MAF-50 Pegasus, RMUAF (Romani-Mar'si Union Air Force) (By New Aeyariss)
MAF-50 Pegasus Light Multirole Aircraft
Crew: 1
Length: 16.5 meters
Wingspan: 10.5 meters
Height: 4.5 meters
Wing Area: 80m2
Empty Weight: 8,200 kg
Loaded Weight: 16,700 kg
Max Takeoff Weight: 23,400 kg
Powerplant: 1x HMI-125 Afterburbing Turbofan
Dry Thrust: 157 kN
Thrust with Afterburner: 220 kN
Performance
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.5 (2,800 kmh)
Normal Supercruise Speed: Mach 1.3 (1,530 kmh)
Combat Radius: 1,600 km
Ferry Range: 4,000 km
Service Ceiling: 19,000 m
Rate of Climb: 400 m/s
Wing Loading: 208.75 kg/m²
Thrust/Weight: 1.234
Armament
1 x 20mm LMAG 140 20mm cannon firing 20mm Depleted Uranium shells.
Bombs and Missiles: 7,700 kg of space normally used with the following hard points:
2 x Wingtip Hard Points
8 x Underwing Hard Points
3 x Under fuselage Hard Points
Avionics
SACHERI Battlespace Network
ACA-300 Advanced Combat Sensor System
SACHERI PESA
Fly by optics
FEC
LWR
RWR
GPS/TFR/INS
Abstract
The MAF-50 is a light multi-role aircraft designed to wear many hats with a great deal of effectiveness. High speed and high efficiency combined with almost otherworldy agility and dogfighting capability and a highly capable anti-ground role gave the MAF-50 near flawless marks considering its cost and multi-role capability. Not a replacement for a dedicated air superiority fighter nor attacker, its low cost and high effectiveness design enable it to be mass produced for mass use by many nations seeking an effective swing role airframe.
History
The LY909 served admirably in the Marshite military for many years, performing many roles very well. However, the pace of technology and development meant that the LY909 found itself being run down by opposing planes, and the Theocracy eventually conceded a need for a new multi-role aircraft. Seizing the opportunity, Marshite Industrial used the long-running HMI-125 development program to form the basis of a new design.
It was decided early on that while a slightly larger plane was acceptable, it had to fit within the same weight profile and size ratio as the planes it was replacing. It had to be better armored and faster while remaining lighter at a dead weight. It had to perform air to air combat with near flawless trials and complete air to ground missions with a great deal of effectiveness. Electronic Warfare and SEAD operations were joined with Interceptor role demands.
Taken together, such a development would have overwhelmed any design firm just ten years ago. However, Marshite experiences in titanium construction, the HMI-125, and technology developments since then made the decisions relatively easy to make. The MIKA 65 and the MISA 35 competed, with the lighter, faster MISA 35 winning the Marshite Industrial bid. The resulting aircraft was known as the MAF-50 Pegasus and was sent into competition against other multi-role aircraft. It won the trials and became the standard aircraft of the Marshite Air Force.
Construction
The Pegasus had an important role to fill. It had to be a lightweight, easy to ship, and easy to maintain aircraft yet had a high performance and armament envelope to consider. Titanium was a given, but he exact specification was up to debate. The question of cost and experience were also considered, and the desire to keep certain elements in line with Marshite production standards was evident throughout.
The decision to use a familiar titanium armor scheme was made relatively early throughout. Armour and ability to carry a large payload were major factors while the weight ceiling provided a stopgap towards any foolishness. In particular, with reference to conventional air warfare doctrine, the armour scheme on the MAF-50 is designed to be effective against CE threats and light cannon. While it is not a heavily armoured airframe by any measure, it has a greater chance of survival than a comparable airframe while at a lower weight.
The airframe of the Pegasus is composed of Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (aka Ti-10-2-3). This Titanium alloy is normally used on many of the Marshite vehicles, but it was made primarily for airframes, and offers one of the best mixes of strength vs. toughness. It is a near beta alloy, developed primarily for high-strength applications in the 1241 MPa (180ksi) range. The alloy also possesses the best hot-die forgeability of any commercial titanium alloy, and is suitable for near net-shape forging applications and isothermal forging. Ti-10-2-3 also offers high strength/toughness combinations and is deep-hardenable.
Variable-geometry wings were considered initially but scrapped quickly due to weight concerns. Delta-wing configurations were considered next, but after a time they too were dropped in favor of the mobility offered by a quad plane layout, owing to Marshite experiences with the LY909 and F/A-18. The chose a trapezoidal wing for it's high performance with small leading edge extensions to provide additional lift, aided by the canards.
Tight airflow vortices scrub the leading edge of the wings (and can actually be seen with the naked eye at high angles of attack and/or during high-g manoeuvres), which generates additional lift and consequent mobility. Lift and rotation generated by the canards further contributes to this, and assists the aircraft’s already impressive short-takeoff and landing performance.
The trapezoid design allows for a thin wing with lowaerodynamic dragat high speeds, while maintaining high strength and stiffness. A V-tail planform assists agility and responsiveness in manoeuvres at high angle of attack, while simultaneously providing a degree of redundancy for damage or system failure, and providing structural space for avionics or systems. The horizontal tailplane control surfaces are held some distance from the primary exhaust, to allow for changes in thrust direction due to the vectored engines, and also to allow for the widening of the exhaust as power from the engines increases as the throttle is opened.
Both wings have a dual-spar structure with integral fuel tanks. It is of lighter weight than the planes it is replacing. In conjunction with the propulsion system, it has an unbelievable thrust to weight ratio and superior wing loading, with high level thrust vectoring. These combination of factors give the MAF-50 astonishing angle of attack, stall speed, and overall performance compared to the planes it is replacing.
The MAF 50's undercarriage is a fairly standard, retractable tricycle type, with two wheels on the nose, and two single-wheeled legs just rear of the trailing edge of the wing, mounted on the fuselage. Shock absorbers are fitted, as is a considerable amount of suspension, enabling landing on short and semi-prepared strips. An arrestor hook can be fitted between the rear undercarriage legs for naval operations. The design has led to a reduced radar cross section, though the Pegasus is not intended as a stealth aircraft.
Propulsion System
The MAF had to fulfill a few roles, one of them being both a dogfighter and interceptor. The LY909 filled the second role somewhat well, but the LY908 did a much better job. As the LY908 was being phased out of the Interceptor role and the LY909 replaced entirely, a primary goal was giving the MAF-50 the ability to reach targets in a short amount of time so it can intercept away from the target's intended combat zone. Experiences with the high performance and efficiency LY910M gave Marshite Industrial an avenue to attempt and after several failed efforts, the appropriate engine was found.
The HMI-125 Afterburning Turbofan was the result of a concerted effort to produce an immensely powerful engine in a package not any heavier than the F135 and began back in 2006, initially for use in the MAF-45. The cost of this development ballooned and was only completed successfully recently. The cost of the engine was fixed in export by the Church's Trade Office. While this will lower the profit made off of exports considerably in the first few years, with mass production costs will go down. As such, the cost for an export version of the MAF-50 is $12 million dollars cheaper than one that the Grand Theocracy uses.
In any case the HMI-125 provides 157kN of dry thrust, far superior to most engines of its class and made for the roles the MAF-50 is meant to fulfill. Combined with its weight, and the MAF-50 is capable of supercruise for long periods of time with a capability to dash at an astonishing speed towards its target. The vast thrust gives it superior takeoff speed and cuts down on local area combat reaction (LACR), a major Marshite warfighting determination. Afterburning at 220 kN, the HMI-125 is a leap forward in multirole capability. The MAF's engines feature thrust-vectoring exhaust nozzles. The exhaust is able to be deflected 30 degrees in any direction, including in the vertical plane, which can act in concert with other flight control systems to generate the extremely high manoeuvrability that is the cornerstone of the Pegasus.
It features variable and automatically controlled intake-adjustment systems. These systems alter the angle of the Pegasus’ side-mounted intakes to allow the greatest volume, and optimal airflow speed and pressure, for any given aircraft velocity and/or angle of attack. Adjustable sections internal to the inlets minimise turbulence and restriction of flow, again for differing airspeeds. Easy-access panels allow maintenance to be carried out on most of the engine without requiring a ladder, another feature for which maintenance teams are grateful. Fuel tanks are fitted above each wing, giving additional fuel capability, and aerial refueling is standard. The HMI-125 is a high efficiency afterburner with superior fuel economy over comparable after burner turbofans, but it cannot evade the basic fact of the matter that an afterburner will have inferior ferry range to a low bypass turbofan.
Avionics
As with most aircraft, the most expensive element of the Pegasus is the avionic equipment standardized in such an advanced design. It has the advantage of much of it involving an already existing battlespace system, but increased costs are standard for such a design regardless of mitigating factors.
The SACHERI Battlespace Network provides a range of targeting and information control software. Information regarding targets and threats within the range of the MAF-50 and far beyond are fed into the cockpit of the aircraft as needed, providing the pilot with an almost omniscient knowledge of the battle he is being directed to. SACHERI suites in the aircraft give it powerful Electronic Warfare capabilities when paired with slight modifications, giving it the ability to commit itself to COMINT, ELINT, jamming, and deception capabilities. ESM and Counter ESM are all modules that can be fitted to the SACHERI Suite on a Pegasus. When SACHERI is uninvolved, various systems can be used to replace its capabilities.
The combat sensor suite of the MAF-50 is not as extensive as others as most functions pivotal to it are covered already by the computing power of the SACHERI Battlespace network. The ACA-300 Advanced Combat Sensor System has a 360 degree scannong arc with multi-sensor, electro-optical locator with infrared, low light digital CCD TV, laser range finder, and laser spot tracker. This information is fed into SACHERI which works seamlessly to provide unnervingly accurate targeting solutions and combat data. When SACHERI is uninvolved, the ACA-300 includes targeting software.
SACHERI also offers an advanced, multimode PESA radar system capability, which provides for air-to-air, air-to-sea and air-to-ground (the latter including Doppler beam sharpening, high resolution ground mapping and ground moving target indication and track (GMTI/GMTT) functions) modes, and is designed specifically to detect extremely low-observability airborne threats, even in high-clutter environments, thanks to SACHERI'S unrelenting low-frequency radar capabilities.
SACHERI PESA is 450mm passive phased array antenna, which can be electronically steered to provide a scanning sector of 60 degrees, both in azimuth and elevation, out to 300km, with the SACHERI battlespace network at large providing relevant data and detection capabilities far beyond. The system is capable of detecting and tracking up to 64 aerial contacts, and provide for organic attack capability against twenty-eight of them... more than the platform has AAMs to fire. Switching from air-to-air to air-to-ground or air-to-surface modes does not disable the system’s scanning capabilities, and the platform, while engaged in the conduct of air to ground operations, is perfectly able to employ non-radar-guided weapons to engage aerial threats. SACHERI will track extremely small targets at 100 km, making the system highly capable against UAVs, low observability aircraft and most forms of air-breathing cruise missiles.
The system operates in the X-band, and uses reciprocating ferrous phase shifters to allow beam positioning in less than 1 msec, with the battlespace network providing UHF and VHF band operations in high threat environments. This requires a manual software application but takes little time, with PESA fully operational after ten seconds post-application engaging.
As with most lightweight aircraft, the platform uses a digital 'fly-by-optics' control system, with artificial stability control. The aircraft's inherent instability (a feature known as ‘relaxed static stability’ – RSS) allows for extremely high agility, to the point where manual operation alone is unfeasible. This situation changes at supersonic speeds, as the aircraft’s center of gravity shifts rearward, resulting in a net neutral static stability past Mach 1. The fact it can supercruise past Mach 1 for long periods of time enables a smooth and stable flight should the pilot desire it, but the feature remains for combat utility and pilot desire. For safety purposes, the stability control interfaces are triple redundant. If combat damage has rendered all of these control interfaces inoperable, there isn't a plane left to control in any case, and the pilot will likely have long since chosen to eject, or have been ejected.
Due to the continual adjustments to the aircraft’s trim brought about by relaxed static stability, the MAF-50, as with any other aircraft with this feature, is actually constantly on the brink of losing control when not at supercruise. To address this tendency, the FEC (Flight and Engine Control) utilises a multi-channel fly-by-light flight control system. This system accepts flight-control inputs from the pilot, and feeds it into the FEC, which then adjusts the aerodynamic control surfaces (and possibly the thrust vectoring settings) to produce the inputted course and attitude changes. The result is an ultra responsive airframe.
A BALCOTH-type data-interface provides the pilot with high proportions of essential information without forcing him to look within the cockpit. The BALCOTH-type interface permits extremely high off-boresight weapon cueing, and as relevant flight information is projected onto the helmet screen, rather than the fixed cockpit HUD, the glass cockpit’s three full Colour Multi-function Head Down Displays (CMFHDDs) are used in far more specific roles than generally the norm. Although interchangeable, by default the left hand CMFHDD is the primary flight display (PFD), which shows radar and moving-map related information. The full tactical situation can be (and often is) displayed on this moving map, with the relevant information fed into it by the operating battlespace management system. The right hand CMFHDD is the aircraft systems display monitor, which presents information pertaining to flight systems, such as the engine, slat and flap settings, canard and tail pitch, rudder angle, weapons status and fuel quantities.
All displays are compatible with the night-vision displayed by the helmet through BALCOTH, with some early developmental mishaps pushing home this requirement. An ejection seat is slotted at the standard angle and can be used in three manners: Normal electronic, manual, or emergency electronic. High-g version of Arachne IVA is the standard Marshite pilot uniform and the seat contains an LY48M, a few days worth of rations, currency, radio system, multi-tool, water tablets, and a guidebook to various foreign languages. The helmet works outside of the airframe and can help in locating the downed pilot by search and rescue forces. The aircraft is flown by means of left-hand throttle and right-hand stick, a deviation from the standard left-and-centre layout of most aircraft that is brought about, again, from the high-g loading that the aircraft is designed to take. The right-hand mounted control stick has a certain degree of movement, despite the fact that it is actually just the pressure which transmits electrical signals to the fly-by-wire and fly-by-light systems of the aircraft. Most of the important control elements for the aircraft have been moved to the throttle and control stick, providing a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) interface for enhanced pilot control during high-g operations.
The Pegasus' electrics, more specifically the processors, are composed of Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs), rather than silicon-based semiconductors, rendering the vehicle proof against electromagnetic interference or EMP-based attack, although the InGaAs is itself yet another highly expensive addition. Given the ever increasing utilisation of sophisticated electronic and sensory systems, shielding these systems is, now more than ever, deemed a centre of gravity for the platform's protective systems.
Armament
The Pegasus has a wide array of possible armaments, and it is the armaments that give it the capability to undertake any mission. The Pegasus features two Wingtip pylons rated at 250 kg each, six underwing pylons at 300kg, and two under fuselage hard points at 2,000 kg.
The Pegasus can use any weapon system that can fit under the weight profile of the pylons. The following is just the common Marshite setup.
The 20mm LMAG 140 20mm compact cannon is a rapid firing, chin mounted gatling cannon that fires depleted uranium shells. Smaller and less weighty than 25mm and 30mm systems normally used, the high speed of its swiftly firing chemical reation and the depleted uranium rounds give it a great deal of power. Primarily suited for anti-air combat.
The primary air to air missile of the Pegasus is the AIM-220 Velvet Glove, the best air to air missile on the market today. The AIM-220 is designed around a special guidance and motor combination for maximum performance. The guidance package includes advanced lithium-ion batteries integrated to maintain high performance over greater distances. The missile contains a 2-3 stage guidance system, with backups, to ensure a high kill probability on latest generation low-RCS fighters. Upon lock guidance data is transferred to the missile via the hard connections in the mounting. When launched the missile uses this data, including pre-calculated probability data of enemy maneuvers to travel up to 65% of the range to the target, receiving mid-course data link updates from friendly aircraft, ground units or other missiles. At this stage the AIM-220 will undertake semi-active radar homing, searching first for reflected waves from friendly radar off the target, then for the enemy radar itself. After closing further, or if unsuccessful in mid-course up links and passive radar searching, the AIM-220 will begin to search for enemy jamming sources along its intended cone of attack. Once the range to a target has closed sufficiently the AIM-220 will confirm the target with its data banks using the on board electro-optical sensor and complete the engagement using whichever of its three available attack profiles the computer decides is best. This entire process takes only a very short time, with each individual section taking fractions of a second through the solid-state processing computer. The launching aircraft will pre-designate the seeker sequence at launch, however, allowing an abbreviated profile if necessary, or different sequence order depending on target.
The dual-mode warhead is designed to allow three attack profiles upon an enemy plane depending on the aircraft, flight profile, and weapon needs. The warhead itself is a solid explosive bound in a continuous rod with a diameter of five meters fully expanded. The cylinder contains, at the forward end, a checkered-hemispherical plate which, when the explosive detonates, forms a directed fragmentation explosively formed penetrator which directs out forward of the missile. This two-in-one warhead, containing 14kg of explosive, allows the AIM-220 to choose a direct attack or to pull along side the aircraft for use of the CRW aspect. Third, the AIM-220 can physically ram the target aircraft to attack it, but this is hardly ever used.
Individual Seeker performance of the L1120 PESA radar or KJT "Lightning" electro-optical sensor is exceptional, with virtually all the missile targeting after launch done with these systems. The L1120 radar is capable of acting in either passive or active mode, and includes home-on-jam capability and advanced decoy-discerning software. The "Lightning" E/O system is similarly designed to be highly resistant to decoys, although design ranges are only 10-20km worth of use for terminal guidance and target confirmation. The use of a two-way data link enhances combat capability, allowing guidance or target updates to be taken from friendly aircraft, or for up to six missiles in a group to work together against up to six different targets. The AIM-220 can, if working in a group, switch targets with other missiles for optimal engagement performance of necessary.
Designation: AIM-220 "Velvet Glove"
Function: Medium Range air-to-air
Power Plant: Vectored variable flow ducted rocket
Speed: Mach 4-6
Range: < 240km
Length: 400cm
Diameter: 18cm/24cm
Finspan: 46cm
Warhead: 18kg CR-Frag
Launch Weight: 195kg
Guidance System: Active Radar/Passive Radiation homing/INS/EO
Another common missile used is the Mercury. The missile is broadly similar to the Russian “Germes” series of long-range ATGMs, however it is equipped with a tandem HEAP warhead rather than a pure HE-F warhead. The primary difference is a longer booster stage, which is 50 cm longer than that of the Germes, allowing the rocket to be conformal with the 220mm launch tube of the Manticore and other MLRS launchers, while receiving a slight range boost.
The Mercury comes stock from the factory with a GPS/CANASS guidance, as well as Millimeter-Wave RADAR fire-and-forget guidance system, which can be partly programmed from the launch unit before launch. The missile body is partly pre-fragmented in the front, allowing it to function as shrapnel. This allows the Mercury to engage fortifications, light maritime vessels, light vehicles, medium and heavy battle tanks, artillery batteries, and even (though this is naturally suboptimal) infantry and the open. Low-flying aircraft can also be attacked with Mercury.
The Mercury is sold with a multi-mode laser, millimeter-wave RADAR, GPS-coupled-IMU, and passive IR seeker as we all as datalink-based guidance system.
As a result, the ‘Mercury’ is capable of engaging, at long range, tanks, IFVs, fortifications, low-flying aircraft, infantry in the open, and light maritime vessels.
The Mercury is shipped in a standardized launch and storage container, to be mounted on the user's choice of aerial, ground, and naval platforms. The Aerial, Naval, and Ground variants (Mercury-A, Mercury-N, and Mercury-G) are broadly similar. Specify your choice of Mercury subtype on ordering.
Specifications:
Penetration: (Optimal conditions) 1170mm RHAe after ERA
Length: 4m
Wingspan: 240mm extended, 220mm folded
Width (booster stage) 210 mm
Width (attack stage) 130mm
Range: 120km
Weight: 157 kg
Max speed: 1000 meters/second
Average speed: 500 meters/second
Price: $50,000
DPR: $150 bn
Beyond that, another common missile is the Hellion II missile from Lyran Arms. The main difference between the Hellion II normally used and the Hellion II fired by the MAF-50 is the slightly smaller weight and size, and the loss of some range as a result. Considering the speed of platform, the loss of some range was considered a fine deal. When armed with multiple Hellions, the MAF-50 is the ultimate strike aircraft.
Diameter: 53cm
Length: Without booster: 5 m
With booster: 5.8 m
Powerplants:
Primary: AB113 turbofan
Secondary: AB114 air breathing ramjet
Fuel: EER-10
Launch mass: 1400kg
Wingspan: 2.3m
Warhead: Variable- 28 submunitions
Guidance: GPS, INS, Cromwell 2 (if available), DSMAC, ARH, IR, TERCOM, IMU
Fuses: Variable, depending on warhead.
Speed:
Cruise: 840kph
Terminal: Mach 4
Range: 2100km
Active ECM: ZLQ-88 shortwave EW module
Amenities
Crew sit semi-reclined, which serves to minimise g-force effects in-flight, which can be quite severe, due to the aircraft’s exceptional agility. Water is available for consumption, in flight, and relief bags allow pilots to vent their bladders, if required, without risking any of the sensitive equipment in the cockpit. The various control interfaces allow access and adjustment without removing hands from the left-hand throttle or right-mounted control stick. The ejection seat also contains rations. SACHERI connectivity allows limited use of the internet when outside of any appreciable combat or information control zone.
Performance Trial Results
The MAF-50 Pegasus prototypes were completed on time and on budget for a series of trials against the LY909 and other designs from across the world. In a series of competitions and tests, the MAF-50 displayed its superiority. It was shockingly agile and had a stunning speed, yet was able to withstand more damage than other fighters being tested. Unmatched maneuverability for a light multi-role aircraft and its advanced avionics and weaponry gave it the ability to engage and defeat its competitors. Notably, it achieved a kill to death ration of 9:1 against the LY909. This was in no way indicative of the quality of the LY909, but rather to its age and the development of technology since then. Until it ran up against dedicated air superiority fighters of an advanced generation the Pegasus was able to dominate the skies. It was decided that as a fighter, it was immensely powerful.
The ground attack role was considered at this point. Here, it performed better than most due to its ability to arrive on target faster and its higher payloads. Notably, the ability to carry more Hellions than its competitors gave it the ability to touch more. Simulations showed that arned with Hellfires or Mercury multipurpose missiles, the Pegasus provided time to target and time to target destruction far superior to other competitors. It was rated as a superior ground attack platform, with the overall quality of support between this and the LY911 not considered so great as to demand a large-scale deployment of LY911s in Marshite service.
It was rated as a better interceptor than its competitors, reaching the target not too much slower than the LY908 and being able to handle adverse weather effectively. Thanks to its SACHERI Battlespace System it rated off the charts in networked capability and manipulation, with unprecedented marks for intelligence gathering and electronic warfare systems in a multi-role aircraft not otherwise designed for it. Pilot survivability thanks to BALCOTH and SACHERI was rated very highly, even if shot down behind enemy lines. It is capable of flying off of improved runways or aircraft carriers, making it useful across all branches,
The final review noted that the MAF-50 was at the top, or was a close second in terms of the interceptor role, in every area deemed important to the multi-role aircraft's future. No other aircraft came close to the well-rounded nature of the MAF-50. It was decided to adopt the Pegasus as the standard lightweight multi-role aircraft of the Theocracy. Production runs began immediately.
Export
The MAF-50 is a powerful and lightweight combat airframe, used for just about any role that a nation desires. It comes in two variants: The MAF-50 Pegasus and the MAF-50T Pegasus. The MAF-50T is a trainer version of the main airframe and lacks some of the weaponry options, and is a tandem seat aircraft for an instructor. It is built thinner as well, lowering weight and cost. All versions exported come without SACHERI- the Pegasus can be outfitted with a wide variety of sensory equipment to make up for this, and this is reflected in the cost. Union states get the standard MAF-50 Pegasus with SACHERI.
MAF-50 Pegasus Multirole Aircraft, $66.5 million.
MAF-50T Pegasus Multirole Trainer Aircraft, $55 million.
DPRs are available at $670 billion standard NS dollars, the equivalent of 10,000 MAF-50 aircraft.
Sales are made through Covenant Arms.
Edit- 9/30: Editing throughout to fix spelling errors. Thank you to those who have been taking a look and helping me edit!
