Central Erqaedia F-215 Aquila

The Central Erqaedia Aircraft F-215 Aquila is a medium-weight tactical fighter aircraft designed by Central Erqaedia Aircraft Company (now part of Twin Crown Aerospace Industries).

CAeSAR Air Supremacy Program #9
In the first half of the decade of the 1960s, air combat technology was continuing to progress at a rapid pace, along with the rest of the global aeronautical sector. It seemed that development and innovation had to be constant, and the minds at the Erqaedian Aerospace Sciences Administration (EASA) were always cognizant of this fact. The 1965 ECAF Doctrinal Review was close by, and its presence weighed heavily on some officials.

Regarding military fighter technology, the division responsible for studying this area, the prominent Center for Aerial Supremacy Advanced Research (CAeSAR) began a new study program: Air Supremacy Program #9. CAeSAR was a well-respected establishment by this time, responisble for studies behind most of Erqaedia’s successful military aircraft, and they figured their studies would help the ECAF when a new fighter testing program inevitably came around.

ASP-9 was mainly intended to keep pace with contemporary militaries, and maybe even be ahead of the curve. It was a study of design and technology for modern twin-engined fighter aircraft. In actuality, the program was fairly basic, and there were few major expectations for ASP-9 altogether.

Initial studies were conducted by CAeSAR in 1965, the same year as the ECAF Doctrinal Review; there was no intention to bring it up with the ECAF, but rather the ECAF’s review would inform CAeSAR’s direction. The airframe was contracted out to the Central Erqaedia Aircraft Company, a company well-known for its history of performance and combat aircraft for implementation of studies and technologies.

CEAC itself at this time was in a steady state of existence; business mismanagements and expensive failures had stunted greater growth through the 1950s, but the company did not falter from its experiences either, and it was well known for producing innovative designs. These kinds of military contracts helped keep the company afloat and relevant in the eyes of Erqaedia’s aeronautical industry. They were a well-established partner of CAeSAR, being the manufacturer of the STARDUST-I (Simplified Tactical Aerial Research Drone for Universal Systems Testing) test drone.

In late 1967, Air Supremacy Program #9 would produce an airframe of surprisingly decent performance. Development continued over a year. In 1968, a remote-control drone form would be adopted by CAeSAR as the STARDUST-II, intended to facilitate testing of various combat systems and flight characteristics.

ASP-9 was seen as a general success, but by most of the program’s personnel, otherwise nothing extravagant.



TABASCo Pushes for Fighter “215”; Project GOLDENROD HARPY
Amid global tensions and continuously progressing military technology, the Tactical Air Battle Advanced Strategies Committee (TABASCo) felt that Erqaedia’s aircraft inventory did not have a proper answer for the modern battlespace. Indeed, some also felt that they should be leaping on any opportunity to make an impression on the world stage. This inner group within the ECAF held decent sway and were prominent voices, with major influence on ECAF doctrine.

TABASCo felt that it would be prudent to get ahead of the ECAF 1965 Doctrinal Review and get the discussion of next-generation fighter aircraft on the table. With fervent faith in Erqaedia’s aerospace industry and its engineers, this influential group formed in the ECAF lobbied for Erqaedia to develop the next world-class combat aircraft.

They were successful, as the ECAF officially sent a requisition for their next generation main frontline combat aircraft in 1965, filed as GOLDENROD HARPY. This action was spurred by hearing of the developments of fighter aircraft in Kerthenia and the D-TO sphere, which no doubt also impressed on the Erqaedian politicians that agreed to pass the requisition. This was envisioned as a multi-year project, but one that would keep Erqaedia current with peers, or even ahead, if the engineers produced something remarkable.

While Erqaedian engineers were more than eager to take on the challenge, the military budget during these years was not particularly deep, and this would soon prove problematic. It was only by expert political navigation that this requisition was even managed to be passed, and it would soon prove its skeptics right. Most aviation companies took a passing look at this requisition, but few could afford to devote much resources into anything more than simple studies.

Years passed with little progress, and TABASCo shifted their viewpoint on the matter, seeing the ECAF next-generation fighter, expected to be designated “215”, as one that needed a few years of foundation so that the idea of the 215 would be accounted for properly in the ECAF 1970 Doctrinal Review.

But in 1969, one company, Eclaan Aviation Corp, did make an attempt at a fighter aircraft. This twin-seat plane seemed a promising design, making use of known concepts and developments from studies up until then with some additional innovations. It flew in ECAF testing as the FFX215-A, and the ECAF nearly gave it the full, non-experimental 215 designation. The design received the name “Aquila”, and it seemed all but certain that the ECAF would soon field this aircraft as its new main fighter.

However, late in the FFX215-A's testing phase, the ECAF decided its performance was not to proper standards and that it would become obsolete far too quickly. Eclaan’s aircraft program was pulled and canceled in 1971, and this “Aquila” would never progress further.

Air Supremacy Program #9-2: Project TERMINATOR HARPY
At the same time as TABASCo’s direct governmental lobbying for a new fighter, CAeSAR was in the process of testing the ASP-9 / STARDUST-II aircraft.

The failings of the TABASCo-driven development push had cost the ECAF time and money- but it was also time that let ECAF leaders think about the air force’s future more thoroughly. The fighter-specific direction taken was stringent and left little room for growth, and the technology was not yet quite developed. New studies were just coming out on aerodynamics and combat systems. The trigger had been attempted to be pulled too early.

The ECAF, now with a clearer outlook on the direction they should take with their next-generation frontline fighter, joined into the Air Supremacy Program #9 and initiated a second stage of the program: ASP-9.2, under the project name TERMINATOR HARPY.

ASP-9.2 was seen as the perfect program: it was already steadily underway with a proven, functional airframe, meaning the tight military budget was less of a problem. And so, in 1971, Central Erqaedia Aircraft Company was tasked with developing their ASP-9 airframe into a military-specification single-seat fighter.

The first complete prototype airframe, designated FFX215-C, would first fly in 1972. Development of the airframe would continue under CAeSAR and ECAF testing for two more years. The ECAF also christened this aircraft with the name “Aquila”, as it did with the prior attempt years before.

The FF-215A would enter service in 1974. These airframes were still early versions of limited capability, but they were in the hands of a few select squadrons.

Early Years of the ECAF’s 215 Aquila: 1974-1976
The FF-215A was a mixture of a modern, contemporary airframe and avionics with older combat systems meant to facilitate operating with the rest of the ECAF’s available hardware. While the airframe’s multi-role potential was recognized, it was not seen as prudent to push the 215 into service with its full array of capabilities. The FF-215A’s 1974 commissioning was primarily to ease the transition process of the air force into using the aircraft, while simultaneously gaining more testing data for the aircraft in general.

Central Erqaedia Aircraft Company was responsible for the production of the airframe as well as continued development. CAeSAR was hands-off of ASP-9.2 a few months after it officially entered service into the ECAF inventory, with military development now being done directly with the ECAF. A small batch of FF-215A was contracted for production, but the requested full-batch delivery date necessitated transferring some of the order to another manufacturer, Twin Crown Aerospace Industries.

CEAC would develop the FF-215B variant as the “full capability testing set” workhorse variant. It was purely a twin-seat variant, as opposed to the single-seat 215A. 215B would be equipped with cutting-edge technology in all aspects, intended to serve as the testbed for the intended primary ECAF variant going forward.

FF-215B would first fly in late-1974, with tests going through the first half of 1975. While this was all done with the official backing of the ECAF, the Erqaedian budgetary constraints at the time meant that the program was always on the verge of financial struggle. However, all parties involved persevered despite this, as the endeavor was seen as too important otherwise.

FF-215A in Erqaedian service was relatively quiet, with units finding operation of the aircraft fairly smooth; a relief for the ECAF brass. Satisfactory testing of the 215A and 215B and additional ECAF force and logistics planning would put CEAC in a position to begin production on the FF-215C in mid-1975.

The FF-215C was the first truly fully-fledged version of the Aquila. It came with the full avionics package intended for Erqaedian long-term service, and no imperative airframe additions or modifications were foreseen on the 215C’s finalized design. This variant was seen as the ECAF’s future. Orders were set in late-1975, and introduction to ECAF units began in early 1976.

However, the expense of developing the 215 placed enough of a strain on CEAC that it was nearly at bankruptcy, and the tight budget of the ECAF meant that there was no room for negotiating additional funds. The 215 program was no doubt successful, but CEAC had been worked into the ground behind the scenes for the Aquila to truly spread its wings.

After one last aircraft program bid slipped away in 1982, Central Erqaedia Aircraft Company would be acquired by Twin Crown Aerospace Industries in 1983.

Twin Crown Aerospace FS-215E Strike Aquila
In 1980, the ECAF performed its “scheduled” half-decade doctrinal introspection. The ECAF 1980 Doctrinal Review resulted in the ECAF not finding any significant changes needing to be made to doctrine. However, it was also recognized that the doctrine could suffer a lack of capable hardware to carry it out in the coming decade. Erqaedia was always primarily focused on ground-based war, even orienting its air forces to have provisions for such an intense conflict of focused ground campaigns.

Ground strike capability was considered of paramount importance to the Erqaedian military, and the past half-decade of experience with the 215C Aquila proved that, while the airframe was capable of the mission, it could still be significantly improved in the role. Emerging technologies in guided munitions and other aircraft technologies necessitated another look at the Erqaedian aircraft inventory.

The ECAF 1980 Doctrinal Review resulted in two new aircraft requisitions: the Lightweight Fighter Program intended to produce an aircraft for “strategic survivability in a ground-focused campaign” and the Strategic Strike Fighter for missions of “reliable strike and interdiction against valuable ground assets”.

The LWFP would see competition between Twin Crown’s 216 design, Eclaan’s 218 design, CEAC’s 219 design, and a Perennian design designated 220; the 218 fighter emerged as the victor in 1983. The 218 was also pitched for the SSF, but the ECAF did not seriously consider the aircraft as it was felt that modification of a lightweight fighter to perform potential deep-strike missions was not within budgetary and logistical reasons. As well, the 215 already had proven payload and range capabilities from its years in service.

It did not take long for TCA to make the necessary engineering changes to the 215 design for it to fulfill the SSF requirements. The final design was a twin-seat aircraft with a dedicated weapons officer, and upgraded avionics could interface with current and expected future weapons systems. Additional provisions for electronic warfare and other future expansions were also engineered into the design, as the original 1970s design was still unable to anticipate the potential advancements foreseen in the 1980s.

The FS-215E was commissioned in mid-1983, though the small production lines meant delivery to units was slow.

FF-215F Aquila and Further Variants
A semi-experimental, limited-production run of the basic F-215 Aquila. Aquila-F was an experiment in increasing the short-field takeoff performance of the fighter, as well as increasing maneuverability. This was accomplished through the addition of canards and thrust-vectoring engine nozzles. The aircraft first flew in early 1984 and would perform various tests through the following months.

The airframes were developed from the newly-introduced F-215E variant, which was a dedicated twin-seat multi-role variant. However, 215Fs were produced in single and twin-seat configurations. These orders were rushed out in late 1984, as the Erqaedian Commonwealth Air Force was envisioning a 1985 deep study and revision to its national defense doctrine. These orders were considered controversial, as the new doctrinal reforms had not even occurred, but various figures insisted that being able to field one or two squadrons of this aircraft would assist the ECAF in determining if it was making the correct decisions.

FF-215F was technically the most advanced air superiority fighter fielded by Erqaedia through the 1980s. FF-215F, specifically, was a single-seat variant equipped with newer avionics than the original FF-215C air superiority fighter, at the time barely one decade old in Erqaedian service. FE-215F was a twin-seat electronic support/warfare variant of the fighter and was produced alongside the FF variant due to the production order specifically aiming to equip specialist units.

A full complement of aircraft had barely reached the 142nd Tactical Air Control SQ before a conflict broke out and Erqaedia was called to action. 142 TAC would deploy to Tremerine to participate in the Phryssian Crisis with these new aircraft. While the air combat maneuverability of the new airframe rarely came into play, the FE variant proved consistently useful by providing ECM and ECCM capabilities during missions, as well as having the capability to perform SEAD missions when necessary. The austere airfield capability of the aircraft was not often exploited, though was used on a select few rare occasions.

Aquila-F would provide a basis for all future Aquila variants. It would be followed by the -J and -K variants; -J was a modification of -C variants to -F airframe configuration, and -K denoted new production airframes along with having newer avionics. 215J and 215K equipped Erqaedia through the 1990s and early 2000s.

However, the alphabetically-following 215L does not trace its lineage to the 215F. Instead, it is a variant produced from the clean-sheet 215M modernization project, which finally allowed designers to modify the internal wing structure and add leading edge flaps, along with simplifying the wing control mechanisms to operate a single flaperon. Aquila-L was a simplified version of the -M removing the canards and thrust vectoring, intended for the export market; thus, it was never operated by Erqaedia.

Aquila-M entered Erqaedian service in 2003, gradually phasing out all older 215 variants, thus cementing it as the true successor to the Aquila-F.

Air Supremacy Program 9-4: 21st Century Aquila Modernization Program
...............

Aquila-N was a further modernization of the 215, primarily in internal structure and materials. 215N is both lighter and stronger than 215M.

Major Variants



 * FF-215A
 * Single-seat air-superiority aircraft.


 * FF-215C
 * Initial major production aircraft.


 * FS-215E Strike Aquila
 * Two-seat all-weather multirole strike version, fitted with conformal fuel tanks. Entered service in 1983.


 * FF-215F
 * Semi-experimental, limited-production run of the basic F-215 Aquila, first flew in early 1984. Aquila-F was an experiment in increasing the short-field takeoff performance of the fighter, as well as increasing maneuverability. This was accomplished through the addition of canards and thrust-vectoring engine nozzles.


 * FF-215J
 * Modification of -C variants to -F airframe configuration


 * FF-217J Super Aquila
 * Enhanced thrust-to-weight by the addition of two auxiliary engines to the rear of the aircraft. Intended for air defense and interception.


 * FF-215K
 * Denotes new production airframes along with having newer avionics


 * FF-215M
 * Modernized airframe variant, clean-sheet 215M modernization project. Major airframe revisions; wing structure, addition of leading edge flaps, wing control mechanisms for operation of a single flaperon.


 * FF-215N
 * Further airframe modernization of FF-215M; features further aerodynamic refinement and advanced materials construction for both weight reduction and strength.