The EF-111A Raven is a variant of the F-111 Aardvark which is specialized for service as a tactical electronic jamming aircraft.
The EF-111A Raven is known affectionately as the “Fat Tail” and the “Spark Vark.”
The Raven had its beginning in the 1970s when the Grumman Company began modifying 42 F-111A aircraft with the addition of the electronic jamming equipment to create the EF-111A aircraft. The modifications consisted of a 16-foot-long narrow canoe-shaped radome on the underside for the fuselage to house the antennae for the high-powered jamming transmitters and a fin-tip pod on the vertical stabilizer to house the receiving antennae and other equipment, including a processor to detect hostile radar emissions. The electronic jamming equipment weighed approximately 8,000 Ibs. As a result of the modifications, the electronic warfare officer, the right seat crewmember, no longer performed flight-related duties but only monitored the aircraft’s electronic jamming equipment.
In 1984, Grumman/General Dynamics Corporation began building additional modification kits for the EF-111A to enable the aircraft to operate in three roles: standoff jamming, close in jamming and penetration/escort.
EF-111A Raven Performance
Maximum Speed | 1452 mph / 1262 knots |
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Cruising Speed | 509 mph / 442 knots |
Range | 2,482 miles / 2157 nautical miles |
Service Ceiling | 55,400 ft. |
EF-111A Raven Specifications
Country of Origin | USA. |
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Similar Aircraft | F-111, Tornado, Su-24 Fencer, MiG-23/27 Flogger. |
Crew | Two. |
Role | ECM. |
Armament | Usually none. |
Span | Extended - 63.0 ft., Swept - 31.98 ft. |
Length | 76.38 ft. |
Height | 20.00 ft. |
Weight | 87,478 lbs. (max. takeoff) |
Engines | Two Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-109 turbofans; each rated at 20,840 lbs. of thrust each with afterburner. Normal thrust of 10,600 lbs. each. |
EF-111A Raven WEFT Description
Wings | High-mounted, variable, swept-back, and tapered with blunt tips. Wing span changes in flight. |
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Engine(s) | Two turbojets mounted in the rear section. Air intakes are 1/4 pie-shaped under the wings giving the aircraft a rounded appearance from the head-on view. |
Fuselage | Long with a long, pointed nose and a bubble canopy. |
Tail | Swept-back, tapered fin with an electronics pod at the tip. Large tail flats are swept-back, tapered with clipped tips, and high-mounted on the fuselage. |
Countries which Fly the EF-111A Raven
USA.
EF-111A Raven Manufacturers Web Sites
The was originally manufactured by General Dynamics.
General Dynamics sold its fixed-wing military aircraft division to Lockheed-Martin in 1993.