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The Eurofighter Typhoon multipurpose fighter of the fourth generation and the F-35 Lockheed Martin, a promising stealth fighter-bomber of the fifth generation.
The Royal Air Force of Great Britain and the Royal Navy work in conjunction with the United States Marine Corps. The work is aimed at training UK personnel to operate the F-35B fighter.
The British are part of the 617th Squadron of the RAF, which also has the name "Dambreakers", which is associated with what the squadron did during the Second World War. Staff development work will be carried out at the Marine Corps Airfield in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Great Britain, which is the only US partner of the first level in this program, intends to purchase 138 F-35 fighters. The aircraft will be located not only on the ground, but also on two new aircraft carriers.
In addition to the F-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter will be launched into the air. The British Air Force plans to launch, along with the F-35, 107 updated Typhoons by 2030. The scheme of such cooperation is that the F-35 will play a reconnaissance role, while the Typhoon will directly take on missile strikes on targets.
British Typhoons and French Rafals are being tested in conjunction with the F-22 in Virginia. This is done in order to find out how to make the joint work of fourth and fifth generation fighters more efficient.
Despite the fact that the F-22 is more focused on direct combat operations than on invisible attacks, it is in many ways similar to the F-35. That is why a lot of what the pilots will be trained for can be transferred to the upcoming joint operations of Typhoon and F-35.
The F-35 and the Eurofighter Typhoon, being in service with the British Air Force, will not be direct competitors to each other. Competition between manufacturers, however, is at its peak, as they are solely interested in selling their creation.
And, despite the fact that the Typhoon is superior to the F-35 in aerodynamics, the F-35 is more preferable for buyers. If such trends continue, the F-35 may remain the only Western model on the fighter market.
Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon is a fourth generation multirole fighter. Typhoon was developed and manufactured by Eurofighter GmbH, established in 1986 by a consortium of Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems and EADS. Research on a promising aircraft began back in 1979. Serial production of the fighter is currently underway. The aircraft was put into service with the Air Force: Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain.
Eurofighter Typhoon design
The design features of the fighter reflect the desire of the developers to use the latest world achievements in the field of aircraft construction and electronics. To ensure the required level of maneuvering characteristics, especially at high angles of attack, the aircraft is designed according to the scheme with a low delta wing (sweep angle of 53 degrees) and negative stability margin, two-section flaps and slats, rotatable forward horizontal tail (FGO), vertical keel with rudder without stabilizer. This scheme has a number of advantages, the main of which is the reduction of aircraft drag at supersonic speeds. The fuel supply is stored in the fuselage and wing fuel tanks, which completely occupy the wing consoles caissons. On the Typhoon, a four-fold redundant digital fly-by-wire flight control system is used, combined with an engine control system. It provides artificial stability and high maneuverability, as well as deflection of controls to achieve maximum aerodynamic quality in all modes and in the entire range of speeds and altitudes.
Reduced radar signature
Although the new fighter does not belong to the category of stealth aircraft, during its design a number of structural and layout measures were taken to reduce the effective scattering surface (ESR).
The onboard radar Captor (Captor-M, ECR-90) with mechanical scanning, installed on the Typhoon fighter, is relatively easy, compared with more advanced radars, to be detected by its own radiation. To reduce the electromagnetic radiation of the radar, the fighter is equipped with an automated radiation control system EMCON.
The combat effectiveness of the Eurofighter fighter-interceptor was demonstrated at the end of 2004 over British territory. During the meeting of the two-seat British "Eurofighter" with two American F-15E fighters, at the initiative of the Americans, a combat clash was simulated. “Eurofiter” managed to deceive the “enemy” by energetic maneuvering in a short time and simulate the defeat of both vehicles.
F-35 (Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II)
Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning" II (eng. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Rus. "Lockheed Martin" F-35 "Lightning" II) is a family of promising stealth fighter-bombers of the fifth generation, developed by the American firm Lockheed Martin (Tactical Aircraft Systems) in three versions: an option for the needs of the US Air Force (ground fighter - CTOL), for the US Marine Corps and the British Navy (short takeoff and vertical landing fighter - STOVL), and for the needs of the US Navy (carrier-based fighter - CV).
The consortium led by Lockheed Martin also includes Northrop Grumman Corporation, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Allison and British Aerospace. The Skunk Works in Palmdale, California and Aeronautical Systems are involved in the development of individual nodes.
Airframe F-35
The F-35 uses many of the technological solutions developed on the F-22. Serial designations: F-35A (with standard takeoff and landing), F-35B (with short takeoff and vertical landing) and F-35C (taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier using a catapult, and landing on the deck using an aerofinisher).
Airborne radar F-35
The aircraft is equipped with a multifunctional radar with AFAR AN / APG-81, which is effective both for air and ground targets.
F-35 pilot's helmet
It is a helmet that will allow pilots of next generation jet fighters to “see through the cockpit” of the aircraft. The equipment was developed for the F-35 fighter-bomber and is currently being tested by the Research Department of the UK Department of Defense in Wiltshire.
Instead of the usual display on the dashboard, the computer-synthesized image will be fed directly to the pilot's visors, providing him with the cues necessary for flight, navigation and combat. A fundamentally new technology has become the implementation of the possibility of vision in the infrared range, that is, with the help of a helmet, the pilot will be able to see even at night. The helmet allows you to automatically switch between video modes. In fact, the plane can become transparent to the pilot. Also, the helmet is a kind of command center: high-precision target designation of all onboard weapons is tied to the movements of the pilot's head and eyes.
So far, only a prototype has been created. The model is being developed by British companies Vision Systems International and Helmet Integrated Systems Limited.
Powerplant F-35A and F-35C
The F-35A and F-35C are powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, which is an evolution of the F119 engine installed in the F-22. The engine for the F-35B was developed with the participation of Rolls-Royce Defense.
According to the manufacturer, thanks to this installation and airframe design, a fully armed F-35A with full fuel tanks is capable of maneuvering with an overload of 9 g.
Vertical take-off and landing F-35
A variant of the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (SVP) fighter, designed to be based on aircraft carriers not equipped with catapults (light aircraft carriers, large amphibious assault ships), is also capable of performing vertical takeoff. The design of the F-35B nozzle is largely the same as the Yak-141 nozzle.
Carrier-based F-35
Due to the increased stress, the internal structure of the F-35C is reinforced. The tail section of the aircraft contains elements made of titanium.
Armament F-35
The F-35 has a wide range of weapons. Among them are the AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, as well as the Storm Shadow and AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles. JDAM bombs weighing up to 910 kg, CBU-103, −104 and −105 WCMD (Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispencer) cluster bombs, AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon guided aerial bombs and Brimstone anti-tank missiles are also included in the range.
In addition to the basic requirements, Norway and Australia are funding work to adapt to the F-35 a promising Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship missile, which will be called the Joint Strike Missile (JSM).
According to the manufacturer, the F-35 will be able to launch missiles and guided bombs from internal compartments at maximum supersonic speeds.
Nuclear weapons F-35
By 2017, upon reaching the level of development of software and avionics block 4, the F-35 is planned to be armed with a tactical nuclear bomb B61. The aircraft will be able to carry two ammunition with a capacity of 0.3 to 340 kT in TNT equivalent on an internal sling. Initially, this requirement was presented only to the F-35A, there is no clear information about other modifications on this issue. The F-35A will replace the F-16 fighter jet as NATO's primary carrier of tactical nuclear weapons.
Cannon installation F-35
Especially for the F-35 fighter-bomber, General Dynamics created the GAU-22 / A four-barreled 25-mm cannon. This gun was obtained through a deep modernization of the GAU-12 cannon used on the AV-8 Harrier II aircraft. The most noticeable difference is the decrease in the number of barrels from five to four, which made it possible to significantly reduce the mass - by about 20 kg, reduce the volume occupied by the gun by 20% and increase the accuracy.
On the F-35A modification, the gun will be installed inside the aircraft, above and slightly behind the left air intake, the ammunition load will be 180 rounds.
For modifications of the F-35B and F-35C, a suspended container with an ammunition load of 220 rounds, mounted under the fuselage, in the rear, has been developed. When creating the container, technologies were used to reduce the visibility.
