Nieuport-Saulnier Aquilon

The Aquilon was introduced to replace the Mystère as primary fleet defense fighter. The Aquilon was developed in conjunction with the smaller Rapace attack fighter and as a result shares many similarities. The primary features of the Aquilon, it's long range radar, two place crew, and variable gemoetry wings however make it a distinct aircraft.

Development
Development began in the mid 1960s to provide future replacement for the then new Mystère fleet defense fighter.

Early Development

The roots of what would become the Aquilon began with experimental projects starting in 1962 to improve or replace the then-new Mystère fleet defense fighter. A series of five prototype series known as Super Mystère I-V laid the groundwork for the Future Fleet Defense Fighter program which was officially begun in June of 1972. The Super Mystère program is discussed in more detail in the Mystère article, but of note here are Super Mystère III and Super Mystère IV which trialed long range missiles that would be employed as the R-4, and variable sweep wings. When the Future Fleet Defense Fighter program was launched, range, flight characteristics, and loiter time specifications all but dictated the use of variable sweep wings, and because of this the Super Mystère IV development aircraft was taken as the initial model for development.

Future Fleet Defense Fighter

The Future Fleet Defense Fighter program (Henceforth: FFDF Program) was initiated in 1972 and ran until late 1978 as a development program for concepts and technologies to be used in the replacement for the Mystère fleet defense fighter, which was at this point unnamed. The FFDF Program carried on development under its umbrella of a number of technologies that were seen as vital to achieving the ambitious goals for the next generation fighter. These technologies involved the development of a long range air interception radar in order to utilize the full capability of missiles like the R-4, digital fly by wire technology, improved engines, thrust vectoring, and some signature reduction. Not all of the goals would be realized before the end of the FFDF Program in 1978, though most would be implemented into the production aircraft. The FFDF program was closed on November 13th 1978 with the revealing of the final design for the next generation fighter, now named Aquilon.

First Flight and teething problems

The prototype Aquilon first took to the air on September 4th, 1978 under the auspices of the FFDF program, with naval test pilot Colonel Jeremy LeBlanc at the controls. Thirty seven prototype aircraft were constructed over the course of 1977-1979 in order to fine tune and fix issues with the engine and wing control systems. The first production model, the Aquilon C1, entered service in August of 1981. All prototype and C1 aircraft were equipped with a temporary engine derived from the Mystère program that was found to be underpowered and have poor throttle response, among a myriad of maintenance and support issues in service. Despite these issues the C1 was carrier certified and began deploying to sea in mid 1982. Only eighty C1 aircraft were constructed in total, and the type was considered a stepping stone while engine technology was developed.

Armament
Armament consists of a single with 180 rounds firing from under the port side air intake. Hardpoints aside each intake, commonly referred to as "cheek pylons" allow carriage of up to four short range air to air missiles. From the C3 on these are exclusively the R8 missile. In addition, recessed hardpoints for six R5 BVRAAMs are placed along the underside of the fuselage. In addition, plumbed hardpoints under each wing glove is intended to accept a wet pylon and 1,200L drop tank. In the C1 and C2 models the proximity of these pylons to the main landing gear allowed only the use of the 1,200L drop tank or a single R5 or R4 missile. The C3 variant introduced an offset pylon design which allows the carriage of the 2,200L drop tank and provides a single launch rail for an R8 missile. The C3 variant is thus capable of flying with an additional 4,400L of fuel, six R8 missiles, and six R5 BVRAAMs.

The C1 and C2 variants could carry six R5 missiles under the fuselage, or pylons for four R4 missiles. In addition either a 1,200L drop tank or one R4 or R5 missile under each wing glove, and four R3 dogfight missiles on the cheek pylons.

Powerplant
The Future Fleet Defense Fighter program included development of an advanced turbofan engine to improve not only performance but range and reliability over the engines fitted to the Mystère. The intended engines were the SudAvion M35, however these engines were not ready for the prototypes and initial production models. Instead an enlarged variant of the Mystère's M26 turbofan, the M26-M9, was employed. The M26-M9 was considered underpowered and unreliable, had poor throttle response, and had stall issues under certain maneuvering regimes. Despite these issues the engine was cleared for shipboard use, and as a result it was used for prototypes and, reluctantly, the initial production Aquilon C1 variants.

Beginning with the C2 in 1985 the Aquilon was fitted with the intended M35 turbofan engines. These engines provide an increase in thrust and reliability, while also increasing range on existing fuel by more than twenty five percent. The M35 in the C2 underwent two revisions in service increasing reliability and maintenance access features. The C3 recieved a completely revised M35 engine that provides again increased performance and range while also introducing thrust vectoring.

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