Calidus B-250

The B-250 is a low-wing, tandem-seat, single-turboprop, light attack aircraft with counter-insurgency capability. Its structure is constructed entirely of carbon fiber, thus making it much lighter than its competitors.[2] It has 7 hard points for placing weapons as well as EO / IR.[3] It has Pro Line Fusion II avionics systems supplied by the American company Rockwell Collins.[4]

B-250
Calidus B-250 at Dubai Air Show 2019
Role Military trainer aircraft
National origin UAE
Manufacturer Calidus
First flight July 2017[1]
Status In production
Number built 2 (as of January 2018)[1]

Design and development

The B-250 is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear. It has an enclosed cockpit with two Martin-Baker ejection seats in tandem. It has a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6A-68 turboprop in tractor configuration.

The B-250 was designed and developed in Brazil by Novaer who built the two prototypes under contract from the UAE company Calidus, the chief designer for the project was Joseph Kovács.[5] The first prototype was first flown in Brazil in 2017 and displayed at the 2017 Dubai Airshow.[5] The serial production of the aircraft is in UAE.

In 2019, 24 aircraft were ordered by the United Arab Emirates Air Force at the 2019 Dubai Airshow.[6]

Specifications

Data from Air International[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 10.98 m (36 ft 0 in)
  • Wingspan: 12.09 m (39 ft 8 in)
  • Height: 3.79 m (12 ft 5 in)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6A-68 turboprop, 1,200 kW (1,600 shp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 557 km/h (346 mph, 301 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 520 km/h (320 mph, 280 kn) (clean)
  • Combat range: 560 km (350 mi, 300 nmi) (combat radius, 4x laser guided bombs, 2x Air-to-air missiles and 1x fuel tank)
  • Ferry range: 2,400 km (1,500 mi, 1,300 nmi)
  • Endurance: 12 hr
  • Service ceiling: 9,100 m (30,000 ft)

Armament

  • Hardpoints: 7 with a capacity of 1,800 kg (3,960 lb),

See also

References
  1. Butowski, Piotr (February 2018). "Abu Dhabi strikes out". Air International. Vol. 94 no. 2. p. 15. ISSN 0306-5634.
  2. Caiafa, Roberto. "B-250, o avião que promete revolucionar o mercado COIN/CAS mundial. - Tecnodefesa". tecnodefesa.com.br.
  3. "Aeronave de ataque leve B-250 Bader é apresentada no Dubai Airshow 2017".
  4. Valduga, Fernando. "Dubai Airshow: Novaer apresenta o turboélice de ataque leve B-250". Archived from the original on 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  5. "Emirati Light Attack Aircraft Breaks Cover". 13 November 2017.
  6. Insinna, Valerie (2019-11-20). "Calidus inks its first B-250 light attack plane order". Defense News. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.