Grumman EF-111
| Grumman EF-111 Raven | |
|---|---|
 A Grumman EF-111A Raven performing the "Exercise Solid Shield '87" maneuver |
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| Type: | EloKa - fighter aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 10, 1977 |
| Production time: |
1981 to 1985 |
| Number of pieces: |
42 |
The Grumman EF-111 Raven was a US Air Force electronic warfare fighter aircraft . It was developed on the basis of the General Dynamics F-111 from 1974 and was procured as a replacement for the EB-66 from 1981. The Raven was in active service from 1983 to 1998 and came under some circumstances. a. used in the Second Gulf War .
history
development
In the late 1960s, the US Air Force began looking for an EloKa successor to the EB-57 and EB-66 . First, in a study from 1967 to 1968, the possibility of purchasing the EA-6 was examined, which at that time was being developed by the Navy. This option was quickly discarded because the Air Force preferred a supersonic fast pattern, as it was hoped for better penetration and survivability in enemy airspace. Since it was considered too expensive to develop a completely new model, it was decided in 1972 to convert an existing one. The choice fell on the F-111A , as this was the only supersonic type of the Air Force that had a sufficiently high carrying capacity for the ECM equipment.
In December 1974, Grumman received the order to convert the first two F-111A into EF-111 prototypes and prevailed against Generals Dynamics. The first fully rebuilt EF-111, then called "Electric Fox", made its maiden flight on March 10, 1977. A total of 42 machines were converted for 1.5 billion US dollars (taking inflation into account , this corresponds to today's value of around 5 billion US dollars). The first Raven was delivered to the 388th Tactical Electronic Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base , Idaho in November 1981 , the last in 1985.
When upgrading to the Raven, the F-111's navigation system was retained, along with a revision of the AN / APQ-160 radar for better terrain tracking . The primary change was the integration of the AN / ALQ-99E jammer, a modified version of the Prowler ALQ-99 . This was housed in the weapon bay of the F-111, the antennas of the system were installed as with the EA-6 at the tip of the vertical stabilizer in a container which the teams called "football". Furthermore, the electronics and the cooling system of the aircraft had to be improved for the AN / ALQ-99E, and the cockpit had to be rearranged. All control devices and navigation displays were moved to the pilot's side in order to be able to turn the former place of the copilot into the operator's place of the EW equipment. A major advantage of the EF-111A's jamming system compared to the EA-6 Prowler is that it can be operated by only one officer compared to three officers at the Prowler. In other systems for electronic warfare, the EF-111A received the ALQ-137 system for electronic countermeasures, the ALR-62 radar warning system, ALR-23 radar interference radiation receiver and ALE-28 chaff thrower .
The EF-111 was unarmed and only derived its survivability from its acceleration and top speed. Despite multiple considerations to integrate the AGM-88 HARM , as was done later with the EA-6 Prowler, this was never realized, which limited the tactical possibilities of the Raven and had to rely on other machines for SEAD missions . Since the unreliability of the engines was already a problem with the F-111A, these were replaced in 1986 by the improved TF30-P-9 of the F-111D. In parallel with the Pacer Strike program of the F-111F, the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) was carried out at the Raven from 1987 to 1994. The AN / ASN-41, AN / APN-218 Doppler radar and the AN / APQ-146 terrain tracking radar were installed. The cockpit received improved multifunction displays.
Calls
The EF-111A achieved " Initial Operating Capability " in 1983 and was officially nicknamed "Raven". The name "Spark Vark" was much more common among the teams. The EF-111 completed its first mission during Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986. In 1989 it was used against Panama as part of Operation Just Cause .
The largest deployment of the Raven was during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 over Iraq. The use of the EF-111 Raven helped ensure that no coalition forces aircraft were shot down by radar-guided missiles. Although unarmed, an EF-111 achieved the only “aerial victory” of an F-111 on January 17, 1991 when it outmaneuvered an attacking Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 until it fell uncontrollably into the ground. During the fighting, a Raven crashed on February 13, 1991, killing the crew.
After the Second Gulf War, the EF-111 was still used in Operation Deliberate Force , Operation Provide Comfort , Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch , before the Raven retired on May 2, 1998 without a potential replacement and temporarily in her 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) have been stored. They were the last variant of the F-111 in service with the US Air Force.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | Pilot and weapons systems officer |
| length | 23.17 m |
| span |
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| height | 6.10 m |
| Wing area |
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| Wing extension |
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| Wing loading |
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| Empty mass | 25,072 kg |
| normal takeoff mass | 31,751 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 40,370 kg |
| Top speed |
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| Service ceiling | 13,715 m |
| Rate of climb | 56 m / s |
| Use radius | 3,220 km |
| Range | 6,110 km |
| Engine | two turbofans Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-3 , later two turbofans Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-9 |
| Thrust |
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| Thrust-to-weight ratio |
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Web links
- “General Dynamics EF-111A Raven Fact Sheet” on the National Museum of the United States Air Force page.
- EF-111 Raven on GlobalSecurity.org