, Saab Gripen had lost out in the race
for the IAF’s MMRCA competition, the Gripen NG (NextGen) had been impressive enough
for the IAF to consider it as a viable option as complimentary/alternative to
LCA Tejas 2 for its single engine fighter replacement programme vis-a-vis its
MiG-21 fleet. This aspect was adequately covered in the June 2015 Issue of India
Strategic in consonance with a veiled statement made by India’s Defence Minister,
Manohar Parrikar at about the same time regarding the possibility of Saab JAS-39
Gripen NG being produced in India, not only to meet the IAF’s requirements, but
also, for export to an ever increasing number of countries, wanting to replace
their ageing fighter fleets with an affordable single-engine fourth Generation+
jet fighter. As is well appreciated by now, Gripen has proved to be quite
popular because of its operational attributes and affordability factors. Apart
from Sweden, South Africa, Czech Republic, Hungary and Thailand have acquired
Gripen jet fighters in differing numbers for their respective air forces. Even
the Royal Air Force has a Gripen operating in its Empire Test pilots’ School.
Brazil is the other major country which has selected the Gripen NG for its air
force which will start receiving these aircraft by 2018- 19. Incidentally, the
Next Gen version of the Gripen will be equipped with Raven ES-05 AESA radar and
will be able to carry 7.5 tonnes of payload. Apart from the above, a large number
of middle level countries in Europe and many other parts of the globe have shown
interest in the aircraft. The list is quite impressive. As was brought
out in the earlier Issue, Saab has not only offered to establish an assembly line
to produce Gripen NG in India, it has also offered its services to progress the
LCA Mk II to fruitful conclusion. One can just imagine the Gripen NG and the LCA
assembly lines producing the Air Force and naval versions of these aircraft on
Indian soil as Made in India products not only for home consumption but also for
export on a global level. Not an altogether impossible ‘Make in India’
dream!!! | |
