The EADS Mako/High Energy Advanced Trainer (Mako/HEAT) was a high-performance
jet trainer
A jet trainer is a jet aircraft for use as a trainer, whether for basic or advanced flight training. Jet trainers are either custom designs or modifications of existing aircraft. With the introduction of military jet-powered aircraft towards the e ...
or light attack aircraft intended for service with several
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an
air force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
s.
EADS proposed the Mako for the Eurotrainer program. The program was the final result of the AT-2000 project.
Design and development
The Mako design featured a single aft-mounted jet engine, fed by two air
intake ramp
An intake ramp is a rectangular, plate-like device within the air intake of a jet engine, designed to generate a number of shock waves to aid the inlet compression process at supersonic speeds. The ramp sits at an acute angle to deflect the intake ...
s at the roots of the mid-fuselage-wing. It features a
trapezoidal wing with a sharp taper. The
horizontal tail was an all-flying unit mounted close behind the wing and at nearly the same height. The retractable landing gear was a tricycle unit. The two occupants shared a highly streamlined
bubble canopy
A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility.
The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...
.
Subcontractors would have included
Diehl Aerospace
Diehl Aerospace GmbH is an interiors and avionics specialist. Headquartered in Überlingen, Germany, the company is organised as a joint venture between the German Diehl Group and the French Thales Group.
Diehl Aerospace was founded in 2006 v ...
,
Aermacchi
Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Ita ...
(now
Leonardo
Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard
Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname.
The given name and surname originate ...
),
Saab,
EAB and
Dassault Aviation.
The Mako shows remarkable
stealth aircraft features, partially due to faceting and partially due to composite materials, using some results from the
MBB Lampyridae stealth program.
The intended engine was the
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
F414M, which is a slightly derated version (at 75
kN) of the standard F414.
The Mako/HEAT was to be deployed at three shared bases around the continent of Europe, for use by all partner nations. There were nine candidate bases in seven countries, but no final selection was made. The
Aermacchi M-346 trainer, also being proposed for Eurotrainer, made its maiden flight on 15 July 2004; , EADS had yet to announce a date for the Mako's maiden flight, and the project appeared to be defunct.
The Mako/HEAT bid for the 1998
South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
, colours =
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, march =
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, equipment ...
strategic procurement project, but lost to the
BAE Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...
and
Saab Gripen
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (; English: ''griffin'') is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stabilit ...
.
Specifications
See also
References
External links
UAE chooses M-346 as advanced lead-in fighter trainerItaly Orders M346 Jet Trainers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eads Mako Heat
Cancelled military aircraft projects
Airbus Defence and Space aircraft
2000s international military trainer aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Delta-wing aircraft
Stealth aircraft