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The Unitary Technocracy of Etoile Arcture.
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AH-79C Anaconda
AH-79C Anaconda |
|
 | |
Role | Attack helicopter |
National origin | |
Manufacturers | Aerodyne Inc. |
First flight | 16 April 2000 |
Introduction | 23 March 2008 |
Status | In service |
Used by | See Operators |
Produced | 2000-present |
Number built | ?,000+, plus ? |
Unit cost | US$45 million |
Variants | AH-79A Anaconda |
Developed from | YAH-79 Anaconda |
The AH-79C "Anaconda" (export designation: Panzerabwehrhubschrauber Anakonda, or Hélicoptère d'Appui Destruction Anaconda, or Vertolet Anakonda, or Rotorcraft strike complex "Anakonda") is a twin-engine, tandem-seat, multi-role, heavy attack helicopter featuring a robust damage-tolerant semi-monocoque fuselage, engine/transmission and rotor system. It can fly and fight unrestricted in day/night all-weather conditions over all types of terrains and in all climates, operating in land and littoral environments without reconfiguration. Flying at very low-attitude and relatively low-speed fight profiles it uses terrain masking manoeuvres, pop-up attack tactics and low observable (LO) aircraft features that minimise radar, infrared, acoustic and visual signature to increase battlefield survivability. Its primary mission is anti-armour attack, battlefield interdiction, scout/observation and armed reconnaissance, while also being capable of air-threat suppression and air defence suppression, and possessing a high-speed dash capability to provide armed escort to transport helicopters. It has a weapon suite for prosecuting air, ground and waterborne targets with an area weapon (30 mm (1⅒-inch) automatic revolver machine cannon), aerial rocket system (free-flight and laser-guided 2¾-inch, 3½-inch and 5-inch folding fin aerial rockets), air-to-air subsystem (infrared homing Scorpion, Mistral, Stinger, Attero or Sidewinder missiles), and point target subsystem (semi-active laser-homing Hellfire II and Arcus, radar-guided Longbow Hellfire and Brimstone II and, fibre-optic guided and fire-and-forget Scimitar and Spike missiles, and anti-radiation homing Sidearm missiles). An integrated surveillance and fire control system uses radar and electro-optic sensors to navigate through difficult terrain and locate, identify and engage multiple targets in adverse weather and degraded visual conditions. An integrated defensive aids subsystem provides autonomous multispectral (RF/IR/EO) threat situational awareness and self-protection jamming and countermeasures for high survivability in dense electronic warfare threat environments.
The AH-79C follows the standard template of a multi-role attack helicopter with a narrow profile and small frontal area that minimises drag and visual silhouette, with stub-winglets for external stores carriage, twin-tandem seating in a pressurised armour-protected cockpit, and a fixed non-retracting tricycle landing gear with single wheel units on shock-absorbing legs. Power is derived from twin side-by-side turboshaft engines in hardened nacelles with integral inlet particle separators and built-in exhaust cooling. The aircraft is highly survivable, type-certified to FAR Part 27 rotorcraft airworthiness standards and MIL-STD-1290A crashworthiness standards, and is highly manoueverable with ADS-33E-PRF military rotorcraft mission handling qualities in low and high-density altitude conditions. It has a stiffened airframe that can sustain high structural loading, a high-efficiency drive train system and responsive engines of high specific excess power, and an articulated rotor head that allows high yaw, roll and pitch rates. These factors combine to extend the flight envelope to aerobatic manoeuvres including 90° bank turns, barrel rolls (combination loop and roll), split S (half rolls), snap turns, Fieseler or Hammerhead (stall turn), and negative g (inverted flight) manoeuvres. It has a 100°/sec yaw rate with unlimited yaw pointing ability at speeds up to 80 knots to turn/line-up on targets (snap turn), can fly sideways at 66 knots (sideslip), hover out of ground effect at full load in FAR Part 29 Category A conditions, make running and non-running take-offs and landings in 40-knot crosswinds, and operate from a rolling, pitching, yawing flight deck in up to Sea State 6. It is highly deployable, able to self-deploy 800 nautical miles into a 20-knot headwind, and can be airlifted (with rotor blades removed and landing gear folded rearwards) by a C-130 or larger transport aircraft.
The airframe features an aerodynamically streamlined Fenestron (fan-in-tail/fantail) anti-torque tail rotor, high horizontal T-tail stabilizer with inward canted low-RCS endplate fins, a ventral fin anti-spin strake and mid-mounted tailplanes with angular endplate fins slightly offset to port to counteract rotor torque in forward flight. It has a conventional pod-and-boom layout, with low radar cross-section (RCS) sloped sides and chines blended into the forward fuselage and highly swept tail boom that houses the tail rotor drive shaft. Over 75% of the aircraft by weight is made of composite materials and the remainder from lightweight corrosion-resistant metals. The fuselage is a semi-monocoque damage-tolerant/crashworthy/fail-safe all-composite structure of temperature insensitive, ballistic-resistant glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), graphite and para-aramid fibre (Kevlar) honeycomb sandwich skins over lightweight, low density, high strength titanium-aluminide alloy (TiAl3) spars, ribs and longerons built around a central torsion box beam keel structure. This can sustain high aerodynamic loadings: up to 2.5 g turns and pullups, -0.5 g pushovers and roll manoeuvres, and -0.3 g pop-up manoeuvres. The fuselage panels provide toughness with high strength and modulus, minimal thermal, acoustic and mechanical vibration signature, tolerates crash impacts at 10.5 m/s, and provides 
STANAG 4569 AEP-55 kinetic energy (KE) protection and STANAG 2920 V50 fragmentation protection to vital areas and systems to resist small arms and heavy machine gun fire. A multilayered polymeric thin-film coating is applied with an infrared absorbent layer and dielectric layer that protects against lightning strike, high-intensity radiated fields (HIRF), electromagnetic interference (EMI), electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and transient radiation effects in electronics (TREE).
Anedral stub-winglets are attached at the centre fuselage constructed with a primary torque box structure of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) ribs and skins reinforced by 7075-T6 aluminium alloy spars, and can be equipped with two articulating weapons pylons for carrying various stores and a wingtip station for twin-tube missile launchers or a rail missile launcher. They also house a self-sealing auxiliary fuel tank that can hold up to 189 L (50 US gal) of reserve fuel. A wire strike protection system (WSPS) is mounted on the airframe that deflects and/or severs any tension ropes, mechanical, electrical transmission, or communication wires or cables suspended from buildings, towers and masts before they can entangle the rotor system or landing gear during low-level flight. It includes aluminium alloy windshield deflectors and windshield wiper protector frames, and electrically grounded high-tensile alloy steel cutting blades mounted above and below the cockpit and in front of the landing gear legs, tailwheel and traversable cannon mount. A carbon fibre wrapped aluminium alloy tail skid is located under the Fenestron to prevent catastrophic ground strikes during high-flare and emergency autorotation landings.
The undercarriage is a crashworthy non-retractable tailwheel-type landing gear consisting of trailing-arm main gear units mounted either side of the fuselage and a tailwheel unit at the base of a ventral fin. The main gear units have high energy-absorbing two-stage oleo-pneumatic (air–oil hydraulic shock absorber) legs, a single wheel main unit with a low-pressure Goodyear run-flat 8.50-10 tyre, twin rotating hydraulic disc brakes and sprag brakes (wheel locks) to prevent rotation on landing or inadvertent deck roll. The locks disengage hydraulically and actuate automatically on loss of hydraulic power. The tail landing gear unit is fully castoring, self-centring and lockable with a two-stage oleo shock strut, fork stem yoke and wheel assembly that is 360° free swiveling for taxiing and ground handling, a tailwheel lock system and single low-pressure Goodyear run-flat 5.00-4.5 tyre. The landing gear are primarily of lightweight and robust non-ferrous near-beta titanium alloy (Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al) construction. The main gear is designed to handle landing sink rates of 8-12 m/s and the tail gear descent rates of 4-6 m/s.
The AH-79 has a staggered/stepped-tandem two-seat pressurised cockpit with the co-pilot/gunner seated above and behind the pilot/aircraft commander. These stations are in a 'gunship' layout positioned slightly offset from one another to offer excellent visibility, with an external crew field-of-view that exceeds MIL-STD-850B aircrew vision standards. Each crewmember is seated on a MIL-S-58095A qualified impact-absorbing/crashworthy Martin-Baker Multi-Platform Armoured Crew Seat (MPACS certified to MIL-STD-1472H human factors/ergonomic standards to accommodate the 3rd-97th percentile of estimated aircrew sizes (male, female and transgender). They are bucket seats featuring laminate boron carbide ballistic protection and dual energy-absorbing vertical stroke impact attenuators, with a fixed covered headrest, form-fitted sitting cushion, height-adjustable moulded backrest and lumbar cushion, and five-point webbing harness with MA-16 acceleration sensing self-retracting inertia reels. The front and rear seat instrument panels are equipped with a Cockpit Airbag Restraint System (CARS) that automatically inflates in high g accelerations/decelerations to prevent blunt impact injuries to the head, neck and chest.
The crew compartment has all-around ballistic, blast and fragmentation protection consisting of silicon carbide (SiC) integral ceramic armour floor panels and sliding side panels at the outboard side of each seat, and a transverse blast shield of transparent polycarbonate (PC) inbetween crew stations. The canopy consists of flat-plate windscreens with slightly curved non-glint glazing using ballistic-resistant and UV and laser-protected Zone 1 optical quality fusion-bonded polycarbonate (Lexan) transparencies coated by indium-tin-oxide (ITO) conductive film to minimise radar reflectivity. They also include transparent pulse electro-thermal deicers (PETD), electrically operated windscreen wipers and a windscreen washing system. The impact-absorbing/crashworthy cockpit can survive 30 g (294.3 m/s²) declerations, with the canopy frame and blast shield acting as a roll-over protection structure (ROPS). Crew access is via upward hinged canopy door panels, with blow-out escape hatches on the port side of the forward fuselage that are separated using explosive bolts. A dual-redundant closed-cycle integrated pneumatic system provides ventilation and air conditioning to all crew stations, with a separate air filtration and positive pressure nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) collective protection system. The environmental control system incorporates dual-speed air compressors, digital databus controllers, multiple heat exchangers, electric fans and pneumatic control valves. Full-face chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) protective masks are also stowed for use in event of contamination of the cockpit air supply.
All main functions of the rotorcraft are handled by a fully integrated open architecture digital avionics system that controls and monitors communications, navigation, flight director, autopilot, fly-by-wire, transmission, engine condition, fuel/hydraulic/electrical systems, aircraft performance, caution and warning systems, sensors and fire control. The avionics suite includes a VHF omnidirectional range/instrument landing system (VOR/ILS), non-directional (radio) beacon-distance measuring equipment (NDB-DME), automatic direction finder (ADF), tactical air navigation (TACAN) receiver, a strapdown attitude heading reference system (AHRS) with low-airspeed air data system, two omnidirectional airspeed and direction sensors (AADS) and three-axis micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) rate sensors, embedded global positioning system/inertial navigation unit (GPS/INU) (EGI), Doppler navigation system (DNS) with Doppler radar velocity sensor, a Health Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) with enhanced fault detection and data transfer capability, a solid-state digital cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), identification friend/foe (IFF) subsystem, voice-activated intercom, encrypted voice/data communications, and tactical datalink with data modem for inter-aircraft and air-to-ground communications equipment. The aircraft is also equipped with a battery-operated automatic-activating Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) to assist search and rescues, and Underwater Acoustic Beacon (UAB) in case of a sea ditching.
Dual flight management computers (FMC) are located in twin rear fuselage avionics bays and dual mission computers in side bays for the front and rear cockpit stations. They are based on MIL-STD-810G rugged air-cooled 3U VXS (Vita-41) single-slot mezzanine single-board computers (SBC) powered by 32-bit PowerPC-based microcode-programmable QUICC Engine dual-core Freescale PowerQUICC III system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors. Avionics cooling is provided by an independent compressor-driven closed-cycle vapour-cycle cooling system (VCCS) using environmentally friendly tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) liquid refrigerant. Aircraft subsystems including the engine control unit (ECU) component of the FADEC, and the pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical and fuel system digital controllers are managed by three-core 32-bit e500 PowerPC microcontroller unit (MCU) boards. Processor cores run instances of LynxOS-178C, a POSIX-compliant, DO-178C certified safety-critical, time and space partitioned Unix-like multicore hard real-time operating system (RTOS), with avionics softare written in Ada 2012, a structured, statically typed, imperative, fully-concurrent and object-oriented high-level computer programming language. The avionics network is based on the MIL-STD-1553B multiplex (MUX) data bus protocol mapped over MIL-1394 Fibre Channel interconnects. They consist of a dual-redundant input/output multiplexed fibre-optic data bus using pairs of 75 ohm coax cables routed separately within the aircraft. Radar and TV/FLIR video imagery is transported across an independent high bandwidth Fibre Channel Audio Video (FC-AV)-based ARINC 818-2 Avionics Digital Video Bus (ADVB).
Full "flight and fight" capability is available from the front and back seats using dual Hands On Collective And Stick (HOCAS) flight controls comprising two twist grip controllers - a sidestick cyclic/gunner grip and collective pitch/throttle lever - and left/right anti-torque pedals for yaw control. The grip controllers use high sensitivity magnetic sensors and provide vibration (force feedback) cues, and have eight switches for control of core aircraft and armament system functions. The aircraft is equipped with a MIL-STD-3009 Type 1 Class B/Class C NVIS (night vision) compatible integrated flight data system (IFDS) or "glass cockpit" based on the Thales (formerly Sextant Avionique) TopDeck integrated modular avionics suite with duplicate 'manprint' (manpower integration) instrumentation and controls at both crew stations. Each station has a centre column containing a central control/display unit (CDU) with 10-row by 24-character dot matrix LED display and alphanumeric keyboard for display and management of the helicopter's radio, navigation, flight control and mission plan; and dual side-by-side 16 cm (6.3 in) diagonal full-colour high-brightness LED-backlit active matrix LCD (AMLCD) Multi-Function Displays (MFD) that can be used as a primary flight display with electronic attitude/director indicators (EADI), a navigation display with electronic horizontal situation indicators (EHSI), a radar display with plan position indicator (PPI) or B-scope display modes, an engine indications and crew alerting system (EICAS) display, a digital moving map that displays routing, threats and terrain elevation data, or can display FLIR/TV video imagery from the sensor suite. Four independently lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery-powered 6.1 cm (2.4 in) diagonal LCD electronic standby instruments (ESI) - a standby altimeter, standby attitude indicator, standby airspeed indicator and standby magnetic compass - provide continuity of operation in the event of a main electrical system failure.
The pilots are equipped with a Thales (formerly Sextant Avionique) TopOwl binocular helmet-mounted sight/display (HMSD) that superimposes synoptic navigational, threat and weapons information into their field-of-regard through a 100% overlapped "eyes out" binocular image projection with unlimited peripheral vision. This is fitted to an individually tailored lightweight aircrew helmet with polycarbonate ballistic and impact resistant shell and visor, and is ergonomically designed for high comfort/low fatigue with a well-balanced centre-of-gravity. The TopOwl helmet supports day/night all-weather synthetic video (protected FLIR or image intensified TV) to provide obstacle awareness for low-level nap-of-the-earth (NOE) flying and in degraded visual conditions such as brownouts when making landing approaches in dusty environments. The helmet incorporates magnetic head tracking technology for high pointing accuracy for head-slaved sensor and weapon cueing, including high off-boresight aiming of all-aspect air-to-air missiles. Two clip-on image intensifier tubes (I²T) can also be mounted onto the helmet to provide independent night vision with a more limited 40° binocular field-of-view inside the visor, offering level 5 visibility equivalent to a cloudy night with no moon, peripheral light source and starlight. For ease of use TopOwl provides easy switching between daytime, light intensified and infrared vision modes, and a seamless transition between head-up piloting and head-down instrument monitoring for enhanced situational awareness and reduced pilot/gunner workload.
The drive train comprises twin Safran (formerly Rolls-Royce/Turboméca) RTM322 01/9 reverse-flow turboshaft engines mounted in side-by-side nacelle pods at the upper centre-fuselage and widely spaced apart for redundancy and survivability from ground fire. The engines have two spool cores with a three-stage axial and single-stage centrifugal compressor, reverse flow annular combustion chamber, a two-stage axial flow gas generator turbine and two-stage axial flow power turbine, connected to a forward-mounted output drive by a transmission shaft. A full authority digital engine control (FADEC) with primary and backup channels provides automatic engine governing and variable rotor speed governing for optimum engine efficiency. The turboshafts are derated for improved cold, humid and 'hot and high' performance, with a low-noise power output and 10% reserve power margin for combat emergencies. They each develop 1,642 kW (2,201 shp) at take-off and 1,483 kW (1,988 shp) in maximum continuous power when both engines are running, and 1,789 kw (2,400 shp) for two minutes in single-engine emergencies. The main transmission is a modular compound planetary gearbox with a minimum 65-minute run-dry capability without oil lubrication and 30-minute operation capability after taking ballistic damage. It has three-stage primary reduction gearing coupled to engine input drive shafts for driving the static mast that carries torque loads to drive the main rotor system. The tail rotor drive shaft is coupled to its own intermediate gearbox for driving the tail rotor gearbox and fantail rotor system. In event of loss of power to main or tail rotor systems, or to recover from loss of lift caused by a vortex ring state, a sprag clutch can disengage the main transmission drive to allow the rotors to freewheel for performing an emergency autorotation landing.
The engine intakes are flush low-drag scoop-type NACA inlet ducts protected from salt water, salt air, snow, dust, particulates and foreign objects by wire mesh inlet diffusers/radar blockers and fully anti-iced centrifugal engine air particle separators (EAPS). The exhaust ducts are fitted with the Black Hole Ocarina (BHO) infrared suppression system (IRSS) that achieves a significant reduction in overall rotorcraft IR signature by masking of the visible exhaust duct through convective cooling of the engine exhaust plume by routing bypass air across the exhaust manifolds. The aircraft has a dual redundant fuel system consisting of two crashworthy bladder-type centre-fuselage fuel tanks with Kevlar-lined interconnected fuel cells filled with explosive suppressant low density (98% porous) polyurethane reticulated foam, with non-return valves to minimise leakage in event of a crash. A digital fuel feed controller manages two electric motor-driven transfer pumps that supply fuel to the engines through MIL-PRF-7061C compliant self-sealing fuel lines. A single-point pressure i.e. gravity refuelling/defuelling receptacle is provided on the port fuselage side, with provision for auxiliary fuel tanks on all four underwing pylon stations for range extension and self-ferry.
The electrical power system is based on two 45 kVA oil-cooled brushless AC alternator/generators that are directly coupled to an engine remote accessory gearbox (RAGB). They generate 115 V three-phase AC power at 400 Hz for all flight systems, with DC power generation for avionics and mission systems provided by two 300 A 28 V DC transformer/rectifier units (TRU) and two 24 V, 31 Ah NiCad secondary (rechargeable) batteries. There are two primary AC busbars and two essential DC busbars for dual redundancy, with a backup DC battery bus containing the main aircraft battery used for ground power/self-starting and emergency power. Electrical power and compressed air for engine starting and for backup electricity generation is provided by a Safran (formerly Microturbo) Saphir 100 auxiliary power unit (APU) located in a fairing forward of the rotor mast. It consists of a compact 100 kW (134 bhp) single spool two-stage axial flow gas turbine. It offers continuous run capability, providing bleed air for cockpit air conditioning and mechanical power to drive a 25 kVA electrical starter/generator. The hydraulic system is triple redundant with three main circuits that operate electro-hydraulic twin-cylinder servo-control units in the flight control system, stability augmentation system, main rotor system, tail rotor system and wheel brake system. The main transmission drives a primary (operating) and standby (failsafe) circuit, and the tail rotor intermediate gearbox a third independent circuit.
Lift and thrust is generated by a five-blade hingeless, bearingless flexbeam, ballistic-tolerant all-composite main rotor system, with the rotor hub a single forged non-ferrous near-beta titanium alloy centrepiece containing the static mast that mounts on the drive shaft. The rotor blades are constructed for maximum ballistic damage tolerance with a filament-wound carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) spar, glass fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) upper and lower skin, lightweight Nomex honeycomb core, titanium/nickel leading edge anti-erosion strip, and Kevlar tip cap. They have a broad chord geometry and 13° rotor twist that minimises vibratory loads at high speed, with swept, tapered and curved high-speed anhedral blade tips that produce greater lift, with lower vibration/oscillations, reducing drag at high speed on the advancing blade, with increased operating efficiency at high angles of attack without stalling. The main rotors operate at a low revolutions per minute (rpm) to reduce rotor noise and provide higher control responsiveness with greatly reduced lag. The blades are flexibly mounted by CFRP starplates forming a multiple blade retention ring allowing multiple load paths for greater safety and damage tolerance. A swashplate is connected to each rotor blade by pitch change links (PCL), with control demands (torque for cylic or collective blade pitch control) transmitted through a torsionally soft GFRP flexbeam spar between the rotor hub and blade roots, and by torsionally stiff torque tubes laminate-bonded to the upper and lower skins of the rotor blades connected by elastomeric snubber‐vibration dampers. The elasticity of the rotor blades allows flap bending, lead-lag bending and torsional moments that produces high dynamic and aeroelastic stability in forward and hover flight. For transport, the main rotor blades are removable without disconnecting the control system. A shrouded Fenestron or ducted fan-in-fin tail rotor counteracts the torque effect of the main rotor while providing highly responsive yaw control and directional static stability. It contains eleven asymmetrically angled CFRP/Kevlar 'scissor'-type bearingless fan blades that are unevenly spaced to reduce vibration and noise signature. The Fenestron rotors are ballistic resistant to 14.5 mm (.57 cal) machine gun fire and can operate for 30 minutes with one blade missing, while the main rotor blades can resist 23 mm (0.9 inch) cannon fire. All blades are protected by an anti-icing system using electro-thermo graphite leading-edge mats.
The rotorcraft has a highly responsive dual triplex-redundant full-authority, manoeuvre-demand, hydromechanical flight control system electrically signalled by a quadruplex-redundant fly-by-wire (FBW) control system. Cyclic, collective and pedal command inputs are electronically controlled through an automatic flight control system (AFCS) using dual-redundant flight management computers (FMC) receiving data from inertial and navigational sensors. The computers generate dynamic non-linear closed-loop flight control laws that operate within an operational performance envelope (OPE) including airspeed, altitude, rate of climb/descent, sideslip, turn rate and load factor. They are coupled to the engine FADEC computers for flight envelope protection that includes automatic one engine inoperative (OEI) control, high rate of descent protection, autorotation entry assistance, and control axis decoupling. A digital autopilot/yaw damper and flight director can maintain rotorcraft attitude for full-time hands-off flying to reduce pilot workload, and provides four-axis stability augmentation (independent pitch, roll, yaw and collective axis stabilisation) for use in hands-on flying. These encompass a range of basic flight modes including heading/acquire/hold, altitude capture/hold, airspeed hold, ground speed hold, bank angle hold, transition up/down and turn coordination; and advanced flight modes including line-of-sight acquisition/hold, and auto-hover, auto-land, terrain mask, pop-up, navigation and approach, back course, go-around and hover trim modes.
The Emerson Optronics ADAMANTS (Airborne Day/Night Navigation And Targeting System) is an electro-optic/infrared/ultraviolet (EO/IR/UV) multi-sensor system that provides long-range, all-weather, day/night and adverse weather navigation, situational awareness with high-speed wide-area sector search, air/ground/sea target identification and classification, and laser rangefinding and designation. A single shared multi-sensor payload is housed in a hermetically-sealed temperature-controlled 762 mm (30 inch) rotating ball turret on a motorized three-axis gyrostabilized gimbal platform with ±120° azimuth and ±30/-60° elevation limits. The turret is constructed from a V50 ballistic resistant polycarbonate shell and contains dual independent forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors that can be used singularly or interleaved for clutter rejection and penetrating adverse weather and battlefield obscurants. These consist of a large-format third-generation 8-12 μm longwave infrared (LWIR) and 3-5 μm medium wave infrared (MWIR) staring array thermal imager with wide, medium, narrow and zoom fields-of-view; a 2-megapixel high definition 3-CCD continuous zoom colour daylight TV camera with wide, narrow and zoom fields-of-view; a 1-megapixel back-illuminated electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) low light TV camera operating in solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) spectral wavelengths; a 20 km+/-5 m range diode-pumped, solid-state, Q-switched, eye safe 1.05 μm infrared laser designator/range finder (LD/RF) digitally encoded to STANAG 3733 laser pulse repetition frequency (PRF) codes for cueing semi-active laser (SAL) homing seekers, boresighted to a wide-angle silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) laser spot tracker and goniometer; and solid-state inertial measurement unit (IMU) and and navigation processor for geolocating/geotagging targets. Both the FLIR and TV channels have image processing pipelines with automatic target recognition (ATR), adaptive multi-target video autotracking against high manoeuvring air and ground targets, and target handover capability.
The Longbow (Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman joint venture), and formerly Westinghouse, AN/APG-78(V) "Longbow" is a low probability of intercept, millimetric-wavelength, pulse-Doppler, multimode surveillance and fire-control radar (FCR) that is part of a mast-mounted assembly (MMA) including a Lockheed Martin AN/APR-48B Modernised Radar Frequency Interferometer (MRFI). Both sensors are mounted on a baseplate on top of a de-rotation unit above the static mast and cooled by ambient air. The raised position offers an unobstructed 360° field-of-regard to allow detection from behind cover and obstacles (e.g. terrain, trees or buildings) without unmasking the whole aircraft to minimise crew exposure.
The mast-mounted radar weighs 116.5 kg (257 lb) complete, consisting of a mechanically scanned high-gain antenna that is steerable ±180° in azimuth and ±90° in elevation, using parallel plate waveguides to transmit extremely narrow pencil beam mainlobes to avoid counterdetection. It is covered by a low-drag bandpass resonant radome constructed from impact-resistant pre-impregnated (pre-preg) carbon fibre graphite/epoxy with a honeycomb sandwich core. The radio frequency (RF) source is a very low peak power transmitter fed by solid-state 35 GHz (IEE Ka-band) power amplifiers via co-ax cables in a wiring harness passing through a torque tube attached to the static mast. The radar gathers target azimuth, elevation, range and velocity data using extremely high frequencies and pulse-Doppler waveforms of minimal atmospheric attenuation, probability of detection and high jamming resistance. The back-end processing system is a Radar Electronic Unit (REU) with dual Freescale MPC565 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors handling digital signal processing and data processing tasks. The system has a 512 target track-while-scan capacity with a maximum instrumented range of 37 km for an effective surveillance area of 804.2 km². The latest Version 6 (V6) software updates are installed offering four operating modes:
Air-targeting mode (ATM), with 360° continuous search capability to detect, classify and prioritise hovering and flying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, using low false alarm rate clutter rejection algorithms;
Ground-targeting mode (GTM), scanning over 270° in 90° sectors for precise angular resolution and high range resolution to detect, locate and classify up to 256 simultaneous moving and stationary non-cooperative ground and low flying air targets, with automatic decision aids that prioritise the 16 highest threat fixed or moving targets for evaluation or engagement, and lock-on-before-launch (LOBL) and lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) acquisition modes for cueing radar-guided air-to-surface munitions;
Maritime-targeting mode (MTM), with broadly the same capabilities optimised for littoral targets with the addition of wave clutter rejection algorithms;
Terrain-profiling mode (TPM), mapping terrain topology at very low altitude (<30 m), providing terrain elevation and obstacle warning pilotage information at ranges of 100-2,500 m.
The radio frequency interferometer (RFI) is a signal intercept system tightly integrated with the radar system that provides passive long-range detection and unambiguous identification of radiating targets, and performs target acquisition and cueing of sensors and weapons including warning, tracking and engagement of radar directed anti-aircraft threats. It weighs 17.69 kg (39 lb) complete, consisting of two four-element direction finder (DF) arrays offering an instantaneous 360° field-of-regard - a four-element coarse DF array for initial signal acquisition and a four-element long-baseline interferometer for high accuracy DF measurement - that feed a four-channel amplitude and three-channel phase measuring digital channelized instantaneous frequency measurement (IFM) receiver covering the 0.5 to 40 GHz (NATO C- through K-band) frequency range. Signals are processed by a reprogrammable MIL-STD-1750A 16-bit RISC microprocessor that calculates the azimuth angle, elevational angle and Doppler shift of any threat emitter and uses a parametric radar emitter library to characterize, identify and prioritize threats, including warning of threat radars in acquisition mode or that are tracking the fire-control radar.
The aircraft is equipped with a Saab Avitronics (Saab Group and Grintek joint venture) Compact Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (CIDAS), an electronic self-protection system that combines multiple lightweight conformal sensors, jammers and processors of optimal size, weight and power (SWaP), and expendable countermeasure decoys, for detection and defeat of ground and air-based attacks. This includes a digital radar warning receiver/electronic support measures (RWR/ESM) system using quadrant spiral antennas and an electronic countermeasure (ECM) deception jammer with digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) techniques generator, used to detect, identify and degrade continuous-wave (CW), pulse and pulse-Doppler (PD) radar in the 1 to 40 GHz (NATO D- through K-band) radio bands; a passive laser warning system (LWS) and all-laser directed IR countermeasures (DIRCM) system with quadrant detectors and fibre laser jammer heads to provide detection, classification, warning and jamming of multiple laser threats in Band I (0.5 µm to 1.1 µm), Band II (1.1 µm to 1.65 µm), Band III (0.8 µm to 1.1 µm) and Band IV (8-12 µm) wavelengths covering laser rangefinder (LRF), laser target designator (LTD), laser beam rider (LBR) and imaging infrared (IIR) missile guidance systems; a passive missile approach warning system (MAWS) with quadrant focal plane array (FPA) imaging sensor heads that detect and track ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by missile plumes during their launch, boost and sustain flight phases, using algorithms to evaluate potential false alarms, declare validity of threats, and select appropriate countermeasures; and a fully integrated chaff and flare decoy dispensing system with manual, semi‐automatic and automatic modes of operation. Each sensor, jammer and dispenser is controlled by a processor card with a digital signal processor (DSP), and are centrally managed by a Saab Avitronics EWC100 Electronic Warfare Controller that uses algorithms and a parametric threat library to analyse threats and select the suitable tactic to counter it.
Multi-Mission Weapons Loadouts |
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Primary mission | Starboard wingtip | Starboard wing | Cannon | Port wing | Port wingtip | Mission duration |
Multi-role | 2 × AIM-192A | 4 × AGM-114R | 500 rounds | 4 × AGM-114R | 2 × AIM-192A | 2½ hours |
Anti-armour | - | 8 × AGM-114L | 500 rounds | 8 × AGM-114L | - | 2¾ hours |
Anti-radiation | 1 × AGM-122A | - | - | - | 1 × AGM-122A | 3 hours |
Armed escort | 1 × AIM-9X-2 | 4 × AGM-114R | 500 rounds | 4 × AGM-114R | 1 × AIM-9X-2 | 2½ hours |
Convoy escort/ | - | 38 × Hydra-70 | 500 rounds | 38 × Hydra-70 | - | 2¾ hours |
Armed/visual | 2 × AIM-192A | 2 × SPIKE-ER | 500 rounds | 2 × SPIKE-ER | 2 × AIM-192A | 2½ hours |
Anti-ship | - | 1 × AGM-84N | - | 1 × AGM-84N | - | 2½ hours |
Anti-landing craft/boat | - | 8 × MK 71 Zuni | 500 rounds | 8 × MK 71 Zuni | - | 2¾ hours |
Anti-helicopter | 1 × AIM-9X-2 | - | 500 rounds | - | 1 × AIM-9X-2 | 2¾ hours |
Anti-drone | 2 × AIM-192A | - | 500 rounds | - | 2 × AIM-192A | 2¾ hours |
The area suppression weapon is a Rheinmetall RMK 30/2 (Rückstoßfreie Maschinenkanone Kaliber 30) lightweight front-loading three-chamber revolver recoilless (RCL) single-barrel automatic cannon with electrical firing mechanism. It fires 30 × 250 mm combustible-cased telescoped ammunition with inductive primers consisting of a 44 mm diameter rigid tube of cast solid propellent telescoping an armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) kinetic energy penetrator, or low drag projectile with point detonating high-explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) warhead or programmable, radio frequency (RF) proximity fused, high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) warhead. An electric motor-driven linear linkless ammunition handling and autoloading system feed the cannon from a 500-round helical drum magazine located in an armour-protected centre-fuselage ammunition bay. Rounds can be uploaded or downloaded directly into the feeding system using a loading adapter on the flight line.
The cannon weighs 95 kg complete and is 2200 mm long including a 1700 mm (66.9 in) barrel, and is externally powered by an electric motor at a cyclic rate of 300 rounds per minute. It can fire in short bursts of 0.5 to 1 second or in fully automatic mode without producing recoil, which is attenuated by a high effect muzzle brake and venturi cone compensator that vents a portion of the propellant gasses to the rear. Rounds are fired at a muzzle velocity of 1,050 m/s to a maximum slant range of 4,000 m, a performance equivalent to ADEN/DEFA 30 mm (1⅒-inch) ammunition but at increased muzzle energies, greater accuracy with a 50% reduced dispersion pattern, and lower ammunition weight. The cannon is mounted offset between the mainwheel legs on a fully stabilised hydraulically actuated trainable mounting that is designed to collapse into the fuselage in the event of a crash landing. The mounting has a maximum range of movement of 120° in azimuth, 15° in elevation and 7° in depression limited by backblast, and can be tracked at a maximum slew rate of 90°/sec. Either pilot can fire the cannon, which is slaved to the optronics turret and helmet-mounted sight/aiming devices.
The point target weapon system comprises precision-guided air-to-surface missiles, air-to-air missiles and aerial rockets that are carried on six external hardpoints - four underwing pylon stations stressed for loads of up to 300 kg (661 Ib) and two wingtip attachment points stressed for loads of up to 113.4 kg (250 lb). The pylon stations have hydraulic and electrical quick-disconnects for mounting munition and launcher suspension equipment and can be articulated +2° to -10° in elevation/depression for an increased weapon launch envelope. The wingtip stations can mount a twin-tube launcher assembly or single rail missile launcher. A MIL-STD-1760C Aircraft/Store Electrical Interconnection System (AEIS) interface transmits weapon control signals to munitions and launchers, supporting stores recognition, stores selection, target acquisition and tracking, arming/fusing, launch/release sequencing and stores jettison. Loadout can vary between tactical missions, but must be evenly balanced between both sides of the aircraft. A maximum of eight AGM-114 Hellfire, Brimstone, LA-419 Arcus or SPIKE anti-armour missiles, thirty-eight 2¾ in (70 mm) diameter fin-stabilized air-to-ground rockets, or two AIM-9 Sidewinder or Python, or four AIM-92 Stinger, AIM-192 Scorpion or LA-430 Attero air-to-air missiles can be carried.
Original production version focused on armed reconnaissance and anti-tank mission. Powered by twin Rolls-Royce/Turboméca RTM322-02/8 turboshafts driving low-noise and low-vibration 4-blade hingeless/bearingless main rotor and 8-blade anti-torque Fenestron ducted-fan, with fly-by-wire controls, digital autostabiliser and integrated GPS/Doppler/INS/air data/laser/radar altimeter navigation system. Sextant Avionique integrated digital avionics suite with 'manprint' (manpower integration) instrumentation and controls based around dual-redundant MIL-STD-1553B and ARINC 429 databuses and dual MIL-STD-1750A 16-bit RISC microprocessors in each of the two flight control computers and two mission computers. TopNight helmet-mounted sighting system slaved to nose-mounted and roof-mounted optronic sights with TV, FLIR, laser rangefinder/designator and direct view optics for observation and engaging targets from behind cover. Armed with General Dynamics 20 mm (0.87 in) M197 three-barrel electrically-fired Gatling-type rotary cannon in a GIAT (later Nexter) fully traversable chin-mounted turret. Armament system support for laser-guided Hellfire missiles, fire-and-forget and fibre-optic guided Spike missiles, free-flight and laser-guided Zuni, SNEB and Hydra-70 air-to-ground fire support rockets, AGM-122A Sidearm (re-manufactured AIM-9C Sidewinder) anti-radiation missile, AIM-9M Sidewinder, AIM-92 ATAS (Air To Air Stinger), Mistral and Python-3 air-to-air missiles. Integrated suite of self-defence electronics including radar warning receiver, laser warning system, chaff/flare dispensers and radio frequency jammers controlled by a Saab Avitronics centralised electronic warfare management system.
Comprehensive engine, airframe, avionics and weapon systems upgrade, including: new 30 mm caseless recoilless (RCL) single barrel revolver machine cannon, avionics architecture updated to Freescale PowerPC AltiVec-based 32-bit multiprocessors and avionics bus to 1-gigabit Fibre Channel high-speed data bus standard, new cockpit displays based on Thales TopDeck suite using modern energy-efficient/low heat producing full-colour AMLCD technology, Thales TopOwl LCD-based binocular helmet-mounted sight and display (HMSD) with Gen IV image intensifiers slaved to nose-mounted optronics turret, Class A helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (HTAWS) with improved flight envelope protection for nap-of-the-earth (NOE) flying, new adverse weather weapon control system with mast-mounted Longbow fire-control radar (FCR) and radar frequency interferometer (RFI) to provide air-to-ground mapping, ground/air moving target indication to cue RF-guided Longbow Hellfire and Brimstone II missiles, maritime radar modes and AGM-84 Harpoon integration, and software and hardware integration of Scimitar missiles, R57/89 WAFAR and AGR-128A Angon rockets, and off-boresight aiming all-aspect IR-guided and thrust-vectoring air-to-air missiles for enhanced air defence. Updated defensive aids suite with all-laser directed IR countermeasures (DIRCM) system added. Engine upgrade to marinized Safran RTM322 01/9 turboshafts to correct salt-air corrosion issues with earlier models and provide improved performance in cold and hot and dry conditions, along with uprated transmissions, alternator-generators. New rotor system with 5-blade main rotor and 11-blade anti-torque Fenestron for higher performance and reduced acoustic signature. Airframe revisions including T-tail on vertical fin and tailplanes with endplate fins for improved vertical, longitudinal, and lateral stability, and modifications to the fixed tricycle undercarriage for better operation from ship flight decks.
Etoile Arcture Ground Forces Etoile Arcture Maritime Forces Royal Imbrinium Army Royal Imbrinium Marine Corps Zinairian Army Antigrian Army Akimondian Army Imperial Mephrasian Army Salzlander Army Crown Army of Anemos Major Parilisan Revolutionary Army Minnysotan Army Armée de Terre Corps des Marines Madurastan Army Imperial Army Imperial Marine Corps Imperial Aeromarines Confederacy Army Royal Army Air Corps Rocky Canadian Army Cyrassinian Ground Forces Altmelian Army Slacarian Army Imperial Army Imperial Marine Corps Aquilaran Army Royal Joseon Army Armed Military Imperial Army New Chinese Federation Air Force
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Specifications (AH-79C Block III)
AH-79C Anaconda in multi-role mission configuration
Data from Aerodyne specifications.
General characteristics
Crew: 1 pilot (rear seat) + 1 co-pilot/gunner (front seat)
Fuselage length: 15.16 m
Fuselage width: 1.7 m
Fuselage height: 3.5 m
Height:
To top of rotor hub: 3.9 m
To top of radar mast: 4.4 m
Wing span: 4.5 m
Operating empty weight (OEW): 4,763 kg
Maximum take-off weight (MTOW): 8,447 kg
Powerplant: 2 × Safran (ex-Rolls-Royce/Turboméca) RTM322-01/9A turboshaft engines
Installed power rating (standard day sea level):
All Engines Operating/Takeoff Power (AEO/TOP) (60 minutes): 1,897 kW (2,554 shp)
Intermediate Rated Power (IRP) (30 minutes): 2,019 kW (2,708 shp)
Maximum Continuous Power (MCP): 1,805 kW (2,421 shp)
One Engine Inoperative/Contingency Rated Power (OEI/CRP):
(2 minute contingency): 2,223 kW (2,775 shp)
(30 second super contingency) (100%): 2,200 kW (2,997 shp)
One Engine Inoperative/Maximum Continuous Power (OEI/MCP): 1,781 kW (2,388 shp)
Transmission rating:
All Engines Operating (AEO): 2,925 kW (3,922 shp)
Rotor systems: 5-blade main rotor, 11-blade Fenestron tail rotor
Main rotor diameter: 12.8 m
Main rotor disc: 128.7 m²
Rotor tip speed: ? m/s
Fenestron diameter: 1.12 m
Fenestron disc: 0.97 m²
Fuel capacity: 1,398.7 L (369½ US gal) JP-8 (MIL–DTL–83133)/Jet A kerosene-type aviation turbine fuel
Performance
(Under International Standard Atmospheric (ISA) conditions)
Never-exceed speed (VNE): 208 knots
Maximum level speed at sea level (VH): 189 knots
Maximum cruise speed at altitude (VNO): 167 knots
Maximum sideways speed: 66 knots
Maximum Rate of Climb (ROC) (VY): 13.46 m/s
Emergency climb rate (VYSE): 5.58 m/s
Combat radius (full weapon load, internal fuel): 584 km (315 nmi)
Ferry range (maximum internal and external fuel): 1,481 km (800 nmi)
Endurance (10% fuel reserve): 2½ hours
Hover Ceiling In Ground Effect (IGE) (hot day ISA +20°C MTOW): 4,921 m (16,145 ft)
Hover Ceiling Out of Ground Effect (HOGE) (hot day ISA +20°C MTOW): 3,280 m (10,761 ft)
Service ceiling: 6,005 m (19,701 ft)
Operating temperature: +45° C to –54° C (–23° C oil temperature for engine starting)
Maximum design g-load: +2.5 g to -0.5 g
Armament:
Guns: 1 × Rheinmetall (ex-Mauser) RMK 30/2, 30×250 mm recoilless revolver machine cannon in trainable underfuselage mount (500 rounds total, APFSDS, HEDP or HE-FRAG)
Hardpoints: 4 × pylon stations on stub-winglets + 2 × wingtip stations
2 × wet inboard wing pylons rated @ 630 kg (1,389 lb)
2 × wet outboard wing pylons rated @ 454 kg (1,000 lb)
2 × wingtip stations rated @ 113.4 kg (250 lb)
Stores: maximum weapon load of 2,200 kg (4,850 lb)
Rockets:
Matra SNEB 68 mm or SYROCOT rockets - mounted in up to four TELSON (8-tube, 12-tube or 22-tube) launchers (up to 88 unguided or guided rockets total)
2¾ in (70 mm) FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket) e.g., Hydra-70, CRV7 (Canadian Rocket Vehicle 7) or AGR-20A APKWS II (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System), TALON Laser Guided Rocket, GATR (Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket), FZ275 LGR (Laser Guided Rocket) or LOGIR (Low-Cost Guided Imaging Rocket) - mounted in up to four M260 (7-tube) or M261 (19-tube) lightweight launchers (up to 76 unguided or 28 guided rockets total)
3½ in (88.9 mm) R57/89 WAFAR (Wrap-Around Fin Aerial Rocket) or AGR-128A Angon - mounted in up to four 16-tube digital launchers (up to 64 unguided or guided rockets total)
5 in (127 mm) MK 71 Mod 1 Zuni FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket) or Laser Guided Zuni - mounted in up to four LAU-10C/A (4-tube) launchers (up to 16 rockets total)
Missiles:
SPIKE-ER (NT-Dandy) or SPIKE-NLOS (Tamuz) (fibre-optic guided) - up to 16 missiles mounted on four 4-rail Heli-Launchers, two on each wing
AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire or Brimstone II (RF guided) - up to 16 missiles mounted on four 4-rail M299 launchers, two on each wing
AGM-114R Hellfire II or LA-419 Arcus (semi-active laser homing) - up to 16 missiles mounted on four 4-rail M272 launchers, two on each wing
AGM-84N Harpoon Block II+ - up to 2 missiles, one on each wing
AGM-189B Scimitar "Kilij" - up to 16 missiles mounted on four 4-rail digital launchers, two on each wing
AGM-189C Scimitar "Talwar" - up to 8 missiles mounted on four 2-rail digital launchers, two on each wing
AIM-92A Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS) Block II or Mistral ATAM (Air-to-Missile) or AIM-192A ATAS (Air-to-Air Scorpion) or LA-430 Attero - up to four missiles mounted on two 2-round launchers, one on each wing tip station
AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder or AGM-122A Sidearm or Python-4 or Python-5 - up to 2 missiles mounted on two LAU-128 launchers, one on each wing tip station
Fuel tanks: 870 L (230 US gal) auxiliary fuel tank, two per wing
Avionics
Mission systems:
Longbow (Lockheed Martin & Northrop Grumman) (ex-Westinghouse) AN/APG-78(V) "Longbow" Fire Control Radar (FCR)
Lockheed Martin AN/APR-48B Modernized Radar Frequency Interferometer (MRFI)
Emerson Optronics Airborne Day/Night Navigation And Targeting System (ADAMANTS)
Defensive aids:
Saab Avitronics Compact Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (CIDAS)
Synergy Electrodynamics E/ALQ-03 Deception ECM Jammer
Saab (ex-Bofors)BOP-L-39 countermeasure dispenser
Hensoldt Advanced Laser Threat Alerting System - 2 Quadrants with Beamrider Detector (ALTAS-2Q(B)
Hensoldt (ex-ITT Exelis) AN/AAR-60(V)2 Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS F)
Elop/Electronica Multi Spectral Infrared Countermeasure (mini-MUSIC)
Navigation aids:
Northrop Grumman (ex-Litton) LN-100G Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation System (EGI)
Honeywell Air Data Attitude Heading and Reference System (ADAHRS)
Honeywell MK XXII Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS)
BAE Systems Low Probability of Intercept Altimeter (LPIA-209R)
Communications:
Raytheon AN/ARC-231(V)9(C) RT-1808A Skyfire Airborne Communications System (VHF/UHF-AM/FM voice/data LOS & DAMA/Non-DAMA voice/data BLOS SATCOM)
ViaSat KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminal (STT) (VHF/UHF, LOS & BLOS Link 16 TADIL-J)
Elisra (ex-Tadiran Spectralink) AN/ACQ-9 Tactical Video & Data Link (TVDL) (L-, S- or C-band)
Leonardo (ex-DRS Technologies) Concord Intelligence Broadcast Receiver-2 (IBR-2) (R-2650A(C)/U) (near real-time threat, survivor & Blue Force Tracker)
BAE Systems AN/APX-123(V)5 Common Transponder (CXP) (Mark XIIA IFF (Mode 4/5, Mode S, TCAS II (Traffic Collision Avoidance System), ADS-B)
Fighters | |
Strike/ground attack | |
Bombers | |
Airborne early warning | |
Command and control | |
Electronic warfare | |
Maritime patrol/sea control | |
Trainers | |
Transport | KC-16A Cargoship - MV-28A Peregrine - MV-44A Pegasus - C-75A Albatross - C-75B Super Albatross - KC-99B Majestic |
Helicopters | AH-79C Anaconda - MH-80A Barracuda - MCH-120A Pelican - CH-151A Titan Skyscrane |
Unmanned | RQ-13A Vulture - AQ-20B Renegade - RAQ-39B Clarion - MQ-45A Privateer - AQ-46A Storm Petrel - BQ-50A Dominator - MQ-59A Mosquito |
