F/A-181 Black Wasp II

Black Wasp II
Faction	NATO
Type	Stealth Air Superiority Fighter
Seats	1 seat: 1× Pilot
Item capacity	Max: 500 kg 6× Weapons 24× Magazines 6× Backpacks
Top speed	~ 1,213 km/h
Service ceiling	15,000 m
Fuel capacity	1550 L
Primary armament	Main: 1× M61 Minigun 20 mm 2× BIM-9X AA [Default] 4× AMRAAM D AA [Default] 4× Macer II AGM [Default] 2× GBU-12 LGB [Default]
Secondary armament	Targeting: 1× Laser Designator Defensive: 240× Countermeasures (Flares/Chaff)
Variants	Standard, Stealth
Games

The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a carrier-based, multi-role/air-superiority fighter jet that is used by NATO's naval aviation wings in ArmA 3. It was added as part of the Jets DLC.

Overview

• Roles:
  • Air superiority
  • Close air support
  • SEAD

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The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed primarily as an air-superiority fighter, but also has ground attack capabilities. Its additional external hardpoints enable the aircraft to carry a wide variety of weapons configurations. The Black Wasp is fitted with the required equipment for carrier operations. Field Manual

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Design

The Black Wasp is a twin-engined stealth fighter that uses a clipped delta wing design with a reverse sweep on the rear.

It has both conventional and stealth variants; the latter can only store up to eight weapons internally and does not have any external hard points.

Armament
By default, the Black Wasp is armed with a 20 mm minigun that is loaded with 450 rounds of high-explosive (HE) ammunition.

The Black Wasp's twelve (eight for the stealth variant) pylons all support dynamic loadouts.

• The two small side-mounted internal bays (1-2) support:
  • BIM-9X (1×)
• The two ventral-mounted pylons closest to the centre in the internal bays (7-8) support:
  • AMRAAM D (1×)
  • GBU-12 (1×)
  • CBU-85 (1×)
  • BL778 (1×)
• The other two ventral pylons directly next to the centre pylons (4-5) support:
  • AMRAAM D (1×)
  • GBU SDB (4×)
• The final two outermost ventral pylons (3-6) only support:
  • AMRAAM D (1×)

Non-stealthed F/A-181 pylon configuration

NOTE: The following pylons only apply to the non-stealthy variant of the Black Wasp:

• The centre pylon on both wings (9-10) support:
  • AMRAAM D (1×)
  • AMRAAM D (2×)
  • BIM-9X (1×)
  • BIM-9X (2×)
  • Macer II (1×)
  • Macer II (2×)
  • GBU-12 (1×)
  • GBU-12 (2×)
  • CBU-85 (1×)
  • CBU-85 (2×)
  • BL778 (1×)
  • BL778 (2×)
  • AGM-88C HARM (1×)
  • GBU SDB (4×)
• The outermost wing pylons (11-12) only support:
  • AMRAAM D (1×)
  • AMRAAM D (2×)
  • BIM-9X (1×)
  • BIM-9X (2×)
  • Macer II (1×)
  • GBU-12 (1×)
  • BL778 (1×)

Both variants of the Black Wasp also have targeting cameras with integrated laser designators that are located in the EOTS module just beneath the cockpit/nose. The designator can be used to provide self-designation capability when used in-conjunction with guided munitions like the GBU-12.

Landing on the flight deck of the USS Freedom. Note the barely retracted tailhook at the rear of the fuselage.

Features
Like the UCAV Sentinel, the Black Wasp has a retractable tailhook that can be lowered or raised to assist in performing carrier landings, and can have its wings folded to allow for easier storage and transportation aboard aircraft carriers.

Compared to the CSAT To-201, the Black Wasp is slightly better when it comes to avionics and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air combat.

The stealthed Black Wasp can also carry one additional missile in its internal bay, with the majority of the pylons both on the stealthed and non-stealth variants being capable of supporting long-range AAMs; not to mention glide bombs in the form of its SDBs.

The non-stealthed Black Wasp is also technically capable of carrying more weapons for close air support despite having fewer external pylons, as most of its air-to-ground munitions have an alternate double-racked variant (like Macer II AGMs).

Drawbacks
However, its flight model is slightly more sluggish and is unable to match the To-201's agility in close-range dogfights. Arming the Black Wasp for CAS also means that most of its BVR advantages will have to be sacrificed, since it will need to utilise all of its (already limited) number of pylons for ground attack weapons instead of AAMs.

Last but not least, the stealthed variant is unable to carry anti-radiation missiles (as opposed to the To-201), which prevents it from being able to hit SAM batteries from stand-off distances like its CSAT counterpart.

Crew Capacity
The Black Wasp has a maximum seating capacity of just one for the pilot themselves. It is unable to transport any additional passengers or crew.

Variants

• F/A-181 Black Wasp II
• F/A-181 Black Wasp II (Stealth)

Non-stealthed variant. Has a total of twelve pylons (four external) that support dynamic loadouts, but are by default configured with a multi-role loadout.

Stealthed variant that cannot mount external munitions. Only has a total of eight internal pylons that support dynamic loadouts, but are also configured to use a multi-role loadout by default.

Camouflage

• Dark Grey: Pattern-less scheme that uses a dark ghost grey paint colour.
• Dark Grey (Camo): Two-tone dark grey/ghost grey paint scheme designed for low observability.

Stealth

Both variants of the Black Wasp retain electronic stealth capabilities against active radars, though they have no masking against infrared/visual-based sensors:

RCS

The standard Black Wasp with external wing pylons has a radar cross-section rating of 0.8, which lowers the maximum detection range of active radars by 20%.

The dedicated stealth variant however, has an RCS rating of 0.6 which reduces its visibility to just 60% from an opposing radar's maximum range (a reduction of 40%).

IR

The Black Wasp provides no stealth capabilities against infrared-based sensors.

Visual

The Black Wasp can be tracked at full range by visual-based sensors.

Sensors

The Black Wasp has an array of sensors designed to allow it to operate effectively in both ground attack and air superiority roles:

File:Arma3-blackwasp-sensors.png

Teal = Active Radar
Orange = IRST
Green = Visual

Active Radar

It has an active radar range of 15 km against aerial targets, and 8 km against ground targets. Azimuth and elevation coverage extends to an angle of 45 degrees in both directions, while identity recognition locks in at 8 km out from a target.

Infrared Search and Track/Visual Sensor

IRST detection extends out to a maximum range of 2.5 km against aerial targets and just 2 km against ground targets. Azimuth coverage is a full 360 degrees but for elevation it is limited to only 45 degrees. It is only able to track targets that are moving at speeds of up to 1,800 km/h.

The visual sensor's coverage extends out to a distance of 4 km against aerial targets and 3 km for ground targets. Azimuth coverage is restricted to only 26 degrees, while for elevation it is 20 degrees. Unlike for IRST, the visual sensor is located in the EOTS camera just below the front of the cockpit/nose. It is a look-down sensor and has an elevation offset of 1 degree, and can only track targets moving at speeds of up to 360 km/h.

Both sensors operate at a minimum distance of 500 m, while targets can be recognised once they get within a range of 2 km from the Black Wasp.

Radar Warning Receiver/Passive Radar

The RWR has a 360 degree detection radius and a target recognition range of 12 km.

Laser Spot Tracker

Laser markers and infrared strobes can be tracked within a range of 6 km. It has an acquisition cone of 180 degrees.

Trivia

• The Black Wasp is based on Boeing's "F/A-18E Super Hornet", but combines its fuselage with additional elements such as the wings, tail assembly, internal weapon bays, and engines from Lockheed Martin's "F-22A Raptor" and "F-35C Lightning II".

Gallery

External links

• Wikipedia: Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
• Wikipedia: Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
• Wikipedia: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

See also

Aircraft of comparable role and configuration

• To-201 Shikra (CSAT counterpart, ArmA 3: Jets only)
• A-149 Gryphon (AAF counterpart, ArmA 3: Jets only)
• F-35 Lightning II (USMC predecessor, ArmA 2 only)