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AVIATRIX PROFILES 5 AUGUST 2012 THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE
MAJOR CATHERINE LABUSCHAGNE
MAJOR CATHERINE LABUSCHAGNE is the world’s first and only female pilot on the Gripen frontline fighter aircraft. SOURCE: http://www.af.mil.za
MAJOR CATHERINE LABUSCHAGNE GRIPEN FIRST FOR SA WOMAN FIGHTER PILOT Major Catherine Labuschagne completed her maiden solo flight in the South African Air Force’s Gripen Jas 39C in October, becoming the first woman fighter pilot ever to fly the supersonic aircraft. Labuschagne, who is identified by her call sign of Siren, is now the only female member of the SA Air Force’s (SAAF’s) elite 2 Squadron. The squadron, which flies the single- and dual-seat Gripens, is based at Makhado Air Force Base in Limpopo province. Formerly known as Air Force Base Louis Trichardt and today also called the Fortress of the North, or Castrum borealis, Makhado is the most northerly of South Africa’s bases. Established in the 1940s, 2 Squadron has earned many battle honours, including El Alamein in 1942, South East Europe in 1944 and 1945, and Korea from 1950 to 1953. Lieutenant Colonel Glen Gibson is the unit’s officer commanding (OC). Labuschagne trained on the venerable Impala jet before graduating to the Hawk 120 leadin fighter trainer in preparation for the step up to South Africa’s most formidable aircraft. Pilots are required to accumulate about 430 hours on the Hawk and pass several courses before they can sit behind the controls of a Gripen.
DEDICATED AND METICULOUS She got her wings in 2000 and, a decade later, is one of South Africa’s most highly skilled women pilots. Although she’s never felt that she’s had to work as hard as her male colleagues, the going has been tough, Labuschagne admits. “You need to be dedicated; you need to be meticulous; you need to work hard, be committed to what you do; and definitely must have passion for what you do,” she said in a recent television interview. Labuschagne boasts 1 900 flying hours, of which 1 000 have been on military jets. Back in 2004 she made military history as the first woman to fly in a Gripen, but it was from the back seat of the two-seater 39D. Today she is among the first group of locally trained Gripen pilots to complete their operational conversion course – the initial six received their training in Sweden.
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The other local graduates are Lieutenant Koobendra Chetty (Saffron) and Lieutenant Colonel Gys van der Walt (Samurai). The three will complete their training in 2011 with Major Lance Mathebula (Lancelot), who trained in Sweden. Gripen instruction takes place at 85 Combat Flying School, based at the Centralised Training Centre at Makhado and operating under the motto Detrimento sumus (Destruction is our business). The centre offers a computer-based instruction system and a virtual aircraft training facility, also known as a simulator. According to 2 Squadron’s OC Gibson, the approximate ratio of air and simulator sorties is 50:50.
SAAF SETTING THE EXAMPLE The Gripen is a single-engine fighter built by Swedish manufacturer Saab. Besides the SAAF, which was Gripen’s first export client, the craft are currently in service in the Czech, Hungarian and Swedish Air Forces. The SAAF has placed an order for 17 single-seater 39C craft and nine two-seater 39D craft, and in April 2008 took delivery of its first Gripen. To date, 15 of the nimble fighters have arrived in South African airspace, and the order is expected to conclude in 2012. The Gripens will replace the fleet of Cheetah fighters, some of which have been in service since 1986. The Cheetahs, which are basically refurbished Mirages, have now been retired. Before the Gripens could formally join the SAAF fleet, they had to pass a stringent two-year test programme to adapt the craft to local systems. “South Africa was the first export customer to select Gripen, and its recognition of Gripen’s capabilities and its faith in Saab has inspired other new Gripen customers, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, the UK’s Empire Test Pilot School and, more recently, Thailand,” says Saab president Åke Svensson. Svensson adds that the success of future negotiations with other countries depends to a degree on the performance of the aircraft in South Africa. BAE Systems South Africa CE Mike O’Callaghan says the purchase of the Gripens and Hawks has revived the country’s defence and aerospace industry and enhanced its reputation internationally. The UK-based BAE Systems is that country’s biggest defence contractor, and manufactures the Hawk fighters. With a maximum speed of Mach 2 – twice the speed of sound, or about 2 400km/h – and a highly advanced sensor system, the Gripen is widely regarded as the world’s top mediumweight fighter aircraft. During the recent 2010 Fifa World Cup, Gripens and Hawks were responsible for much of the security in the air. First published by MediaClubSouthAfrica.com SOURCE: http://www.southafrica.info/about/people/catherine-labuschagne.htm
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ABOVE: JAS-39 GRIPEN/SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE GRIPEN FIGHTERS FLYING OVER THE WESTERN CAPE. As part of its 1999 Strategic Defence Procurement, South Africa signed a contract for 26 Gripen state-of-the-art multi-role fighters. These were intended to modernise the South African Air Force’s (SAAF) fast jet fleet and capability and support the transformation within South Africa’s armed forces. Deliveries to South Africa are in full swing, on time and within budget. They will continue through until 2012. All of the Gripens currently on strength in the SAAF are operational and provide the air force with its front-line air defence and fighter capabilities. (PHOTO: SAAB) SOURCE: http://airforcephotos.blogspot.com/2011/05/jas-39-gripen_1082.html
ABOUT THE SAAB JAS 39 GRIPEN The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (English: Griffin) is a lightweight single-engine multirole fighter manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet). The Gripen features delta wings and canards, as well as relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire technology. In 1979, the Swedish government began development studies for an aircraft capable of fighter, attack and reconnaissance missions to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen. A new design from Saab was selected and developed as the JAS 39. Comparatively small relative to similar fighters, the Gripen has eight hardpoints allow it to carry various armaments and equipment, it is also fitted with a single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon. It is powered by the Volvo-Flygmotor RM12 engine, a derivative of General Electric F404, capable of a top speed of Mach 2. Beset by early problems with its avionics during flight testing, during which a prototype was lost, the aircraft entered service in 1997. Saab has since cooperated with other aerospace companies in marketing the aircraft internationally, and has achieved moderate success in Central Europe, South Africa and Southeast Asia. More than 264 Gripens have been delivered or ordered as of 2011.
ORIGINS By the late 1970s, a replacement for Sweden’s ageing Saab 35 Draken and Saab 37 Viggen was needed. Sweden needed an aircraft with good short field performance for its dispersed basing plan if the nation was invaded. Mach 2 speed was also desired and it had to be
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affordable. The aircraft also had to be smaller than the Viggen, but with at least the same payload-range characteristics. A number of foreign designs were studied, namely the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, the Northrop F-20 Tigershark and the Dassault Mirage 2000. In the end, the Swedish government opted to build its own fighter, with the task handed to Saab (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolag). In late 1979, the government commenced a study calling for a versatile platform capable of “JAS”, which stands for Jakt (air-to-air), Attack (air-to-surface), and Spaning (reconnaissance), indicating a multirole, or swingrole, fighter aircraft that can fulfill multiple roles during the same missions. A number of Saab designs were accordingly reviewed, with the most promising being “Project 2105” (redesignated “Project 2108” and later, “Project 2110”), which was recommended to the government by the Defence Materiel Administration (Försvarets Materielverk, or FMV). The aircraft studied would be a single-engine, lightweight single-seater, which embraced fly-by-wire technology, coupled with an unstable design and canards. The powerplant would be the Volvo-Flygmotor RM12, a licensed-built derivative of the General Electric F404-400; engine development priorities were weight reduction and lowering component-count. On 30 June 1982, with approval from Swedish Parliament, the FMV issued contracts to prime contractor Saab covering five prototypes and an initial batch of 30 production aircraft. To test several avionics intended for the JAS 39, such as the fly-by-wire controls, a Viggen was rapidly converted to operate as a test aircraft, flying by January 1983. The JAS 39 received the name “Gripen” through a public competition, which was announced in 1982;the griffin is the heraldry on Saab’s logo.
DESIGN / OVERVIEW In designing the aircraft, several layouts were studied. Saab ultimately selected a delta wingcanard design with relaxed stability. The configuration provides for a high manoeuvrability along with better takeoff and landing performance. The Gripen also has a low drag, enabling it to fly faster, have increased range, and carry a larger payload. The totally integrated avionics make it a “programmable” aircraft, changing the software can provide for additional mission profiles. The Gripen was designed to provide for a fast sink rate and hard, short landings. While lacking thrust reversers that would allow the engine to aid braking, the aircraft’s canards can be angled downwards to act as air brakes. The main wing is also fitted with flaps and elevons to change the flow of air around the wing. In addition to being able to take off with up to 14,330 lb of rockets, bombs, or missiles, the Gripen is also equipped with a single 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon. Of the aircraft’s content, 67% is sourced from Swedish or European suppliers, and 33% from the United States.
AVIONICS AND SYSTEMS The Gripen uses the modern PS-05/A pulse-doppler X-band radar, developed by Ericsson and GEC-Marconi, which is based on the latter’s advanced Blue Vixen radar for the Sea Harrier (which inspired the Eurofighter’s CAPTOR radar as well). The radar is capable of detecting, locating and identifying targets 120 km (74 mi) away, and automatically tracking multiple targets in the upper and lower spheres, on the ground and sea or in the air, in all weather conditions. It can guide several air to air missiles at beyond visual range to multiple targets simultaneously.
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On 27 March 2009, Saab and Selex Galileo signed an agreement for joint development of the Raven AESA radar based on Selex Galileo’s AESA Vixen and PS-05/A.[49] This radar will be able to scan 200° from slightly behind to the left to slightly behind to the right. On 9 September 2009, Gripen International offered the source code of their AESA radar as part of their bid for India’s fighter competition.
Gripens supplied to South Africa had a large amount of South African avionics components, such as the communications and electronic warfare systems, manufactured domestically instead of using standard components. Starting in 2003, Saab and BAE developed the Cobra Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) for both the Gripen and other aircraft, based on the Striker HMDS used on the Eurofighter. By 2008, the Cobra HMDS was fully integrated into the aircraft, available as an option in the export versions and since retrofitted into both Swedish and South African Gripens. Particular attention was paid to the need for rapid and safe detachment of the HMDS in the event of the pilot needing to eject. The flight controls of the Gripen have been upgraded to use the ADA programming language, which was used on final prototypes and production aircraft from 1996 onwards. The Gripen’s software is continuously being improved and changed to add new capabilities, in comparison the Viggen was updated only as per an 18 month schedule. The Gripen was designed to form part of a “networked defence system”, large quantities of data are exchanged automatically in real-time between one aircraft and shared with both other Gripen aircraft and command centres on the ground.
In 1999, South Africa signed a contract with BAE/Saab for the procurement of 26 Gripens (C/D standard) with minor modification to meet their requirements.[22] Deliveries to the South African Air Force commenced in April 2008. By April 2011, 18 aircraft, nine two-seater aircraft and nine single-seaters, had been delivered. In May 2011, as allegations of bribery to prevent a possible cancellation of the Gripen procurement continued, Saab issued strong denials over any payments being made. In the following month, Saab announced that payments of around $3.5 million had been made by partner BAE Systems. There were 186 Gripens in service with military users as of January 2012. The South African Air Force (SAAF) ordered 26 aircraft (down from 28), nine two-seater D-models and 17 single-seat C-models. The first delivery, a two-seater, took place on 30 April 2008. The South African Air Force has nine single-seaters and nine two-seaters in use as of January 2012. SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen
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