RAF : Aircraft : Defensive

Sentry


Roles:

- The Sentry’s roles include air and sea surveillance, airborne command and control, weapons control and it can also operate as an extensive communications platform.

Specifications:

Engines: Four CFM 56 2A-3 turbofans
Thrust: 24,000lbs each
Max speed: 460kts
Length: 46.68m
Max altitude: 35,000ft
Span: 44.98m
Aircrew: 18

The RAF operates seven E-3D Sentry aircraft in the airborne surveillance and command-and-control role. The aircraft are based at RAF Waddington, where they are operated by Nos 8 and 23 Squadrons as the UK’s contribution to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force. The E-3D also forms one arm of the UK Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) triad of Sentinel R1, E-3D and Nimrod R1 aircraft. Whilst primarily procured as an airborne early warning aircraft, the E- 3D has been extensively employed in the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) role. The E-3D Sentry, known to the RAF as the AEW1, is based on the commercial Boeing 707-320B aircraft, which has been extensively modified and updated to accommodate modern mission systems. Mission endurance is approximately 11 hours (over 5000nmls), although this can be extended by air - to- air refuelling. The E-3D is the only aircraft in the RAF’s inventory capable of air-to-air refuelling by both the American ‘flying-boom’ system and the RAF’s ‘probe-and-drogue’ method.The normal crew complement of 18 comprises four flight-deck crew, three technicians and an 11-man mission crew. The mission crew comprises a tactical director (mission crew commander), a fighter allocator, three weapons controllers, a surveillance controller, two surveillance operators, a data-link manager, a communications operator and an electronic-support- measures operator. The Sentry’s roles include air and sea surveillance, airborne command and control, weapons control and it can also operate as an extensive communications platform.The aircraft cruises at 30,000ft and 400kts and its Northrop Grumman AN/APY-2 high-performance, multimode lookdown radar, housed in the black radome, is able to separate airborne and maritime targets from ground and sea clutter. One E-3D flying at 30,000ft can scan at distances of over 300nmls; it can detect low-flying targets or maritime surface contacts within 215nmls and it can detect medium-level airborne targets at ranges in excess of 280nmls. The multi-mode radar provides lookdown surveillance to the radar horizon and an electronic vertical scan of the radar beam provides target elevation and beyond-the-horizon operation for long-range surveillance of medium and high-altitude aircraft. These attributes allow it to determine the location, altitude, course and speed of large numbers of airborne targets. The aircraft’s mission systems can separate, manage and display targets individually on situation displays within the aircraft, or it can transmit the information to ground-based and ship-based units using a wide variety of digital data links.





Tornado F3

Roles:

The pilot in the front seat flies and fights the aircraft, while the rear seat weapons systems officer controls the radar and defensive countermeasures systems.

Specifications:

Engines: Two RB199 turbofans
Thrust: 16410lbs each
Max speed: 2.2Mach
Length: 18.62m
Max altitude: 50,000ft
Span: 8.6m
Aircrew: 2
Armament: AMRAAM, ASRAAM, Skyflash, AIM-9 Sidewinder, ALARM, Mauser 27mm


The Tornado F3 was selected for development from the original Tornado GR1 attack aircraft in the late 1970s as the RAF's dedicated fighter following an MoD review of other NATO candidate aircraft. A total of 170 were ordered.The main visible difference from the GR1 or GR4 attack aircraft is the longer fuselage, which permits greater internal fuel stowage.It entered service at an interim F2 standard with the RAF in 1985. A year later, initial deliveries of the definitive Tornado F3 were made.Fitted with the long range Foxhunter radar and more powerful engines, the aircraft successively replaced Lightning and Phantom fighter squadrons in the air defence role. Seven squadrons were formed, two of which were subsequently disbanded in view of the reduced threat of air attack to the UK. The variant is also in service with the Royal Saudi Air Force and until the end of 2004 the Italian Air Force leased Tornado F3 aircraft from the RAF.The pilot in the front seat flies and fights the aircraft, while the rear seat weapons systems officer controls the radar and defensive countermeasures systems.An important feature of the F3 is its ability to patrol at long distance from its base, supported by air-to-air refuelling.The aircraft is capable of operation in all weathers and at night, using night-vision goggles.In the months before the 2003 Gulf War, a small number of Tornado F3s underwent a modification programme to allow them to operate in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) role. The modifications permitted the carriage of a pair of ALARM missiles in place of the Skyflash or AMRAAM missiles, but the modified aircraft were not in the event deployed during the conflict.In its usual air defence role, the F3 can receive real-time information on approaching targets through a datalink from patrolling Airborne Early Warning Sentry aircraft and attack nominated targets using AMRAAM missiles. In the anti-radar role, F3s can pass information on the location of an opponent's radar site back to the Sentry or ground-stations for onward relay to other aircraft or ground forces.Under the AMRAAM Optimisation Programme, these aircraft are being modified to engage several targets simultaneously with greater accuracy and a higher probability of success.



Typhoon F2

Roles: A multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing, to peace support, through to high intensity conflict.

Specifications

Engines: 2 Eurojet EJ200 turbojets
Thrust: 20,000lbs each
Max speed: 2Mach
Length: 15.96m
Max altitude: 65,000ft
Span: 11.09m
Aircrew: 1
Armament: AMRAAM, ASRAAM, Brimstone, Enhanced Paveway, Paveway IV


Typhoon will provide the RAF with a multi-role combat aircraft, capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing, to peace support, through to high intensity conflict.Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain formally agreed to start development of the aircraft in 1988 with contracts for a first batch of 148 aircraft – of which 55 are for the RAF – signed ten years later. Deliveries to the RAF started in 2003 to 17(R) Sqn, based at BAE Systems Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire, alongside the factory in which the aircraft are assembled, while detailed development and testing of the aircraft was carried out. Formal activation of the Typhoon Squadron at RAF Coningsby occurred on the 1st Jul 2005, with operational employment expected to be declared later on this decade. An incremental acquisition has always been envisaged resulting in a true multi-role weapon system.Initial production aircraft of the F2 standard will be deployed primarily as air-superiority fighters, but will quickly be equipped with a potent precision ground-attack capability. Armament will include the long-range Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), the UK-developed Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) and various air-to-ground weapons. They will succeed in service the RAF’s Tornado F3 and Jaguar aircraft.Following the 55 Tranche 1 aircraft, the RAF is due to receive 89 Tranche 2 aircraft with capacity to be upgraded to deliver further enhanced ground-attack capability and the Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile. Earlier Tranche 1 aircraft will be upgraded to this standard.Negotiations were concluded in late 2004 on a contract for the Tranche 2 batch and the placing of a £4.3 billion contract for 89 aircraft was announced that December. Commitment to Tranche 3 procurement is not expected for some years. The MoD is planning for the introduction of multi-role Tranche 2 aircraft with improved ground-attack capabilities, introduced under a planned upgrade programme, to enter service early in the next decade.This highly capable and extremely agile aircraft is powered by twin turbofans to Mach 2 at 65,000ft. The airframe is largely constructed of carbon fibre composites and light alloys to save weight while the aircraft is equipped with the advanced ECR90 radar, which can track multiple targets at long range. The pilot can carry out many functions by voice command while aircraft manoeuvre; weapon and defensive aid deployment is done through a combined stick and throttle. All of these innovations dramatically simplify operation of the aircraft in combat. Combined with an advanced cockpit that is fully compatible with night-vision goggles, the pilot is superbly equipped for air combat.