Air combat training – high energy at lowest cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reduce the exploitation cost below the standard supersonic training aircraft. The idea will benefit from the latest aerodynamic software and modern avionics, allowing to use much lighter trainer (due to using composite materials and minimizing on board avionic systems), and hence, decreasing the fuel consumption and cost of operation. The need to reform advanced jet training also covers the “red air” missions (manned targets for exercise and training). Red air missions need dedicated more realistic and less costly platforms. However, this makes sense only if the performance of these platforms is comparable to a front-line combat aircraft, particularly in terms of high specific excess power (SEP) and high levels of agility. Failure to address this issue would lead to unrealistic training scenarios and a negative training experience. Design/methodology/approach The paper focuses on required research and the feasibility studies of a low-cost operationally effective solution for air combat pilot training, combining a very agile air platform, fully dedicated to training, and a flexible, interoperable, integrated training system (ITS) using simulations to provide a complete Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) solution. This study will explore innovations applicable to the learning and maintaining of skills, develop a first pilot physiological survey and propose a follow-up program aimed at developing a fully European air combat training service by 2028 or beyond. Findings The volume inside the SEP envelope shows the available SEP potential depending on Mach number and Altitude: SEP is directly representative for climb rate and acceleration or a combination of both. The surface of the volume represents steady-state conditions, i.e. at 1 g (no turns), enabling us to conclude that supersonic trainer and fighter present high energy potentials (SEP) required in air combat manoeuvres and that a subsonic trainer cannot match those qualities and does not fulfil advanced trainer requirements. Practical implications A major difficulty for the air forces in their training syllabus lies in the fact that in peacetime supersonic flight is restricted to dedicated areas or over the sea. However, a real beyond visual range fight can often start in the supersonic and continue into the high subsonic regime after a few minutes. Therefore, this novel trainer superior performance in the transonic region will bring the following advantages, for example in the rare opportunities to train in the lower supersonic regime, it can provide similar performance like combat aircraft and in the usual advanced training in the high subsonic regime, this novel trainer offers excellent realistic performance in a region where the conventional advanced trainer performance collapses beyond Mach 0.8 and does not provide realistic training results. The feasibility study shall be executed in close cooperation between User (Requirements) and Study Team (Solutions). The early conceptual design with basic layout and data (T/W and W/L) is key for operational utility and must be addressed with the User right at the beginning. The users are therefore offered early participation in the requirements development. Originality/value The presented methodology is an original approach to the combat pilot training. The core of the methodology is a study of a solution that aims to reduce training costs through an affordable operational air vehicle and an agile ITS. This goal will be reached by a design methodology that will concentrate the innovation and the developments to the critical issues for the concept (aerodynamics, propulsion, simulated weapon system, ITS architecture, etc.): the remaining topics will be adapted from existing solution, optimizing the development.