SF-36 Blue Thunder

The Deftech SF-36 Blue Thunder is a multirole fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Republic of Surea's Deftech Corporation for the Republic of Surea Air Force (ROSAF). The SF-36 is a multi-role combat aircraft capable of all-weather day/night operation that was compared to the F-16, Mirage 2000 and Su-27.

Development

The program was originally backed by the Surean leader, Musushi Morizaga, who authorized spending of half a billion Yun to develop an indigenous military technology, but the program did not start until several years later, in January 1983, when the Surean government began initial development of the Project 2000 to develop a fighter to counter new fourth generation fighters then being introduced by the neighbouring USSR. Initially designed as a specialized fighter, it was later recast as a multirole aircraft capable of both air to air combat and ground attack missions.

According to Surean media reports, the first plane, "SF-36 X01", was rolled out in November 1995, and the aircraft made its successful maiden flight on 13 May 1995, lasting for twenty minutes. A test flew for the prototype on aerodynamic performance trials that lasted till early December, 1999, during which time aerial refueling tests were also successfully completed. In these aerodynamic tests, the aircraft was pushed beyond its parameters of the original design and it was discovered that the aircraft could easily withstand the greater requirements. The last part of the test flight programme was the live firing of air-to-air missiles, which lasted from 2nd to 7th March 2000. The aircraft was given the status 'operational' in December 2002, after 15 years in development.

Specifications (SF-36)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15.3 m
• Wingspan: 9.81 m
• Height: 4.83 m
• Wing area: 35.76 m²
• Empty weight: 8,730 kg
• Loaded weight: 13,500 kg
• Max takeoff weight: 19,250 kg
• Powerplant: 1× F110-GE-100 afterburning turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 76.3 kN
  • Thrust with afterburner: 127 kN

Performance

• Maximum speed:
  • At altitude: Mach 2.3
  • At sea level: Mach 1.2
• Combat radius: 550 km
• Ferry range: 4,220 km with drop tanks
• Service ceiling: 18,100 m
• Rate of climb: 254 m/s
• Wing loading: 380 kg/m²
• Thrust/weight: 1.095

Armament

• Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61 Vulcan gatling gun, 511 rounds
• Hardpoints: 2× wing-tip Air-to-air missile launch rails, 6× under-wing & 5× under-fuselage pylon stations holding up to 7,700 kg of payload
• Rockets:
  • 4× LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19× /7× Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively) or
  • 4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets) or
  • 4× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× Zuni 127 mm rockets)
• Missiles:
  • Air-to-air missiles:
    • 2× AIM-7 Sparrow or
    • 6× AIM-9 Sidewinder or
    • 6× IRIS-T or
    • 6× AIM-120 AMRAAM or
    • 6× Python-4
  • Air-to-surface missiles:
    • 6× AGM-45 Shrike or
    • 6× AGM-65 Maverick or
    • 4× AGM-88 HARM
  • Anti-ship missiles:
    • 2× AGM-84 Harpoon or
    • 4× AGM-119 Penguin
  • Bombs:
    • 2× CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
    • 2× CBU-89 Gator mine
    • 2× CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
    • Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser capable
    • 4× GBU-10 Paveway II
    • 6× GBU-12 Paveway II
    • 6× Paveway-series laser-guided bombs
    • 4× JDAM
    • 4× Mark 84 general-purpose bombs
    • 8× Mark 83 GP bombs
    • 12× Mark 82 GP bombs
    • 8× Small Diameter Bomb
  • Others:
    • Up to 3 external fuel drop-tanks (1× under-fuselage, 2× under-wing) for extended range and loitering time

Avionics

• NRIET KLJ-10 multi-mode fire-control radar
• Externally-mounted avionics pods:
  • Infra-red search and track pod
  • BM/KG300G self-protection jamming pod
  • KZ900 electronic reconnaissance pod
  • Blue Sky navigation/attack pod
  • FILAT (Forward-looking Infra-red Laser Attack Targeting) pod

See also

• Republic of Surea Air Force