Gulfstream Photo; The Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) G550
(pictured in the foreground) and the Special Electronic Mission Aircraft
(SEMA) GV special mission aircraft were developed by Gulfstream for the
Israeli Ministry of Defense. They are shown flying over the Georgia
coastline.
Current fleet of Gulfstream G550 CAEW
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'537' s/n 5037 delivered new to Israeli Air Force 2006
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'017' s/n 5044 delivered to Israeli Air Force May 2007 to Singapore Air Force Feb 2009
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'018' s/n 5132 delivered to Israeli Air Force Dec 2007 to Singapore Air Force Aug 2010
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'019' s/n 5143 delivered to Israeli Air Force Jan 2009 for Singapore Air Force .
From Gulfstream;
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. yesterday delivered its first Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) special-mission aircraft to the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD). In 2003, the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550 aircraft was chosen as the platform for IMOD’s Airborne Early Warning surveillance system because of the aircraft’s overall performance, safety, reliability and low operating cost.
"The G550’s exceptionally long range enables it to remain on station for extended periods – a critical requirement for military surveillance missions," said Pres Henne, senior vice president, programs, engineering and test, Gulfstream. "Also, compared to earlier surveillance aircraft, the G550 offers considerably greater operating efficiencies, yielding exceptional capabilities at much lower total cost."
Following the aircraft’s delivery to IMOD in Tel Aviv, Israel , ELTA Systems will provide and install state-of-the-art electronic equipment. ELTA Systems Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
The CAEW aircraft features the most extensive modifications on a Gulfstream aircraft to date and like the Gulfstream V (GV) Special Electronic Mission Aircraft (SEMA) – the first of which Gulfstream delivered to IMOD last year – the modifications to the CAEW G550 platform were developed entirely by Gulfstream engineers. Using state-of-the-art design tools, including a full Computer Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA) electronic mockup and computational fluid dynamics to ensure high efficiency and low drag, the CAEW platform is equal in capability to aircrafts that weigh twice as much.
During development of the CAEW platform, Gulfstream originated significant increases in the baseline aircraft capability, all of which will be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of this year. To accommodate the weight of ELTA’s mission-essential equipment, Gulfstream increased the G550’s maximum zero fuel weight using a Mid-Wing Fuel Ejector that pumps fuel from the inboard side of the wing and redistributes it to the outboard fuel cells, resulting in reduced wing loads at the fuselage. This modification is available to current in-service GV, G500 and G550 business-jet operators who require additional payload capacity.
To power the extensive electronics, Gulfstream installed two additional generators – one to each of the two G550 Rolls-Royce BR710 engines. As a result, the CAEW now delivers three times the electrical power of a standard G550 business jet. To compliment the electrical power increase, Gulfstream developed a low-drag liquid cooling system that provides the optimum environment for the onboard electronic equipment. Additionally, a mission control room and a number of on-board mission operator stations were designed by Gulfstream.
"For all practical purposes, we’ve provided ELTA a ‘plug-and-play’ special mission platform," Henne added.
BEDEK Aviation Group, also a division of IAI, is providing maintenance and integrated logistic support for both CAEW and SEMA aircraft.
Thanks Rob "Biz Jets"!!!!
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