The FA 15 is a model of aircraft manufactured by GEM aerospace, and currently available for export. It serves in the airforce of several countries, including the Candrian Empire. The aircraft is popular in the airforces of smaller countries, presumably because for its performance, it is quite inexpensive, although lacking any stealth features. In addition, training and maintenence is inexpensive and simple in most cases.

Overview

History

The FA 15 Project began early in the new century, to phase out earlier Candrian fighters of varying quality and establish a strong, adaptable air wing. Because of the limited number of seats in the Candrian Airforce, with most personell and funding tied up in advanced projects or in bureaucratic purgatory, the decision to go with a pure air superiority fighter was scratched and instead the program outlines dictated the creation of a strike fighter, filling many of the vacuums in Candrian air power; notably the lack of any dedicated attack platforms, as well as capable fighters. The aircraft was to take a slant towards being a fighter, and having close air support take a secondary role, akin to the old American F14 Tomcat. A myriad of design considerations were scrapped, until finally, in 2011, the FA 15 Cardinal program was begun in earnest.

Rumors and rumblings of the Cardinal bearing a ground attack capability caught the attention of several other defense forces in the Empire, including the NAVINF and the independent spec-ops outfit SPARTA. Navy brass inquired as well, but upon hearing the expected dimensions of the aircraft, pulled back, opting instead to retain the FA 11 Deacon fighter and order development for it's own successor fighter. NAVINF and SPARTA have submitted orders for the aircraft, already spreading it's wings over many branches of the Candrian Militiary.

Leaked schematics of the design also generated interest well before design plans were completed, prompting GEM Aerospace to prod the Military Consulate for permission to sell the aircraft to foreign governments. The Consulate obliged, as it was really a win-win situation - GEM gets its name out in the global defense market, while the world gets to see Candrian military design prowess.

Mission & Role

The FA 15 Cardinal is not so much a strike fighter as much an air superiority fighter with effective ground attack capability. Much of it's gear is tuned for high speed & long ranged dog fights. To facilitate close air support, the aircraft uses it's high lift to deliver munitions from a more stable platform; slowing down to retain accuracy. The aircraft's lifeblood is air to air combat.

Airframe

The Cardinal uses a compound delta wing configuration with leading edge root extensions; essentially a triple-delta. With the addition of canards and 'ruddervators', the Cardinal achieves extremely high lift at low speeds, ideal for short runway operation - a requirement for domestic service. The canards can be swept inwards at speed and the ruddervators dropped downwards to reduce drag at speed, allowing the brutish engines to push the FA 15 close to Mach 3. The aircraft utilizes full-axis thrust vectoring, which, beyond the traditional scope of thrust vectoring systems, allows for thrust reversing. Small fins above and infront of the control surfaces of the wings create vortices, making the air "stick" to them better, improving lower-speed control; these are specially designed, and do not interfere with the boundry layer at speed, minimizing their effect on drag. The engines are widely spaced, and combined with the general airframe, generate additional lift. The aircraft thus has superb manuverability and handling at a wide range of speed.

The core of the aircraft is built using mostly low-weight, (relatively) low cost alloys like AlLi (also composing the skin), giving the aircraft a strong frame. SOCADI was selected for the wingbox and wing skeleton, allowing the wings to support a large amount of weight. The skin is AlLi, using a small amount of CFRP, mostly for panels towards the rear of the aircraft. High stress parts like the engine bays and landing gear were also fashioned out of SOCADI, due to the material's high strength characteristics. The high-stress airframe can take loads up to 15g's; to take advantage of this, a Libelle-style g suit is recommended, such as that in service in the CAF.

With the various methods to defeating stealth already in existence, it was seen that trying to defeat radar in design was, well, self-defeating - the design would only be able to beat certain types of air defense radars, and compromise for stealth would cut into manuverability. As such, stealth was ruled out, and the focus of the design was on manuverability.

Powerplant

Powering the aircraft are two GEM a919 VBT engines, delivering up to 31,220 kgf each, without afterburner. The engines are huge; weighing a good 3,520 kg a piece; and they like to drink, curtailing the aircraft's range without external fuel tanks. With this in mind, the aircraft was designed with space for 3 external tanks.

With the force that these engines generate, maintence to the airframe is especially important; left unchecked, the frame will warp signifigantly and can negatively effect flight characteristics.

Avionics

Information and mission objectives are fed into the primary flight computers, multiprocessor interlinked computers located behind and underneath the crew. These computers process the myriad of information the internal and external systems aquire, onboard mission data, battlenet information, and any other relevant data, and displays the information on a forward laser HUD, through the all-glass cockpit display, and into the helmet-based transparent PLED HIMUD display. The fly-by-light system implemented in the aircraft's controls allows for a programmable & emergency autopilot, ensuring the saftey and fighting readiness of the crew. Navigation features automatic GPS correcting, keeping the inertial navigation system accurate while under satellite coverage. All this is covered by a two-layered laminated plastic canopy.

Defensive countermeasures intergrated in the design of the Cardinal include the C95 system - combining an radar early warning system,jamming, and blinding featured in the forward and rear radars, a chaff dispensing system situated between the engines, and IR blinding systems. All systems based on early warning, jamming, or blinding use the aircraft's own detecting systems, similar to an even more intergrated SPECTRA.

Detecton

Mounted within the nosecone is the GFXXaero Phased Dome Array Radar, a band-hopping (IEEE X, V, W, NATO M) AESA system with the ability to individually detect 36 objects and target 14 bomber-sized objects up to 310 km away from the aircraft in the X-band. The dome shape allows targeting in every direction except directly behind the aircraft, leaving a small conic blindspot. This is covered by the GFXi radar array housed in the rear spike, a scaled down version of the forward array. This radar can independently detect 32 objects and target 8 bomber sized objects 230 km around it. Combined, these radar arrays, covering essentially the entire area around the aircraft out to over 200 km, can maintain a lock on an target without interfering with further mission objectives; meaning a radar-guided munition can stay on course without further crew intervention, a sort of pseudo 'fire and forget.' This, along with the multi-band nature of the radar, allows the aircraft to see through most stealth designs, countering their advantage of surprise and tilting the battle firmly in the Cardinal's favor. Utilizing the HIMUD's targeting capability, the crew of the Cardinal can attain a targeting solution for anything surrounding the aircraft using it's two spherical-section AESA radars. Targets can be filtered by threat level or mission objective.

Tucked under the right root extension is a dome containing IR, TV, & NV equipment for ground targeting, the MOTS system. Using this system, the Carinal can paint a target either for its own laser-targeted munitions or for other friendly forces, giving it an all-weather precision ground attack capability. The rotating dome can maintain a lock on a target anywhere under the aircraft, and with the uplink to the SaBOCAD Battlenet, can recieve data from other targeting systems and friendly forces.

Armament

The Cardinal has a total of 17(!) hardpoints; 3 under each wing, one on each wingtip, one slung under each engine bay, two recessed into each engine bay, one on the centerline, and two forward of the centerline hardpoint. There are no internal bays. The large number of hardpoints allows the Cardinal to carry over 15,000 kg of munitions. Every hardpoint is capable of carrying guided muinitions, including smart bombs, as well as iron bombs.

The primary cannon of the aircraft is the Mettel DBG30/190 30 mm cannon, a double-barreled Gast-mechanism cannon, capable of laying out rounds at 3,700 RPM. Using this in combination with the MOTS dome allows for correction, improving accuracy on strafing runs.

Variants & Speculation

At least 2 variants of the FA-15 are known to exist, the B and C models. These models are exclusively used by the Candrian Empire, and apparently unavailable for export. The B model is the exclusive Candrian Airforce model, and based on released documents, indeed uses an aeroelastic wing configuration, as well as having the frame skeleton composed of SOCADI steel rather than LiAl alloy. The skin is also different, made from bonded polyvinyl chloride and reinforced fiberglass composite, supposedly stronger than the export skin, and less maintenance intensive. Leading edge elements and engine components are composed of an as-yet classified Ni-Al-Ti superalloy, seemingly in concert with the SOCADI elements already in place, rather than replacing them. Minor avionics upgrades include the ability of the radar to use all frequencies at once, something programmed out of the export software. Wingbox elements were altered, using said superalloy and SOCADI in a framework designed to increase effective wingload. The wings are thickened at the roots, increasing low speed lift over the export base model. The software alpha limiter is removed, and the air intakes recieve upgrades to allow for reverse performance, allowing the aircraft to effectively fly backwards. Still, there are no stealth elements, not even rudimentary RAM coatings on any of the surfaces. The C model used by SPARTA is still highly classified; very little literature exists on it. Supposedly it carries the same or similar modifications as the B model, likely including some sort of jamming system for ground-based weapons, underbelly armor, and more gun ammunition, yet given SPARTA's prodigious budget and intended role, significant changes could be in place.

Specifications

Characteristics and Statistics

Type: Strike Fighter

Length: 26.28 meters

Wingspan: 15.37 meters

Height: 4.03 meters (Landing Gear Down)

Propulsion: GEM a919LB VBT (x2) Afterburning Full Axis Thrust Vectoring (31,220 kgf dry, 35,420 kgf wet)

Total Net Thrust: 62,440 kgf Dry

Empty Weight: 26,940 kg

Maximum Take-Off Weight: 67,350 kg (theoretical)

Minimum Fuel Weight: 6735 kg

Maximum Fuel Weight: 9,429 kg

Weapons Systems:
- 2 wingtip pylons (160 kg max)
- 6 under-wing hardpoints (2 wet 1000 kg, 4 dry 1000 kg)
- 2 under-engine hardpoints (1000 kg each)
- 6 fuselage hardpoints (6 dry 800 kg each, 4 recessed)
- 1 centerline hardpoint (wet, 2,500 kg)
- 1 30 mm double-barrel Mettel DBG30/190 Gast mechanism cannon (300 rounds, 3700 RPM, 83 kg)

Compatible with SARH-type, independent system-based command guidance, operator-based command guidance payloads.

Normal Payload: 11,103 kg

Maximum Payload: 15,703 kg

Normal Combat Weight: 44,778 kg

Maximum Combat Weight: 52,072 kg

Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 1.2

G-Load Limit: +15 Gs

Alpha: --, software limit 75* degrees (disengageable in flight)

Rate of Climb: 510 m/s initial 230m m/s

Combat Range: ~ 2,900 km

Ferry Range: ~ 7,250 km

In-flight refueling? Yes, Boom and receptacle - located behind canopy.

Carrier Ready? Not recommended except for exceptionally thick decks. Cable arrestor modifications available. Salinity protections available. Land gear modifications available.

Oxygen Generation? Yes

Pressurized Canopy? Yes

Runway length, normal combat weight: Min 350 m takeoff, >300m landing w/o TV

Operational Ceiling/Altitude: 19.1 km

Maximum Altitude: 22.5 km

Cruising Speed: Mach 1.2

Maximum Speed: Mach 2.8 @ altitude

Crew: Pilot, Weapons Officer

Avionics Suite:

- AOC Fly-by-light digitalized control
- 2 CPS330 Zero-Zero Ejection Seat - Canopy Stagger Jettison
- "All-Glass" Digitized Cockpit
- GPS Navigation
- HIMUD Helmet Intergrated HUD

- C95 EADS2 Intergrated Defense Countermeasures System:
  - DW12 Radar Early Warning System
  - DJ15 Radar Jamming System
  - EDC11 Chaff Dispeners System
  - EDD19 Radar/FC/IR Decoy
  - EDB22 Radar/IR Blinding

- GFXXaero Multiband Dome Phased-Array Tracking & Targeting Radar with Ground Targeting Capability (3D, forward array)
- GFXiaero Multiband 3D Phased Array Tracking & Targeting Radar with Ground Targeting Capability (3D, rear array)
- Multiband Optical Targeting System (MOTS) Thermal, TV, Laser Targeting & Designation with VLD Ground Targeting Suite
- SaBOCAD Battlenet uplink
- Pathknowledge M4 Inertial Navigation System
- Pathknowledge Programmable Autmatic Control