F-35B Fighter Aircraft for the HTMS Chakri Naruebet ?

29 Januari 2019

HTMS Chari Naruebet (photo : Royal Thai Navy)

Compare the F-35B fighter aircraft with the AV-8B attack aircraft in operations on the Royal Chakri Naruebet

Guidelines for the supply of fixed-wing aircraft for the Royal Chakri Naruebet which is the first aircraft carrier of the Thai Navy and in Southeast Asia that had been analyzed earlier due to the economic crisis in the year 1997, causing the Thai Navy to be greatly affected by cuts in defense budgets during this period making it impossible to procure any new STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing), whether the Sea Harrier FA.2 fighter plane of the Royal Navy that was decommissioned in 2006 or the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II+ aircraft of the US Marine Corps of the company Boeing, the US closed the production line in 2003.

A retired AV-8S of the Royal Thai Navy (photo : teerawut)

Despite the fact that the supply of the AV-8B Harrier II+ is a surplus of US Marines that will be decommissioned after the introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II JSF (Joint Strike Fighter). Substitution in some herds would be less likely because the US Marines would take the F-35B fighter aircraft in place of the fighter aircraft F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornet in some groups as well, which led to the gradual procurement of the F-35B. The US Marines will continue to use Hornet and their Harrier II for a while before by looking to improve their AV-8B Harrier II + with a pilot's hat attached to the display HMCS (Helmet-Mounted Cueing System) makes the US Marines unlikely to have excess equipment available for sale before being decommissioned in 2026.

However, the Harrier II+ of the United States Marine Corps with production lines in the 1990s will last for more than 25 years, but as with the AV-8S Harrier and TAV-8S (two-seat training model), 2 types that were used in Naval Aviation Division Battle Squadron of the Royal Thai Navy that if the command set was not modified to be able to use the Raytheon AIM-120 Air Medium to Range Air-to-Air Missile range, like the model sent to the Spanish Navy and Italian Navy It's hard to call Harrier II+ as a "fighter plane", but Harrier II+ is often compared to being the most feasible option that the F-35B provides for operations in HMS Chakri Naruebet by reasoning that the F-35B is too heavy to park on the flight deck the jet from the engine is hot until the deck penetrates, large and overloaded, lifted into the hangar under the deck.

A retired A-7E Corsair II of the Royal Thai Navy (photo : Wiki)

In summary, the procurement of the AV-8B Harrier II+ and TAV-8B Harrier II (two-seat training model) includes 9 machines according to the demand for replacement of AV-8S fighter aircraft and the aircraft attacked the 1st Battalion A-7E and TA-7C (two-seat training version), 104 Squadron, 1 Airborne Division, 16 units that had been decommisioned. If it had to happen, it should have been done since the AV-8S was decomissioned in the year 2006. It is also very difficult for the Thai Navy to supply at least 4 new F-35Bs because of the very expensive price. Causing if there is enough budget, should go to procure more ships or aircraft that are needed. But the question is, in terms of the features of both aircraft would it be true that the F-35B could not come to be operating on? Can HMS Chakri Naruebet replace Harrier? So let's look at the comparative data of both aircraft in the operation up on the helicopter carrier first.

Bringing the winged aircraft to Short Take Off and Vertical Landing, such as the AV-8B or F-35B, landing on that ship, normally, the aircraft will fly from the airport on the shore, then flew to land on a boat at sea, which the pilot must check the weight of the machine whether it is under weight, the maximum landing weight or not/ In the case of flying from the airport on the shore without any weapons or equipment on the machine, the weight is still too high to be able to land. Will have to dispose of some fuel (dumping) from the device in order to reduce weight until able to float to land the vertical direction like flying from a helicopter carrier using a short runway, where the machine will be equipped with weapons and fuel in the load that runs up from the ship and when returning to land on the ship, if the weapon is not used It is necessary to disarm the equipment or the jettison fuel tank to reduce the weight.

That makes the helicopter-run cargo ship Ski-Jump able to make the AV-8B Harrier II or F-35B Lightning II fly by installing more weapons. And can use shorter runners. If compared to a helicopter carrier with a smooth deck throughout the ship or for the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth class of the United Kingdom Navy with a long flight deck leading the F-35B using a vertical landing method using SRVL: Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing. In general, the AV-8B Harrier II or F-35B Lightning II will land on the same helicopter carrier as the rotary wing aircraft. Is flying towards the deck of the ship then fly floating alongside the ship then slowly tilt the device into the deck.

For the AV-8B Harrier II, pilots must choose the flight mode as VSTOL. Flap leveling is a STOL adjust the cooling water injection engine model to TO, in case of flying up or LDG, in case of landing, set the limit barrier, the lever to adjust the angle of the throttle beside the throttle. In the run-up from the ship, the AV-8B will run up by adjusting the jet tube angle at 0-30 degree to increase speed before the machine runs to the end of the flight deck. The boat will adjust the jet pipe angle to 60 degree to increase the first lift. When the speed is high enough, it will adjust the angle of the jet to 0 degree. Mode, fly, NAV, flap to Auto and turn off the water. As for the landing on the ship, the AV-8B must have a total weight of less than the maximum landing weight. Reduce the speed of the machine towards the stern, adjust the flight flap mode and water. Adjust the jet tube angle to 90 degree to float at the same speed as the ship. Alongside the ship and tilting before landing on the flight deck.

The Harrier family is the first model that has been designed since the 1970s. Even the second generation Harrier II will have improved avionic systems and more advanced Flight Control flight control systems. But it is considered very limited, in particular, the engine must be checked not to overheat the limit until it fails. Therefore, compared to the F-35B to force the machine to land or fly from the ship, it is much easier to control. By simply pressing the ON button to turn off the VTOL mode once. The Turbofan engine model, Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-600 and Rolls-Royce Lift System Lift Fan, enter the STOVL model, which controls the STO model or floating HOVER can be selected from the large touch screen (LAAD: Large Area Avionics Display), which will help the pilot control the automatic angle adjustment of the engine and lift fan, making it highly secure and accurate.

Although the F135W-600 engine with the F-35B's Lift System will have a high heat emitted from the jet pipe, it is much higher than the Rolls-Royce Pegasus F402-RR-408 Turbofan engine of the AV-8B Harrier II. Until significant, therefore it is not that the size will make the deck fly easily in which to fly up or land on the helicopter carrier. The jet from the engine will not blow down the deck straight forward for a long time including the renovation of new flight decks, such as coatings, urethane coating, additional heat-resistant formulations and painted a new mark on the floor. The runway had time to follow the cycle, such as the landing craft ship, the helicopter, the Wasp (LHD: Landing Helicopter Dock), which was previously active. The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project will take place, then completed the operation with the F-35B. In the operation with the AV-8B before that, the deck had burned a long way before.

(AAG)