if you take a look at Gripen in subsonic flight, you will note that the canards are working overtime in keeping the aircraft in check,
and in fact this increase drag at low speeds, but it comes into its own at supersonic speeds, which it was built for.
The canard is creating lift in front of the CG when it’s active, and contrary to a LERX, it can be stowed away when it’s not needed, creating a minimum amount of drag at all altitudes and speeds. Alot of people seem to think that the canard kills lift in order to stop the aircraft from over pitching, but we must not forget the elevons. Instead of the canards applying negative lift, the elevons increase the lift in the back by lifting the tail. Therefore the canards can relax a bit and at worst give no lift at all, but very seldom kill lift.
On the Gripen the canards are mainly used for pitch and the elevons are used for trim(and roll). On the Rafale it’s the opposite. The elevons are used for pitch(and roll) and the canards are used for trim. The Rafale has huge elevons and small canards, the Gripen has huge canards and small elevons.
Below, balanced lift provided by the canard, the main wing and the elevons.
I made this mod in photoshop a while back. It’s just my representation on what the NG might look like when it is finished. The end product may very well differ from this. Who knows? 🙂
This is what the Gripen E/F is supposed to look like. Note the DSi.
The final shape of the E/F Gripen? Probably not, just my personal take on it. The Gripen DEMO was good leap forward, but not bold enough IMO.
A longer wingspan, longer fuselage and divertless intakes will however change the appearance of the Gripen quite a bit.
I wonder how daring the people at SAAB will be! 🙂
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