A WORKHORSE FOR THE IAF
A fighter in modern combat needs to spend as much time in the air as possible, keeping downtime to a minimum. The Gripen’s small support footprint makes it combat-ready in minutes – even changing the entire engine takes less than an hour. Gripen is a smart fighter with a ‘minimal logistical footprint’ which means it has been designed for maintenance and quick turnaround without the need for a large number of technicians on the ground to conduct checks and get the aircraft back in the air. Many of the necessary maintenance steps are easy to perform, can be done using simple tools and do not require a long time to complete. “The Gripen E is the ideal workhorse for the IAF with very high availability and always ready to go. We see the aircraft meeting the requirement of the IAF for an aircraft that can be deployed in large numbers, has high fleet availability and can be deployed from forward bases, high altitudes as well as can multiply their operational impact by sharing information. In a sense, the Gripen E is the force multiplier and a workhorse that can work along with the existing aircraft to secure India’s airspace 24x7,” says Mats Palmberg, head of Gripen India campaign. “The tools we use for maintenance between sorties are very basic. You need a flashlight to check the oil levels, and you need refueling equipment. You don’t need any equipment to open any hatches, because there are quick hatches,” according to Per Sverker, Maintenance Manager, Test Hangar, at Saab’s facilities in Linköping, Sweden. The ability to deploy swiftly with minimum resources was a basic requirement of the Swedish Armed Forces, as the first generation of the Gripen fighter was being initially conceived as a replacement for its existing fighter jets. Gripen was also designed to execute operations not only from small bases such as road strips, but from extremely short or battle-damaged runways. Today, the Gripen has been further enhanced with features that ensure it retains the original concept of a minimal logistical footprint. For instance, replacing complex avionic equipment such as the radar or even changing the plane’s engine can be accomplished in under an hour. “Changing the engine is one of the most impressive parts of the new Gripen generation. It’s very easy. The fastest time we’ve had, from running the engine to changing the engine and completing everything we need to do to service it has been done in around 45 minutes,” says Sverker. The smart design of the Gripen means that no specific support equipment is needed to access the engine bay. The engine is mounted in three places, including the pipes and an electrical connection. Although it is very easy to change the engine, it is so good that you don’t need to change it often,” Sverker explains.
An air to air turnaround, including refueling and rearming weapons, can be done in less than ten minutes. This means that Gripen’s air time is maximised, and downtime is kept to a minimum. “In the rearming testing we do, the hatches are opened, but we use blanks not live ammunition. This process is very fast, and the refueling is done quickly as well. Basically, the Gripen is always combat-ready,” says Sverker.
Air-to-air refueling
Gripen is fully NATO compatible, using NATO-standard aircraft fuel and other replenishables. In addition, refueling of Gripen can be done while the fighter is in the air. “Nowadays, air-to-air refueling is a standard on Gripen. This capability was developed and tested on one of the early prototypes. To explore where to put the refueling probe we did ground testing and flight testing with a mockup probe mounted on the prototype Gripen. The flight tests were performed to verify the construction of the probe by flying behind a tanker aircraft and connect to the air-to-air refueling device,” Per Sverker explains. For technicians, this adaptability means that refueling isn’t necessary to do on the ground, leaving more air time for sorties. “This feature means that when pilots are halfway through a sortie, they can get more fuel without having to land,” says Sverker.
Short take-off and landing strips
Gripen was designed to be able to take off and land using designated areas of the existing Swedish road system, which were built for use as temporary runways and airbases if the country experienced a military invasion. These so-called road bases are often narrow and short, so the fighters using them need to be able to handle short take-offs and landings, as well as provide easy outdoor maintenance and service. Gripen can take off and land on runways that are just 800 metres long and 16 metres wide, and the fighter has been designed for all different types of weather and runway conditions, including the harsh snow-covered runways in the Arctic climates found in northern Sweden.
The plane and the pilot
Being a test pilot for Gripen means playing a vital role in the making of a future proof fighter jet. It’s the test pilot’s job to master the challenges of a rapidly changing combat environment, and do so while dealing with the intense pressure of accelerating g-forces. Gripen test pilots play an important role in evaluating the technology enhancements and upgrades in the fighter’s air combat weapon systems. They must be critical thinkers who are able to adapt to different situations, to lead and conduct testing and to evaluate new and existing aerospace weapon systems. “As a Gripen test pilot my main task is to perform test flights where I evaluate the Gripen’s performance and capabilities up in the sky,” says Mikael Olsson, Test Pilot with Saab. Before the test flights are conducted, Gripen test pilots spend many hours in the flight simulator evaluating the systems. Additional hours are spent at design meetings, where test pilots assist Saab engineers and offer pilot opinions on design solutions and decisions. Modern warfare has seen evolution of the battlespace. Today fighter pilots need to be able to handle much more than before, and at a higher pace. Gripen achieves the optimal balance between the pilot and the fighter, by letting fighter intelligence take on a larger role in working autonomously on several areas simultaneously. The systems provides the pilot with cueing and suggestions ranging from weapon selection to full manoeuvring of the fighter in an emergency. Test pilots have presentations on the system, the aircraft and the methodology used by Saab, in order to not only evaluate the fighter, but to instruct other pilots that will be flying the fighter. Part of their work includes observing and analysing how the aircraft operates as well as understanding the engineering that is behind the functionality. For test pilots, this can mean understanding where any discrepancies lie in the functionality and offering suggestions on how to address these issues.
Courtesy: Saab