In order to explain why Gripen is the smart fighter system, let us present what a modern multirole-fighter need to perform. A fighter mission can be compared to large scale chess games, where the fighter allows you to get the right situation awareness in order to communicate the right information to take the adequate decision. The same analogy to chess games applies regardless if the mission to perform is air-to-air, reconnaissance or air-to-ground. In all the case the fighter needs the following:
- Information
- Movements
- Weapons
The performance of the fighter allows the aircraft to have the right movement dependent on the situation provided to him from its own sensors or other sensors from other units (land, sea or air).
In order to participate in an active role in the check game a modern multi role fighter needs to be a balanced design between, performance, sensors, communication, weapons carriage, countermeasure, stealth and cost among other criteria. Cost has always been a design parameter and Saab’s engineers are asked to maximise performance at a given cost, not just to maximise performance freely.
The Gripen NG fighter is equipped with the latest available technics in those keys areas, such as:
- Selex ES-05 Raven AESA radar
- Selex Skyward G IRST sensor
- Electronic warfare system MFS-EW
- Weapons, integration of all modern weapons (Meteor and IRIS-T among other)
- Secured communication
- Data fusion and presentation
- Most cost efficient fighter on the market
- Survivability and countermeasure
- Range and combat radius
The radar for Gripen NG is produced by Selex in
Scotland and called ES-05 Raven. ES-05 is an AESA radar, which is state
of the art for new fighters nowadays. AESA stands for Active
Electronically Scanned Array and means that, in contrast to older
generation radars, it has not only one antenna but a full array of small
antennas, called elements.
Tactical advantages
This means that the radar can simultaneously and independently track
different targets, and also track targets independently of search
volumes. The ability to control the elements separately and the high
speed re-direction give Gripen a significant tactical advantage.
Radar summing up
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2. IRST
| The IRST for Gripen NG is produced by Selex in Italy and called
Skyward G. IRST stands for Infrared Search and Track and is an
electro-optical system mounted in the nose of Gripen NG. Its sensor sits
on top of the nose, just in front of the canopy, and is looking forward
in a wide sector registering heat emissions from other aircraft,
helicopters and from objects on the ground and sea surface. The IRST is a
passive sensor, meaning that it never emits any energy. It only listens
for energy coming from other sources. The tactical advantage of a
passive sensor is that it will not give your position away. Opponents
will have no indication whatsoever that Gripen NG is using its IRST to
monitor their activities.
IRST Summing up:
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3. Integrated Electronic warfare system MFS-EW
| Gripen NG has a highly advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) system. The
EW system can function as a passive sensor, working like a Radar Warning
Receiver (RWR) indicating if a radar is looking at you or MAWS (Missile
Approach Warning System) indicating the approach of an missile. In an
active mode the EW system can also actively jam the enemy radars, making
the fighter disappear from radar screens or appearing in another
location. Coupled to the countermeasure such as chaff and flares the EW system can enhance the survivability.
Electronic warfare summing up
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| In addition to the wide range of weapons and stores already in the
arsenal, almost any weapon can be integrated, giving Gripen very high
weapon flexibility. This is partly due to the flexible avionic
architecture. Because of its well-documented ease of new weapon
integration, Gripen served as the main test platform for Meteor, the
latest long range air to air missile. The high weapon flexibility in Gripen basically means that the weapon solution, to a great extent, can be customised at a lower cost than for equivalent fighter platforms.
Summing Up
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| Gripen NG is a Network Centric fighter. This means that the aircraft
has the possibility to communicate two ways with all armed units. It has
a secure and multi-frequency data links system that provides total
situation awareness for all involved participants in an operation. The communication is secured by the usage of encryption. The codes for the encryption are under control of the customer. The acquired information – along with information about each Gripen’s position, fuel and weapon status – is shared with other Gripen fighters via the data link.
Communications summing up:
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6. Sensor fusion and decision support
| Having a large amount of information in the aircraft computer is of
no use if it is too hard for the pilot to understand. In Gripen, a
great deal of effort is focused on presenting the situation clearly and
understandably, ensuring that the Gripen pilot always has superior
situational awareness. The information is presented in an advanced fully digital cockpit layout with three large colour, Multi-Functional Displays (MFD) and in the head-up display (HUD). The information from all sensors are displayed in order to get the pilot an easy to understand overview of all available information to help him to take the right decisions. This combine with a Hands-On-Throttle-And-Stick (HOTAS) command, giving direct access to all needed functions (fly command and system command), the pilot can perform his work with a superior combat advantage. Sensor Fusion and presentation summing up:Information from all systems and sensors are melted together into one single picture An easy to understand picture is presented to the pilot through
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7. Most cost efficient fighter on the market
Gripen has a very moderate life cycle cost compared to its
competitors. Life cycle cost equals acquisition cost plus operational
costs during the entire lifetime. Flight hour cost is a parameter
included in operational cost. When comparing these costs, it’s important
to calculate with equal conditions, i.e. to compare “apples with
apples”. An independent study based on open source ordered by Saab was
conducted by IHS Jane’s with the following results:
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| Radar Warning Receiver Gripen is built for high survivability in a combat environment. Gripen tactics are based on smart use of a variety of electronic warfare capabilities. The RWR (Radar Warning Receiver) is the source for an accurate sensor for detecting emitting threats such as radar. Missile approach warning system Gripen NG has a sophisticated Missile Approach Warning (MAW) system. The MAW system uses passive sensors and can detect and track incoming missiles of all types! Not only radar-guided missiles but also passively guided IR missiles can be detected and the correct defensive actions taken.
Countermeasures
Gripen is a survivor. There are many reasons for this, one of them
being the fact that it can carry a vast number of chaff packets and
flares – substantially more than many competitors. For the Gripen NG,
this ability is further enhanced with an even greater number of chaff,
flares and pyrophoric chaff – so called hot chaff.If ever attacked, a Gripen pilot can rely on the strong protection provided by all the defensive countermeasures released, tricking incoming missiles to change their course. Survivability and countermeasure summing up:
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Ferry range
Gripen C has an overall maximum ferry range of approximately 3000 km.
The ferry range is reached at high altitude when carrying the maximum
allowed external fuel and no weapons attached. The ferry range for
Gripen NG with large drop tanks (optional) is approximately 4000 km.
Combat radius
The maximum combat radius for Gripen NG on an air-to-ground mission
is approximately 1500 km. Such a sortie involves flying to a target
releasing A/G weapons and returning to home base. The actual combat
radius depends on how the configuration of the carried external stores
and the type of profile flown. Gripen NG has a combat radius well in
parity with most competitors.
Time on station
The maximum time on station during a mission depends on the stores
carried and the distance from the home base to the CAP (Combat Air
Patrol) station. For example, in a typical air-to-air configuration,
Gripen NG can patrol more than two hours on a CAP station more than 900
km from the home base. Gripen NG has a relatively long time-on-station
capability compared with most competitors.
Range and combat radius summing up:
Credit SaabGroup.Com |
