EF-111F "Mormyridae" (or the story of french Spark-Varks)

[Slerski]

Ok. I'm in.

I'll use an "old" Italeri kit, that I've began to built one year ago. I'll add some weps (I think to turn her into a Belette Sauvage plane ) then... french roundels .

More development will come later (for the moment it's the sausage and beer time).

[GTX]

 

Regards,

Comrade Gregorski (Commissar of all F-111 GB things)

[Slerski]

I have a little problem... I don't know what kind of weps I can mount on my Spark-vark. As I want to turn her into a SEAD/EW plane, HARMs seems to be the best, but I don't want to put US weps on a French bird (US-designed and built but... )

[Cliffy B]

Check out a missile called the "ALARM".  The Brits have them for their Tornadoes and is their version of the US HARM.  I'm not sure if the rest of the EU uses it or not though.

[GTX]

No one else uses ALARM (though that doesn't mean they can't).

For the French, you might wish to check out the Martel:



Regards,

Comrade Gregorski (Commissar of all F-111 GB things)

[Weaver]

Standard French ARM is ARMAT, which is an AS.37 Martel airframe with much improved electronics. AS.37 is the "pointy" version seen under that Jag in GTX's pic.

[Shasper]

There's always the AGM-45 Shrike, while being the first ARM missile fielded in the US it did stay in service for the better part of two decades . . . Long enough for it to be included in a FMS package along with the Spark Varks

Or, you could make a ARM version of the Super-530

[Slerski]

Thanks for all your ideas. I'm close from poth of them because I've created an ARM missile, consisting of R530 body assembled with Durandal (a big missile, same size than HARM) with an ARMAT look. Must find a name now xD

[Slerski]

Picture was taken last week, but I've only find the time to post it.



Plane is finished (just need to glue Magic 2...) but backstory is stopped, just need some ideas.

[GTX]

but backstory is stopped, just need some ideas

Normally, I would offer to assist, but given I am the Moderator, for the sake of objectivity I will have to decline this time comrade.


Regards,

Comrade Gregorski (Commissar of all F-111 GB things)

[Slerski]

Comrade,

Maybe I could offer to you some Imperialist products, directly buy in the West  .

However, I think it will be good (maybe it's the famous "Beer" effect). Find some idea tonight (and Dassault don't win the contract for EW plane of AdlA).

[Slerski]

A last WIP picture. The plane is complete, backstory written but under translation (Yes I wrote it in French  ). Maybe final post tomorrow or on sunday.

[buzzbomb]

nice looking machine

[Slerski]

EF-111F « Eclair »

The story of French Spark-Vark is complicated. It is in 1985 that French Air Force, worried about the lack of planes conceived for the electronic war, bends over this need for which number of air forces tries to fill. French Air Force thus emits a specification form under the name of SACCAGE (Système Aéroporté Complet de Combat, d'Assaut et de Guerre Electronique).

SACCAGE concerned a two-seater aircraft, capable of reaching Mach 1,5 in cruise, with a 2000 km range. This plane should embark all the jamming electronics, as well as a terrain-following radar in a fuselage so small as possible. This plane was to be capable of achieving all the electronic war missions, since the jamming of signals up to the opening for the nuclear missions, by way of SEAD missions.

Dassault Aviation, contacted by the government, proposes the development of a specialized variant from the new Mirage 2000. This variant, derived of the Mirage 2000B, is baptized Mirage 2000GE (for Guerre Electronique). Regrettably, this variant does not seem to be able to reach the specified performances and especially is not convenient for the Air Force. More the development looks long, Dassault concentrating at the moment on the Mirage 2000C and 2000B deliveries to the Air Force.

Feeling the French solution compromised (but not given up for the moment), the French Air Force tries then to evaluate various planes, and thus looks at the United States. Lots of planes are tested, from modified F-4 Wild Weasel to the quite new EF-111A Raven. At the conclusion of numerous tests in operational conditions, led on Edwards AFB, the Air Force gives her preference for the  General Dynamics aircraft. Indeed this one turns out more affordable than his possible French competitor and especially sharply more successful.

Into the big disarray of Dassault, the government seems to follow (for once) the request of the Air Force, which prefers to acquire an already existing, studied and operational plane (F-111 is in service since 1967 in the US Air Forces) rather than to risk the bet of long development of a new plane. So General Dynamics is approached for a firm order of 30 EF-111F (for France) for a 1,2 billion dollar total amount.

This EF-111F will take back the EF-111A's general look, then in service in the US Air Force. The structure is identical to the american Raven but incorporates certain number of differences. The avionics is studied and conceived in France, mainly by Dassault Électronique, but also by Thomson-CSF (board radar) or Sagem (main calculators). The wings are directly adapted from F-111, with two points of emport per wing. The SEAD capacity must be done with the AARNG (Armement Anti-Radar Nouvelle Génération) missile, then under development at Matra. However, this missile is temporarily supplanted by ARMAT missiles, available in large number. TF-30 jet engines are replaced by F110, more compact.

The first deliveries take place in June 1990. On May 31st, the EC 3/13 Auvergne is dissolved on the Colmar-Meyenheim air base, abandoning his ageing Mirage 5F. He is recreated on June 1st under the name of EGE (Escadron de Guerre Electronique) 2/9 Auvergne. Auvergne receives his first planes, nicknamed "Eclair", on June 4th and after a fast increase in importance, is declared operational with 9 planes on  July 14th, 1990.

The appearance of these planes in the French Air Force inventory increases the fighting capacities of the FATac. The electronic war mission bases now on a specific aircraft, which allows to unload certain squadrons of this mission (as 3/3 Ardennes). The trainings quickly show the capacities of the plane.

In December 2nd, 1990, FATac starts the exercise "Harpie". A formation of three planes (one EF-111F and two Mirage 2000C) must be deployed on the BA 188 of Djibouti. Captain Rouault, piloting the EF-111F n°8, and lieutenant Bonnefoi, his WSO, realize a raid which will drive the plane from Colmar to Djibouti, in the course of which they will have detected, blurred or deceived the possible radars, but also proceeded to an ARMAT firingon a training target.

Their first operational deployment arrives on February 23rd, 1991, during the operation "Desert Storm". Four planes are deployed since Djibouti, and make operational missions over the Iraqi territory, destroying 5 SAM sites and buying itself even the luxury to shoot down an Iraqi Mirage F1 by their own jamming power. They will realize 259 missions for 9 fired ARMAT missiles. Interesting thing, the conflict will show the capacity of the EF-111F in the tactical recognition...

The Iraqi crisis resolved, the EF-111F is going to find a new playground: the Balkans. The operations are going to succeed first of all with "Deny Flight", where the EF-111F was used for ELINT operations then with the operation "Deliberate Force" where they drove numerous offensive operations, from raids escorts to the attack of SAM sites with the AARNG missile. They lost one plane, destroyed on landing having been struck by a SA-7. In spite of this incident, they achieved 350 missions, among which 89 during the only operation "Deliberate Force".
« Eclairs » returned to France in January, 1996. In spite of more than interesting results in operation, the creation of the second squadron is abandoned in March, 1996. EGE 2/9 Auvergne receives nevertheless 8 additional planes and a new flight, which increases its on-line staff to 37 planes.

At the beginning of 1997, the first planes go out of periodic visit with a new electronic suite, including a new threat detector and an improved terrain-following radar. But especially their recce capacity is improved with the addition of specific equipments, as the container photo CT 96 or the nacelle "Harfang". Eclairs' long range, as well as their high operational ceiling transformed them into excellent recce platform.

The last deployment of the EF-111F began in 2003, on the Afghan front. Their recce capacity was exploited at most. Their electronic war system, coupled with their terrain-following radar, allowed them to lead some counter-insurrection missions, following the Talibans' movements. Three devices were sent again in 2005 and 2006 then a last detachment came in 2008. Note that during this last deployment, an Eclair was damaged by two SA-7 during a takeoff. The EF-111F left definitively Afghanistan in January, 2009.

Regrettably, this deployment will have been the last one for the Eclairs' fleet. On July 3rd, 2009, the EGE 2/9 Auvergne is dissolved, during a ceremony on the Colmar-Meyenheim air base. The MoD restructurations and the aircraft fleet reduction, accompanied with the sRafale operationnal deployment, touches quite hard the ageing fleet of EF-111F. On August 14th, 2009, the last three devices take off for the Châteaudun air base to be stored.

[ChernayaAkula]

What a looker!