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2015-11-01

TRAINERS VITAL FOR MILITARY AVIATION

Trainer aircraft designed to facilitate in-flight training of pilots, aircrews

To be able to overcome the challenges of a more fluid, modern warfare, a successful military force requires effective and high quality training for its air force. Even though we are in an era of global spending cuts and consolidation, air force pilots must still be at the top of their game.

Air force pilots must be flexible and be able to keep pace with changes in warfare tactics. As a result, military simulation and virtual training systems have become an extremely important factor for the training of a modern and advanced military force, with military flight training moving towards a balanced mix of live training and simulator training, allowing for timely and accurate response times.

Military aviation requires the best in training. Lack of rigid training not just causes monetary loss but also lives. With air force budgets getting tighter, the trainer aircraft provides a low-cost but highly effective training platform for pilots destined to fly jet fighters, without actually requiring them to fly jets until much later in the program.

A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their real-time piloting, navigation and/or war fighting skills without the danger of overextending their abilities alone in a fully featured aircraft.

Given the expense of military pilot training, air forces typically conduct training in phases to weed out unsuitable candidates. In times of war the chances of victory increase with the quality of a pilot’s training.

Different types of training aircraft are currently used by various countries around the world. Let’s have a look at few of them.

KT-1 Woongbi Korean Basic Trainer

Since the beginning of the KT-1 development program in 1988, KT-1 was developed by the cooperation between KAI and ADD utilizing Korea’s own technology. In 1998, KAI received the production certification for KT-1 from the Ministry of Defense as the basic trainer for the ROKAF.

The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) unveiled the KT-1 basic trainer, code-named “Woongbee”, at its manufacturing facility in November 2000. KAI delivered the first KT-1 in 2000 and since 2001, the student pilots have graduated from the basic trainer course with KT-1. The KT-1 basic trainers come with turbo-prop engines boasting 950- horsepower that generate a maximum speed of up to 648 kilometres per hour and can cover a distance of 1,700 kilometers without refueling.

M-346 Master Advanced Jet Trainer / Light Strike

The Alenia Aermacchi M-346 is an advanced trainer aircraft available on the market today and is specifically designed to prepare pilots for high performance new generation aircraft. The M-346 entered service in 2013 with both the Italian Air Force and Republic of Singapore Air Force. It has been ordered by Israel and Poland, under a contract signed in February 2014. A team comprising General Dynamics and Alenia Aermacchi will offer the T-100 variant for the United States Air Force T-X requirement.

Every aspect of the M-346 design is technically innovative. Coupled with the unparalleled Alenia Aermacchi experience in training systems, this translates into a leading edge aircraft with exuberant performance and state of the art equipment. The vast flight envelope, high thrust/weight ratio and extreme manoeuvrability allow the M-346 to offer handling similar to those of next generation combat aircraft, including Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35.

This maximizes training effectiveness and reduces the need to fly sorties on the far more expensive two-seat variants of frontline types.

The Embedded Tactical Training Simulation (ETTS) allows the M-346 to emulate sensors, countermeasures and armament, as well as to interact in real time with a virtual tactical scenario, further enhancing flexibility and cost reduction.

Yak-130 Advanced Trainer / Light Strike

The Yak-130 aircraft is a swept mid-wing monoplane of a classical configuration with two-seat tandem cockpit and two turbofan engines with 2500 kg thrust each.

Each cockpit of the aircraft is equipped with three multifunctional colored 6x8 inches LCD displays without electromechanical instruments, as well as collimator aviation indicator and helmet-mounted target designation system in forward cabin.

The aircraft aerodynamic configuration and flight and power plant controls performance make it possible to operate the aircraft essentially at all flight conditions, typical of modern and advanced combat aircraft. The aircraft leading edge extensions and air intakes layout enable a steady controllable flight at angles of attack up to 40 deg.

High thrust/weight ratio provides high sustained maneuvering load factors, takeoff performance and rate of climb.

The air intakes and landing gear design with high take-off/landing performance make it possible to operate the aircraft from unpaved runways small unprepared airfields.

The aircraft is equipped with complex fly-by-wire control system that functions as automatic flight control system, active flight safety system and provides in training stability and controllability characteristics change depending on the aircraft being simulated.

Simplicity of the structure, high reliability of the airframe, power plant and aircraft systems, long service life and full self-sufficiency of the aircraft as well as high maintainability together with a low cost of the life cycle and high flight performance provide high-quality training of the pilots in the shortest possible time and meet efficiently different military challenge.

KAI / Lockheed Martin T-50 Golden Eagle

Korea Aerospace Industries, or KAI, is the prime contractor for the T-50 with Lockheed Martin the principal subcontractor. According to KAI, the T-50’s core strength lies in its performance as a proven multi-purpose airplane, matured over the years by Korean Airforce operations having clocked over 46,000 flight hours.

From experience, the Korean Airforce claims the T-50 has reduced training time and costs by 25 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, as well as improving pilot skills by 40 per cent.

The T-50 can be used in both advanced jet training and lead-in fighter training stage. The T-50 has been further developed into aerobatic and combat variants, namely T-50B, TA-50, and FA-50. The F-50 is another advanced fighter variant being considered. The T-50B serves with the South Korean air force’s aerobatics team. By using one multi-purpose training craft to impart the necessary skills and knowledge to train pilots, training time between stages can be reduced considerably.

The T-50 tasted its first success on 25 May, 2011 when the Indonesian Air Force ordered 16 T-50I aircraft in a US$400 million deal to replace its BAE Hawk 53 aircraft. The Philippines ordered 12 units of the FA-50 variant. The T-50 is also being marketed as a candidate for the United States Air Force’s next-generation T-X trainer programme

L-39NG Multi-Role Jet Trainer

The new L-39NG aircraft builds on the tradition of successful L-39 aircraft, produced by Aero Vodochody since the 1960s. Aero Vodochody delivered more than 3000 L-39s and four hundred are still in operation. The L-39 is renowned for its exceptional operating characteristics, namely its excellent manoeuvrability, ease of maintenance, robust design proven in more than 5,000,000 flight hours, great adaptability to extreme climatic conditions and last but not least, low operating costs.

The new generation aircraft, named L-39NG, builds upon these cornerstones of success and adds many modern and advanced features that are required in training aircraft for the 21st century. The key new feature is the light and fuel efficient Williams International FJ44-4M engine, which delivers improved performance in speed, range and endurance. In the cockpit, advanced modular “glass” avionics and communication systems along with embedded virtual training systems bring new capabilities in cost effective training for pilots of this and the next generation of military aircraft.

Embraer Super Tucano / A-29

The Super Tucano incorporates features such as an environmental control system designed to maximize crew comfort and an On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS). Should the need arise, the Super Tucano is equipped with Martin-Baker MK-10lCX Ejection Seats incorporating a three-mode ejection sequential device.

A 1,600 SHP Pratt & Whitney PT6A-68/3 turboprop engine that incorporates FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) and EICAS (Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System) powers the aircraft.

Keeping in mind that the Super Tucano’s role will not be limited to training alone, Embraer has equipped the A-29 (the Super Tucano version for the Brazilian Air Force, with 99 orders) with systems designed not only to comply with basic requirements, but also to keep pace with the continual changes taking place in the aircraft’s potential operating theaters.

At the heart of the A-29’s mission system are its two latest-generation MDPs (Mission & Display Processors), which receive and process data from sensors, navigation and attack variables and manage a multitude of other tasks such as HOTAS (Hands-On Throttle and Stick) operations, in addition to symbology generation and presentation for HUD and CMFDs.

Crew survivability is ensured through armor protection and state-of-the-art provisions such as MAWS (Missile Approach Warning System) and RWR (Radar Warning Receiver) in addition to chaff and flare dispensers. The communication and navigation system is similar to that of training applications, but features such as PR (Positioning Reporting) and ALE (Automatic Link Establishment) allow automatic transmission of aircraft position and flight data to ground bases. The aircraft is also equipped with an EGIR (Embedded GPS/INS & Radar Altimeter). A two-axes military automatic pilot helps reduce pilot workload on long-endurance missions.

L-15 Falcon Advanced Trainer / Light Attack Aircraft

Hongdu L-15 is a twin engine, modern jet trainer or light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Hongdu Aviation Industry Group (HAIG) of China. It has been built as a rival to Guizhou JL-9/FTC-2000 Mountain Eagle.

The aircraft has been designed to train pilots of the third-generation fighters encompassing Su-27, Su-30, J-10, and J-11. The enhanced design provides safety to the pilot while cutting down the training cost compared to its rivals.

The development of Hongdu L-15 began when Hongdu planned a modern trainer aircraft which would meet the requirements of PLAAF’s new generation fighters. Russian based Yakovlev Design Bureau aided in the L-15 manufacturing as its design resembles that of the Yak-130 aircraft.

The Hongdu L-15 features a full glass cockpit which can accommodate two crew members, either a student pilot and instructor, or an official pilot and weapons systems officer. A multi-colour head down display is fitted on both front and rear cockpit, while the head up display is installed at the cockpit front. Digital fly by wire (FBW), and hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) flight control systems are also installed in the aircraft.

The Hongdu L-15 comprises six hard points of which four are located under the two wings and two under the wing-tips. It can accommodate 3,000kg of payload. The aircraft can carry short range air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, bombs and rocket pods.

Trainer or Light Attack Aircraft?

As the capabilities of front line aircraft have increased this has been reflected in increasingly sophisticated advanced trainers. As the costs of developing new aircraft have risen in real terms, it has become more likely that fewer aircraft will be designed specifically for the training role. The advanced trainer was often seen as a stepping stone by most nations in developing a fast jet design and manufacturing capability. There is no wonder most of the advanced lead in fighter training aircraft like T-50, M 346 Master, Hawk AJT and Super Tucano have evolved to be utilized as light attack aircraft too.

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