Skip to main content

LCA vs grippen vs JF-17 vs F-CK-1








 India’s much awaited supersonic fighter jet, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was inducted into the IAF yesterday. LCA Tejas is India’s first indigenously built light combat aircraft and its induction has highlighted India’s defence aviation and self sufficiency capabilities to the world. We have to wait and watch if LCA TEJAS matches other multirole fighters like Gripen, JF-17  and F-CK-1. So lets go ahead and compare the features of LCA TEJAS with the rest.
Lets start with the LCA TEJAS which is a single-seat, single-engine, lightweight, high-agility supersonic fighter aircraft. The LCA TEJAS can speed upto Mach 1.4 and is capable of carrying assorted weapon load along with dropping tanks up to four tons. It has some of the latest avionics and digital flight control systems. The Tejas, presently is powered by American General Electric Engine. The HAL TEJAS is designed with a single vertical fin  with no tailplanes or foreplanes and has a delta wing configuration.
The HAL TEJAS  integrates modern design concepts and state-of-art technologies such as fly-by-wire Flight Control System, Advanced Digital Cockpit, Multi-Mode Radar, Integrated Digital Avionics System and a Flat Rated Engine.Other salient  features of TEJAS include short takeoff and landing, excellent flight performance, safety, reliability and maintainability.
The aircraft is also fitted with a night vision compatible glass cockpit with Martin Baker (UK) zero-zero ejection seats. The aircraft’s electronic warfare suite, developed by the Advanced Systems Integration and Evaluation Organisation (ASIEO) of Bangalore, includes a radar warning receiver and jammer, laser warner, missile approach warner, and chaff and flare dispenser. The LCA’s design has been configured to match the demands of modern combat scenario such as speed, acceleration, maneuverability and agility.
The next aicraft we will be talking about is Gripen which is a lightweight single engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab.The new Gripen NG  (Next Generation) will have many new parts and will be powered by the General Electric F414G, a development of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet’s engine.As compared to LCA TEJAS , the Gripen will have a supercruise speed of Mach 1.1. The combination of delta wing and canards gives the Gripen significantly better takeoff , landing performance and flying characteristics. It also has a built-in electronic warfare unit, making it possible to load more ordnance onto the aircraft without losing self defence capabilities.
The Gripen uses the modern PS-05/A pulse-doppler X-band radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi. The radar is capable of detecting, locating, identifying and automatically tracking multiple targets in the upper and lower spheres, on the ground and sea or in the air, in all weather conditions.One interesting feature is the Gripen’s ability to take off and land on public roads, which was part of Sweden’s war defence strategy.
The next aircraft we would talk about is JF-17 Thunder, also known as Chengdu FC-1. It is a single-engine, light-weight multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAC) of China, the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).
The JF-17 airframe is of semi-monocoque structure and its airframe is designed for a service life of 4,000 flight hours, or 25 years.The aircraft has a composite flight control system (FCS), comprising conventional controls with stability augmentation in the yaw and roll axis and a digital fly-by-wire (FBW) system in the pitch axis. The JF-17 is powered by a single Russian Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine, which is a variant of the RD-33 engine used on the Mig-29 fighter.JF-17 can be armed with up to 3,629 kg (8,000 lb) of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance.
CK-1 Ching-kuo, commonly known as the Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF). The IDF jet fighter project was designed and built by the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) based in Taichung, Taiwan, with assistance from American defense corporations.
The IDF is equipped with a GD-53 Golden Dragon multi-mode monopulse Pulse-Doppler radar, which is based on the General Electric AN/APG-67 X band. The radar can simultaneously track 10 targets and engage two of the 10 targets tracked with TC-2 active radar seeker BVRAAMs. After the F-CK-1 Ching-kuo basic variant was finalized, the next step involved an upgrade with systems improvement, new technologies, and adjustments of material and weight.
It would be interesting to see how the LCA Tejas will compete with these three aircrafts over a period of time.The induction of LCA Tejas into the IAF has launched India into an exclusive club of nations that include the US, Russia, France and Britain that can produce combat aircrafts.Thus only time will tell if LCA Tejas is a better match than GRIPEN , JF-17 or F-CK-1 Ching-kuo.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eurofighter Typhoon vs Dassault Rafale

Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the worlds most advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft available on the market. With 707 aircraft ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and in service with all nations, the aircraft is Europe’s largest military collaborative program. Eurofighter Typhoon is the only fighter to offer wide-ranging operational capabilities whilst at the same time delivering unparalleled fleet effectiveness. When the RAFALE program was launched, the Armée de l’Air and the Marine Nationale (the French Air Force and the French Navy) published a joint requirement for a balanced multirole aircraft that would be able to replace seven types of combat aircraft then in use. Versatile and best in all categories of missions, the RAFALE is a true “force multiplier” This is what Dassault Aviation says about their pride and joy and it’s really interesting since they put too much emphasis on...
Post a Comment
Read more
SPECTRA (Système de Protection et d’Évitement des Conduites de Tir du Rafale) is a integrated defensive aids suite for Dassault Rafale developed by Thales Group. Modern air warfare pose a different challenge on aircraft self-defense capabilities. SPECTRA provides complete automated system directly integrated into the Rafale. SPECTRA ensures efficient electromagnetic detection, laser warning, IR detection for missile warning, jamming and chaff/flare dispensing, even in the most demanding multi-threats environment. SPECTRA is divided into different modules and sensors strategically positioned throughout the airframe to provide all-round coverage. The latest advances in micro-electronic technology have led to a new system which is much lighter, more compact and less demanding than its ancestors in terms of electrical and cooling powers. All elements of the Thales SPECTRA system are built into the airframe, have high levels of automation and system integration. SPECTRA include...
Post a Comment
Read more

Type 096 submarine can attack US homeland from China's coast

The Type 096, China’s third-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, has given the PLA Navy the means to strike the continental United States from the Chinese coast for the first time, according to the Singapore-based Lianhe Zaobao. China is estimated to have four Type 094 Jin-class second-generation ballistic missile submarines. Together, those four submarines can carry 48 JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and 200 nuclear warheads, which is 35% of China’s nuclear arsenal. With an attack range of 6,000 kilometers, the JL-2 missile’s threat to American forces is confined to the Western Pacific. China is developing Type 096 Tang-class ballistic missile submarines to replace the Type 094 by 2020, according to a study from the Moscow-based Russian Military Analyst. By then, the PLA Navy is looking to have at least six Type 094 and Type 096 submarines operational. It will control 80 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with about 300 nuclear warheads. The ne...
Post a Comment
Read more