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58-594: As an improvement to the F11F-1 (F-11A) fighter, Grumman proposed a more advanced version of the airframe known as the F11F-1F Super Tiger. This was the result of a 1955 study to fit the new General Electric J79 engine into the F11F airframe. The Navy was sufficiently interested to authorize modification of two production F11F-1s with enlarged air intakes and YJ79-GE-3 turbojets , with the result being designated

116-606: A ground-attack aircraft . Thus, in the mid-1960s, at the request of Israel, Dassault Aviation began developing the Mirage 5 , a fair-weather, ground-attack version of the Mirage III . Following the suggestions made by the Israelis, advanced avionics located behind the cockpit were removed, allowing the aircraft to increase its fuel-carrying capacity while reducing maintenance costs. By 1968, Dassault had finished production of

174-423: A Helmet Mounted Display System, and armed with Python 3 and Python 4 IR-homing AAMs. By 2005, Ecuador had lost four Kfirs, including one TC.2, due to accidents since the aircraft entered service in 1982. The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) acquired six Kfir C.2s and a single TC.2 in 1995–1996. A further nine aircraft had been added to the inventory by 2005, including four C.2s and four C.7s acquired in 2000. Currently

232-497: A Kfir C.2 shot down a Peruvian Air Force Cessna A-37B with a Shafrir 2 IR-homing AAM. In 1996, with tensions still running high between Ecuador and Peru, the Ecuadorians acquired four additional Kfirs (three C.2 and one TC.2) after securing approval from the U.S. State Department . In 1998, with its aging squadron of SEPECAT Jaguar fighter-bombers about to be withdrawn from active duty, Ecuador began talks with Israel for

290-487: A Kfir crashed near the city of Cartagena . The Israeli pilots operating the plane were unharmed in the incident, but the jet was destroyed. Israel Aerospace Industries said in a statement that the plane was flying a refresher flight, and that the aircraft didn't come to a stop on the landing strip, landing outside it. The director of the Israel Aerospace Industries announced that an investigation into

348-789: A civilian defense contractor that provides tactical adversary aircraft services to the US military. ATAC provides airborne tactical training, threat simulation, and research & development. ATAC's corporate headquarters and primary operating location is at Patrick Henry International Airport in Newport News, VA, with additional permanent operating locations at US Naval Air Stations and Marine Corps Air Stations in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Japan. ATAC also operates Hawker Hunter F.58s. On March 6, 2012, an ATAC Kfir, FAA registration N404AX, crashed while landing at NAS Fallon , Nevada after

406-413: A compressor with a wide speed-range of operation". An experimental 12-stage compressor was built with the inlet guide vanes and first four rows of stator blades adjustable to lower the air incidence angles while running at low speed. It was very effective in overcoming the stall and surge. However, a simpler mechanical-design solution (variable inlet guide vanes and bleed) had already been shown to work with

464-713: A deal with the Israeli government for an additional 24 ex-IAF Kfir aircraft. It was estimated that these aircraft will most probably be upgraded by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to C.10 standard. In June 2009, IAI delivered the first batch of upgraded Kfirs to the Colombian Air Force in a ceremony held at IAI's facilities in Israel. In attendance at the ceremony was Juan Hurtado Cano, the Colombian Ambassador to Israel , high-ranking officers from

522-636: A disadvantage in combat aircraft making them vulnerable to visual detection. Later models were redesigned to be "smokeless". The turboshaft counterpart to the J79 is the General Electric LM1500, used for land and marine applications. Many J79 derived engines have found uses as gas turbine power generators in remote locations, in applications such as powering pipelines. The J79 has two commercial derivatives: CJ805 -3 (a non-afterburning engine, fitted with thrust reverser and sound suppressor), and

580-791: A flight supporting the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center . The pilot, a retired USN officer, was fatally injured. In the early 1990s, IAI was looking to export 40 Kfir-C fighters to the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) in a deal estimated to have been worth US$ 400 million to $ 1 billion; however, the deal ultimately fell through. During 2013, the Argentine Air Force commenced negotiations with Israel for 18 Kfir Block 60 fighters as an alternative to another deal for 16 ex-Spanish Mirage F1 fighters. During mid-2014, industry sources claim IAI will "soon" receive an order from

638-578: A new supersonic bomber, which became the Convair B-58 Hustler . The two other engines offered by GE, an advanced version of the existing J73 and a much larger design, known as the J77, were both cancelled. The first prototype of the production version, XJ-79, ran on 8 June 1954. The first flight of the engine was on 20 May 1955 with the engine installed in a General Electric J47 -powered North American B-45C Tornado ( serial 48-009 ) . In flight

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696-544: A number of the original Mirage IIICs, re-engined with the J79 and given the name Barak ("Lightning"), took part in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, but some sources point out that there is no evidence that these aircraft ever existed. The Kfir entered service with the IAF in 1975, the first units being assigned to the 101st "First Fighter" Squadron . Over the following years, several other squadrons were also equipped with

754-465: A three-tone blue-gray "ghost" scheme, were operated by Fighter Squadron 43 (VF-43) , based at NAS Oceana , Virginia. In 1988, they were returned and replaced by the F-16N . The 13 aircraft leased to the U.S. Marine Corps were operated by Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 ( VMFT-401 ), a 4th Marine Aircraft Wing / Marine Corps Reserve squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma , Arizona. In addition to

812-524: A world altitude record of 76,939 feet (23,451 m). Grumman marketed the F11F to many potential foreign customers, during the late 1950s and early 1960s. For varying reasons, this campaign was unsuccessful, including the fact that the Super Tiger had not been accepted by the US government for any of the US services. In a tender to equip the Swiss Air Force , the Super Tiger competed with

870-614: Is an axial-flow turbojet engine built for use in a variety of fighter and bomber aircraft and a supersonic cruise missile . The J79 was produced by General Electric Aircraft Engines in the United States, and under license by several other companies worldwide. Among its major uses was the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter , Convair B-58 Hustler , McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , North American A-5 Vigilante and IAI Kfir . A commercial version, designated

928-771: Is an Israeli all-weather multirole combat aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5 , with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine. The project that would ultimately give birth to the Kfir can be traced back to Israel's need for adapting the Dassault Mirage III C to the specific requirements of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The all-weather, delta-winged Mirage IIICJ

986-617: Is at a high compressor speed for take-off or cruise. If designed for high efficiency at high speeds it was very inefficient and prone to stall at low speeds. In 1944 the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics had tested a theory for "Extending the useful operating range of axial-flow compressors by use of adjustable stator blades" by running an eight-stage axial compressor with pressure ratio 3.42:1 and adjustable blade angles. Considerable improvement in efficiencies were obtained at compressor speeds appreciably below

1044-637: The CJ805 , powered the Convair 880 , while an aft-turbofan derivative, the CJ805-23, powered the Convair 990 airliners and a single Sud Aviation Caravelle intended to demonstrate to the U.S. market the benefits of a bypass engine over the existing Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet. In 1959 the gas generator of the J79 was developed as a stationary 10MW-class (13,000 bhp) free-turbine turboshaft engine for naval power, power generation, and industrial use, called

1102-752: The CJ805 -23 (with a free-wheeling aft fan and thrust reverser) fitted to the Convair CV-880 and the Convair CV-990 respectively. J79 engines may be started using compressed air directly on the engine turbine blades or by using a turbine starter attached to the accessory gearbox. The gas used in this starter is either compressed air or from a solid propellant cartridge. Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft, J79 - Turbine Engines: A Closer Look Related development Comparable engines Related lists IAI Kfir The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir ( Hebrew : כְּפִיר , "Lion Cub")

1160-657: The F-111 and F-14 , and newer generation turbofans with the Pratt & Whitney F100 used in the F-15 Eagle which give better cruise fuel efficiency by-passing air around the core of the engine. For their part in designing the J79, Gerhard Neumann and Neil Burgess of General Electric Aircraft Engines were jointly awarded the Collier Trophy in 1958, also sharing the honor with Clarence Johnson (Lockheed F-104) and

1218-530: The F4H , F8U-3 , and A3J ). This was a surprise even to Grumman, which had expected a top speed of only Mach 1.4 at altitude. By comparison, the F11F-1 with the Wright J65 had had difficulty exceeding Mach 1.1. However, the U.S. Navy did not order the Super Tiger into production. Although the service ceiling of the aircraft was nominally 59,000 feet (18,000 m), a test flight on 18 April 1958 at Edwards AFB set

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1276-557: The IAI Nesher , which was already in series production. After General De Gaulle embargoed the sale of arms to Israel, the IAF feared that it might lose qualitative superiority over its adversaries in the future, which were receiving increasingly advanced Soviet aircraft. The main and most advanced type of aircraft available to the IAF was the Mirage, but a severe problem developed due to the Mirage fleet's depletion due to attrition after

1334-521: The LM1500 . Its first application was in the research hydrofoil USS  Plainview . By the late 1940s, jet engine design had progressed to the point where further progress was limited by the performance of its compressor, in particular the pressure ratio of the compressor had to be increased to reduce the engine fuel consumption. However, the useful operating range of the compressor was limited at that time and centered around its design condition which

1392-542: The Saab Draken , Lockheed F-104 Starfighter , Dassault Mirage III , and Fiat G.91 . The Mirage was chosen, partly on the grounds that it was cheaper and more secure in terms of replacements and spare parts; however, Swiss assessors reportedly considered that, in terms of overall technical performance, the F11F surpassed the other aircraft considered. The German Air Force , Japan Air Self Defense Force , and Royal Canadian Air Force also showed interest. With an eye to

1450-540: The Six-Day War . Domestic production would circumvent the embargo restrictions completely; efforts to reverse engineer and reproduce components of the Mirage were aided by Israeli espionage efforts to obtain technical assistance and blueprints from third party Mirage operators. Two powerplants were initially selected for trials, the General Electric J79 turbojet and the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan . In

1508-807: The 1980s. The second prototype (BuNo 138647) was retired on 10 January 1961 and used as a ground training aircraft. As of October 2020, it is displayed outdoor at the China Lake Museum in Ridgecrest, CA. The aircraft is on loan from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake , California . Data from Secret Projects: Fighters & Interceptors 1945–1978. General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists General Electric J79 The General Electric J79

1566-516: The 50 Mirage 5Js paid for by Israel, but an arms embargo imposed upon Israel by the French government in 1967 prevented deliveries from taking place. The Israelis replied by producing an unlicensed copy of the Mirage 5, the Nesher , with technical specifications for both the airframe and the engine obtained by Israeli spies. The Kfir programme originated in the quest to develop a more capable version of

1624-498: The Aircraft Gas Turbine Division lead, C.W. 'Jim' LaPierre, formed two teams to do design studies for an engine that could run for extended periods at Mach 2.0 while still giving good fuel economy while cruising at Mach 0.9. Neumann led a team using a variable stator configuration, while Chapman Walker led a parallel effort using two-spools. After a years study the engine with variable stators was chosen as it

1682-586: The Civil War period. None were lost in aerial combat. In March 2011, two Kfirs collided in mid-air during an airshow practice sortie. On June 30, 2021, it was announced that the IAI will upgrade five Sri Lankan Kfirs for a return to service with new systems and sensors under a US$ 50 million contract. Between 1985 and 1989, the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps leased 25 examples of

1740-638: The Colombian Air Force, and executives from the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israeli Ministry of Defense ( IMOD-SIBAT ). This was a part of a multi-year contract awarded in late 2007 and worth over $ 150 million to upgrade the existing Colombian Air Force Kfirs, and to supply additional jets. The additional Kfir jets, models C.10-C.12, have been upgraded and improved to include IAI's latest technologies and products. On July 20, 2009,

1798-683: The EL/M 2052 AESA Radar and incorporated the I-Derby-ER Active Air to Air Missile and the Python-5 Air to Air Infrared Missile As of 2019, 23 Colombian IAI Kfirs remain in service. In 1981, Ecuador and Israel signed a sales agreement for ten refurbished and new ex-IAF Kfir C.2s and two TC.2s, which were delivered to the Ecuadorian Air Force ( FAE ) in 1982–1983. The Kfirs formed the 2113rd Squadron ( Lions ) of

Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-482: The F11F-1F, indicating a production F11F-1 with a special engine fit.R2 The aircraft first flew on 25 May 1956, reaching Mach 1.44 in one of the flights. After the addition of 60° wing root fillets, a 13.5 in (35 cm) fuselage extension, and an uprated J79 engine, the F11F-1F reached an impressive Mach 2.04 in 1957, thus becoming the first naval aircraft in the world to exceed Mach 2 (two years before

1914-584: The FAE's 21st Fighter Wing, based at Taura AFB, on the Ecuadorian western lowlands. The FAE Kfirs went into action during the 1995 Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru . Relying on its fleet of subsonic A-37Bs for low-level ground-attack missions on Peruvian positions, the Ecuadorian Air Force held back its Mirage F.1s and Kfir C.2s for use as escorts and interceptors. On February 10, 1995,

1972-735: The GE J79 made its first flight in September 1970, and was soon followed by a re-engined Nesher, which flew in September 1971. An improved prototype of the aircraft, with the name Ra'am B ("Ra'am" means "Thunder"; the "Ra'am A" was the Nesher ), made its first flight in June 1973. It had an extensively revised cockpit, a strengthened landing gear, and a considerable amount of Israeli-built avionics. The internal fuel tanks were slightly rearranged, their total capacity being increased to 713 US gal (2,700 L). There were unconfirmed reports that

2030-484: The IAF occurred on June 27, 1979, when a Kfir C.2 shot down a Syrian MiG-21 . By the time of the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982 ( Operation Peace for Galilee ) the IAF was able to use both its F-15s and F-16s for air superiority roles, leaving the Kfirs to carry out unescorted strike missions. Shortly afterwards, all IAF C.2s began to be upgraded to the C.7 version, with enhanced weight performance, making

2088-759: The IAI Kfir has been exported to Colombia , Ecuador , and Sri Lanka . As a result of a trade agreement between Colombia and Israel in 1989 the Colombian government bought a batch of 12 ex-IAF Kfir C.2s and one TC.2, which were delivered to the Colombian Air Force ( FAC ) in 1989–1990. Since then, all the C.2s have been upgraded to the C.7 variant. The FAC Kfirs have been widely used in ground-attack missions during counter-insurgency operations against Colombian terrorists. As of 2004 two aircraft had been lost in accidents. In February 2008, Colombia signed

2146-501: The J79 was lowered from the bomb bay into the airstream for testing. The first flight after the 50-hour qualification test, required for a new engine that is the sole source of thrust for a flying testbed, was on 8 December 1955, powering the second pre-production Douglas F4D Skyray , with the J79 in place of its original Westinghouse J40 engine as part of the General Electric development and qualification program. The YF-104

2204-422: The Kfir C.1, which were officially designated F-21A and modified for use as unarmed adversaries : mock opponents in dissimilar air combat training (DACT). These aircraft had narrow-span canard foreplanes and two small rectangular strakes, one on either side of the nose, which considerably improved the aircraft's maneuverability and handling at low speeds. The 12 F-21 aircraft leased to the U.S. Navy, painted in

2262-656: The Kfir more suitable to its new fighter-bomber role. During the second half of the 1990s, the Kfirs were withdrawn from active duty in the IAF, after almost twenty years of continuous service. Israel Aerospace Industries announced in August 2013 it will offer pre-owned Kfir fighter jets to foreign customers, with a 40-year guarantee. Unit price is reported to be $ 20 million. A few Eastern European and Latin American countries have expressed interest, Israel's Globes business daily reported. By October 2013, Israel Aerospace Industries

2320-594: The MiG-23 was being introduced in very large numbers, and was a very capable aircraft compared to earlier Soviet types. These USMC F-21 aircraft were replaced by F-5E aircraft when the F-21s were returned in 1989 (although this left the training units without any aircraft capable of accurately simulating the Mach 2+ and fast-accelerating MiG-23). Six Kfirs are also used by the US firm Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC),

2378-646: The SLAF operates two TC.2s, two C.7s and six C.2s by the No. 10 "Fighter" Squadron . The SLAF used their Kfirs to carry out attacks against LTTE rebels during the Sri Lankan Civil War in Sri Lanka . Two Kfir C.7s were destroyed on the ground in an LTTE attack on SLAF Katunayake air base, part of Bandaranaike International Airport , on 24 July 2001. Three others were lost in non-combat related accidents during

Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-646: The US Air Force (Flight Records). The compressor blades and vanes are made of 403 stainless steel , except for the -3B and -7A variants, which have A286 vanes at stages 7 through 17. The compressor rotor is made of Lapelloy, B5F5 and titanium. The J79 makes a particular howling sound at certain throttle settings. This strange feature led to the NASA operated F-104B Starfighter, N819NA , being named Howling Howland . Early engines also produced noticeable quantities of smoke, especially at mid-throttle/cruise settings,

2494-560: The US, and under license in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, and Japan. A downgraded version of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon with a J79 was proposed as a low-cost fighter for export, and though a prototype aircraft was flown, it found no customers. The J79 was replaced by the late 1960s in new fighter designs by afterburning turbofans such as the Pratt & Whitney TF30 used in

2552-437: The best way of designing the compressor for the high required pressure ratio of 12:1. This pressure ratio was needed to achieve the supersonic performance, subsonic cruise performance and low weight necessary for future supersonic aircraft. In 1951, a General Electric team led by Gerhard Neumann , at that time in charge of engine development testing, was given funding to build a test compressor with variable stators. In addition,

2610-491: The blue-gray painted aircraft, the USMC also had some F-21s painted in Israeli colors and desert "flogger" schemes (named because they were to represent the schemes often worn by Warsaw Pact MiG-23 "Floggers"). The Kfir was utilized because they both shared the common characteristic of being very fast-accelerating, as well as achieving a top speed of above Mach 2. The MiG-23 was targeted as the "enemy" aircraft because at this time

2668-437: The capability to simultaneously track up to 64 targets. The J79 has been overhauled to zero flight hours, and would need replacement after 1,600 hours. Since the J79 turbojet engine is an U.S. design, although manufactured under license in Israel, all export sales of the Kfir are subject to prior approval being granted by the U.S. State Department , a fact that has limited the sale of the Kfir to foreign nations. As of 2006,

2726-520: The design speed. Departures of velocity from the design condition are most noticeable in the first stages at low rpm and become more so as the design pressure ratio is increased leading to blade stall and compressor surging as happened with the Rolls-Royce Avon compressor, with design pressure ratio of 6.3:1 in 1949. In 1947 Geoff Wilde , a Rolls-Royce compressor designer, had applied for a patent "Axial flow compressor regulation" "to provide

2784-533: The end, the J79 was selected, not least because it was the same engine used on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , which the Israelis began to acquire from the United States in 1969, along with a license to produce the J79 themselves. The J79 was clearly superior to the original French Atar 09 , providing a dry thrust of 49 kN (11,000 lbf) and an afterburning thrust of 83.4 kN (18,750 lbf). In order to accommodate

2842-613: The incident had already begun and that a panel to probe the crash had been appointed. On July 22, 2009, IAI informed the Colombian Air Force that the accident was caused by an unspecified human error. As a result, IAI will replace the unit lost with another one and it will resume delivery to the Colombian Air Force. On November 1, 2013, two Colombian Air Force IAI Kfirs intercepted Russian Air Force Tu-160s that had entered Colombian airspace. The Russian aircraft had taken off from Simón Bolívar International Airport Venezuela. On October 10, 2017, Colombian IAI Kfirs were updated with

2900-456: The new aircraft. The role of the Kfir as the IAF's primary air superiority asset was short-lived, as the first F-15 Eagle fighters from the United States were delivered to Israel in 1976. The Kfir's first recorded combat action took place on November 9, 1977, during an Israeli air strike on a training camp at Tel Azia, in Lebanon . The only air victory claimed by a Kfir during its service with

2958-489: The new powerplant on the Mirage III's airframe, and to deliver the added cooling required by the J79, the aircraft's rear fuselage was slightly shortened and widened, its air intakes were enlarged, and a large air inlet was installed at the base of the vertical stabilizer, so as to supply the extra cooling needed for the afterburner. The engine itself was encased in a titanium heatshield. A two-seat Mirage IIIBJ fitted with

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3016-583: The possibility of an order from West Germany in particular, Grumman offered to build a variant with the proven and more powerful 10,500 lbf (47 kN) Rolls-Royce Avon , instead of the J79. However, following selection processes allegedly marred by the Lockheed bribery scandals , all of these potential customers chose the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The first F11F-1F (BuNo 138646) was used for fire-fighting practice and destroyed in

3074-430: The required design pressure ratio so variable stators were not used in a Rolls-Royce engine until the 1980s ( IAE V2500 ). By 1950 General Electric was focussing on supersonic engines with variable stators as a result of design studies which compared them with dual-rotor types. Based on their past experience at that time, and estimation of the development effort required to prove new technologies, variable stators promised

3132-618: The sale of a new batch of eight Kfirs. Fearing an escalation of the arms race in South America (Peru had recently acquired 18 MiG-29s and 18 Su-25s from Belarus ), the United States blocked the deal. As an alternative, Ecuador and Israel signed an agreement in 1999 for the delivery of two Kfir C.10s and for the conversion of an undisclosed number of the FAE's original C.2s to the C.10 version, referred to in Ecuador as Kfir CE , featuring

3190-444: Was in "very advanced negotiations" with at least two air forces interested in the Kfir Block 60. An aircraft can be delivered within one year, with two squadrons to be sold in two to three years. The Block 60 is offered with the Elta EL/M-2032 with open architecture avionics to allow a customer to install other systems. The sensor provides an all-aspect, look-down/shoot-down performance in air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, with

3248-462: Was lighter, simpler and had a smaller diameter. A demonstrator engine with variable stators, the GOL-1590, predecessor to the J79 was built. At the same time a new engine, the X-24A, was designed for a supersonic aircraft and selected by the Air Force. Development of the new engine was supported by running the GOL-1590 demonstrator engine. GE won the Air Force contract for a new engine with approximately 14,000 pounds thrust, with afterburning, to power

3306-439: Was the first Mach 2 aircraft acquired by Israel from then-close ally France, and constituted the backbone of the IAF during most of the 1960s, until the arrival of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and, most importantly, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , by the end of the decade. While the Mirage IIICJ proved to be extremely effective in the air-superiority role, its relatively short range imposed some limitations on its usefulness as

3364-427: Was the next airplane to fly with the J79 followed by a re-engined Grumman F11F Tiger in a Navy-sponsored program to gain experience with the engine before the first flight of the F4H (F-4). The J79 was used on the F-104 Starfighter, B-58 Hustler, F-4 Phantom II, A-5 Vigilante, IAI Kfir aircraft and the SSM-N-9 Regulus II supersonic cruise missile. It was produced for more than 30 years. Over 17,000 J79s were built in

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