AERFER Ariete

Single-Seat, Single-Engine Jet-Powered Fighter Prototype

Italy | 1958

"The AERFER Ariete swept-wing jet fighter was given additional boost power through a second, lower-thrust turbojet buried in its fuselage."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the AERFER Ariete Single-Seat, Single-Engine Jet-Powered Fighter Prototype.

1 x Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 turbojet engine developing 3,600 lb of thrust; 1 x Rolls-Royce Soar RSr 2 auxiliary turbojet engine developing 1,810 lb of thrust.
Propulsion

671 mph
1,080 kph | 583 kts
Max Speed

39,370 ft
12,000 m | 7 miles
Service Ceiling

2,665 ft/min
812 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the AERFER Ariete Single-Seat, Single-Engine Jet-Powered Fighter Prototype.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

31.5 ft
9.60 m
O/A Length

24.6 ft
(7.50 m)
O/A Width

10.8 ft
(3.28 m)
O/A Height

5,291 lb
(2,400 kg)
Empty Weight

7,793 lb
(3,535 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the AERFER Ariete Single-Seat, Single-Engine Jet-Powered Fighter Prototype .

PROPOSED:
2 x 30mm HDD-825 internal automatic cannons.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the AERFER Ariete family line.

Ariete ("Ram") - Base Series Name

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 10/16/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

In an effort to refine the earlier AERFER "Sagittario 2" ("Archer 2") swept-wing, jet-powered demonstrator into an operational-quality fighting form, company engineers produced the related "Ariete" ("Ram"). This version retained the former's swept-back wing elements which were mated to a redesigned fuselage. Despite the change, the aircraft still mimicked form and function of the earlier design on the whole. Unlike the Sagittario 2, power in the Ariete would come from a twin-turbojet arrangement - primarily propulsion from a Rolls-Royce "Derwent 9" series turbojet of 3,600 pounds thrust with a secondary boost feature provided by a Rolls-Royce "Soar" RSr 2 auxiliary turbojet, this offering an additional 1,810 pounds of thrust.

First flight of an Ariete prototype occurred on March 27th, 1958. The auxiliary engine was meant to add considerable output power for the compact, lightweight fighter and drew its air through an interesting, retractable, dorsally-mounted intake. The primary engine fit was still aspirated through the nose intake ductwork. Its close association with the earlier Sagittario 2 meant that many qualities of this new aircraft were carried over - the low undercarriage height, bubble canopy and conventional tail unit being some. Proposed armament for the fighter role was 2 x 30mm HDD-825 series internal cannons though these were never fitted.

The Ariete program produced just one flyable prototype with a second airframe laying incomplete. There was thought given to replacing the thirsty auxiliary turbojet in the aft section of the fuselage with a simpler rocket booster unit - to produce the AERFER "Leone" prototype - but this initiative was not followed through. To that end, the Ariete completed the line of high-performance aircraft begun in the pre-World War 2 years with the AERFER S.7 prop-powered racer.

Performance specifications for the Ariete included a maximum speed of 675 miles per hour, a service ceiling up to 39,360 feet, and a rate-of-climb nearing 2,665 feet per minute.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the AERFER Ariete. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): Industrie Meccaniche Aeronautiche Meridionali (AERFER) - Italy

[ Italy (cancelled) ]

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Similar
Developments of similar form-and-function, or related, to the AERFER Ariete Single-Seat, Single-Engine Jet-Powered Fighter Prototype Specifications and Pictures.

AERFER Sagittario 2

Going Further...
The AERFER Ariete Single-Seat, Single-Engine Jet-Powered Fighter Prototype appears in the following collections:

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