Strange but true. The specs were, sea level mach 1 without reheat, max speed was mach 1.1. Still a transonic area so the drag was much higher. The F6/F2a were both better area-ruled than the other marks but the frontal area was too much. They could break windows though…..

A fighter would accelerate through the transsonic regime with its reheat and would continue to use it up to its supercruise speed. Then it can turn off the AB and turn on the extra thrust setting in military, so it can sustain tha speed better.

You’re talking about the typhoon? I am not sure but I doubt it’s water/methanol injection.

Does the fighter then use PTR so that it has the rpm lower than max or is the throttle quadrant changed. Most common is throttle movement to max rpm (max dry)to a stop then unlocking to go further to engage the reheat. PTR was used in the Jaguar for lower rpm (85% and above) to make the thrust changes more manageable.

That is what I was asking, does the EJ200 use water or water/meth?
Why have a war time switch when thrust can be altered with the throttle?

The EJ series have undergone a lot of development. It is normal that an engine is continuously improved, certainly in the first years of service. When the Tornado was first in service the RB199 was regularly upgraded and improved. There was even a ‘10%’ turbine fitted. This gave 10% more power at a set TGT or, as they chose, to run at a lower temperature and still produce the same thrust.
The same can be said about other types. Many other engines from other a/c types were improved over the years, Lightning, Buccaneer, Phantom, Jaguar, even Hunters, Vulcans and Victors!
Using a ‘war setting’ to increase the supercruise? Are there any aerodynamic improvements on the a/c? Don’t forget the drag rule 2 x 4, simply said, double the speed, quadruple the drag.
As I pointed out that even old a/c had something similar but would have only been used under very special circumstances, I never saw one used.
It was interesting to read the data. The EJ has roughly the same mass air-flow compared to the RR Avon 300 (RB146) that is 170lb/s compared to 171lb/sec, yet the thrust is so much higher.
Not only is it the increased working temperature but also the internal aerodynamics. The PR is much higher with fewer stages which indicates less internal losses. Using a very low bypass ratio is better for supercruise. The RB146 is a pure turbojet, the Lightning could also supercruise, in the early ’60’s even! Fluid dynamics and material improvements have increased the performance of the engines these last few decades. Interesting to read about the con-di thrust nozzle. the RB146 was trialed with this in the early ’60’s for a mirage III. The sale didn’t go through though.

How many are operational (Sqn) a/c. How many in maintenance, training and attrition losses?

Nice bit about the variables. The Concorde intake not only slowed down the the air but built it’s PR up to increase the engine power (thrust). The PR at Mn 2.0 was about 6:1 giving a total PR of 60:1.
The A12/SR71 had shock-cones that were moveable to determine where the shock wave sat. It was in the intake that a great deal of the thrust came from when operating at high speed.

“3x less lift”? No. “Hard pressed to pull 1.5g” no.

Neither statement is accurate. Nor can you definitively say that the F-35 produces less thrust at 40,000ft than the F-15. Sea level? Sure.

The F-35 certainly can “pull” in excess of 1.5g at altitude.

I would imagine due to it’s configuration that it has more airflow control problems over the wings. That would stall it quicker.

Robbie – Were the concrete-nose F2s declared operational?

Like every type, they had limited capabilities at the run up. The radar was certainly not up to scratch when declared operational. A couple of Lightnings had to remain flying to help development even though they were out of service. The GR1’s had quite a number of restrictions as well. Max speed at low level was restricted to about 480 knots. They were even limited in how far they could taxy due to overheating of the mainwheels. The engines had a number of modifications after the sqns had been declared operational. A number of things had to be ‘found out’ simply by using them. Declaring limted operational service is nothing new.

The NATO thinking in the ’80’s was the WP OMG crossing the IGB with such a force that they would have gone tactical nuke within a week. The OMG would have been throwing all sorts of chemical weapons in Germany, mainly incapacitants, not killers, causing all sorts of mayhem. Most of the NATO assets would have been either badly damaged or lost during the interdiction operations. The general concensus was that our task was a holding action. Air defence would have been a combination of missiles and CAP’s. One UK Phantom did prove it’s ability to shoot down a/c in ’82 I believe.