TYPE: High-altitude platform.
PROGRAMME: Announced 13 June 2005 following completion of concept design studies. Estimated time from formal project launch to first flight is approximately one year, with completion of flight testing and EASA/FAA certification following 11 months later. Potential roles include border/economic zone protection and coast guard duties.
CURRENT VERSIONS: G 600: As described.
G 600 ER: Proposed extended range version, retaining same airframe as G 600 but with more powerful engines and four additional fuel tanks in rear cabin, reducing space for mission specialist to one person.
DESIGN FEATURES: Comprises forward fuselage section, pressurised cabin, engines, horizontal tail surfaces and landing gear of the Grob G 180 SPn Utility Jet with extended rear fuselage and taller fin and new one-piece high aspect ratio wing without winglets.
STRUCTURE: Mostly carbon fibre composites with titanium wing attachment points.
LANDING GEAR: Hydraulically retractable tricycle type with single wheel on each unit. Main units retract inwards.
POWER PLANT: G 600 has two Williams FJ44-3A turbofans, with FADEC, each rated at 12.45 kN (2.800 lb st). Fuel in integral wing tanks. G 600 ER has two unspecified Williams turbofans, each rated at 16.77 kN (3.770 lb st), with four additional fuel tanks in rear cabin, each of 1,000 litres (264 US gallons; 220 Imp gallons) capacity.
ACCOMMODATION: G 600: Flight crew of two, but with single-pilot capability, plus two mission specialists in cabin. Typical cabin layout would feature two workstations for screen and mission data displays with foldaway keyboards, a small bench/bunk for long endurance missions with stowage beneath, galley, lavatory and washbasin, and rack for mission equipment such as data acquisition units or computers.
G 600 ER: Flight crew of two with one mission specialist/workstation in cabin.
EQUIPMENT: Depending on the specific operation, mission equipment could include: sensors for all-weather, wide-area and spot capability including electro-optical/infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar/moving target indicator and hyperspectral sensors for chemical and biological agent detection; line-of-sight datalink and wideband satellite datalink including satcom antenna, UHF LOS transceiver antenna, command datalink antenna and IFF transponder and antenna; self-defence systems including radar warning receiver, onboard jamming system and towed decoy launcher; unmanned systems and navigation equipment including integrated mission management computers, GPS antenna and inertial navigation system with laser gyro; and scientific payloads to measure water vapour, ozone, particles, trace-gases and radiant fluxes including milli/microjoule lidar, scatter meter inlets for gas and aerosol sampling, counter flow impactor inlet and Lyman spectrometer for condensed water, tunable diode laser for water and HNO3, condensation nuclei counter, particle size spectrometer, integrating pyranometer, spectral radiometer, frost-point hygrometer, gas chromatograph and IR analyser for CO2.
DIMENSIONS, EXTERNAL:
- Wing span: 35.60 m (116 ft 9½ in)
- Wing aspect ratio: 27.0
- Length overall: 18.65 m (61 ft 2¼ in)
- Height overall: 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
DIMENSIONS, INTERNAL (A: G 600, B: G 600 ER):
- Cabin volume: A: 11.6 m³ (410 cu ft)
- B: 6.2 m³ (220 cu ft)
AREAS:
- Wing, gross: A, B: 47.00 m² (505.9 sq ft)
WEIGHTS AND LOADINGS:
- Basic operating weight, two crew: A: 4,050 kg (8,929 lb)
- B: 4,630 kg (10,207 lb)
- Max fuel: A: 2,900 kg (6,393 lb)
- B: 6,600 kg (14,550 lb)
- Max payload: A: 1,200 kg (2,645 lb)
- B: 800 kg (1,764 lb)
- Max T-O weight: A: 7,750 kg (17,085 lb)
- B: 12,000 kg (26,455 lb)
- Max wing loading: A: 164.9 kg/m² (33.77 lb/sq ft)
- B: 255.3 kg/m² (52.29 lb/sq ft)
- Max power loading: A: 311 kg/kN (3.05 lb/lb st)
- B: 358 kg/kN (3.51 lb/lb st)
PERFORMANCE (at max T-O weight, ISA, except where indicated):
- Cruising speed: A, B: M0.61
- Average Mach No.: A, B: 0.60
- Minimum loiter speed at FL650: M0.55
- Max operating altitude: A: 19,810 m (65,000 ft)
- B: 18,290 m (60,000 ft)
- Time to climb: to FL600: A: 1 h 0 min
- B: 14 h 0 min
- to FL650: A: 10 h 0 min
- Max range: A: 6,209 n miles (11,500 km; 7,145 miles)
- B: 11,339 n miles (21,000 km; 13,048 miles)
- Loiter time at FL650: A: 10 h 0 min
- B: 18 h 30 min
- Endurance: A: 17 h 20 min
- B: 33 h 0 min
The article appears in the following publication:
Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2007-2008. Jane's Information Group Ltd. 2007. ISBN: 0-7106-2792-0
