# Does anyone remember...



## Graeme (Sep 26, 2007)

...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design somewhere around 1977. The project persisted for something like ten years. Obviously never built/flown, but I have no idea the reason for it's ultimate demise.


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## Graeme (Sep 26, 2007)

...a single-seat, advanced-technology, low cost, STOL fighter/attack design from NEW ZEALAND called the ADDAX-1, from around 1983.


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## SoD Stitch (Sep 26, 2007)

Graeme said:


> ...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design somewhere around 1977. The project persisted for something like ten years. Obviously never built/flown, but I have no idea the reason for it's ultimate demise.



I vaguely remember reading something about this; looks like many features of the Piranha were incoporated into Sweden's Gripen. I wonder how many engineers were involved in both projects? Interesting . . .

As for it's ultimate demise, it was probably the same reason so many other projects never reach fruituion: money. Why develop your own fighter, when you can spend half (?) as much money and buy one off-the-shelf from another country?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Sep 26, 2007)

Graeme said:


> ...a Swiss project called the ALR Piranha, a lightweight 'affordable' supersonic combat aircraft. Swiss 'scientists' started work on the design somewhere around 1977. The project persisted for something like ten years. Obviously never built/flown, but I have no idea the reason for it's ultimate demise.



I can tell you why it did not.

By the time this thing really started to get going, they bought the F/A-18 Hornet.


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## Matt308 (Sep 26, 2007)

And interest rates were almost 20%


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## Matt308 (Sep 26, 2007)

SoD Stitch said:


> I vaguely remember reading something about this; looks like many features of the Piranha were incoporated into Sweden's Gripen.
> 
> 
> > ...and that's the right answer.


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## Graeme (Sep 26, 2007)

SoD Stitch said:


> Why develop your own fighter, when you can spend half (?) as much money and buy one off-the-shelf from another country?



Interestingly the Swiss had produced an earlier 'fighter/ground attack' aircraft-the P-16. However it never went into production. So they did have experience. Less money than Sweden?


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## Graeme (Jan 9, 2008)

Came across a November 1992 edition of Air International. According to the author the project depended financially on successfully negotiating licensed production of the Piranha with _"Middle East countries."_ Negotiations broke down and the project became too expensive for the Swiss to fund by themselves.

Interestingly a _"major United States aircraft manufacturer"_ provided an _"impartial assessment"_ on the project and concluded (in a report dated 1982) that its _"performance in terms of sustained turn rate, rate of climb and acceleration will match the capability of the F-16A and exceed that of the F-5G/-20."_


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## Matt308 (Jan 9, 2008)

That I can believe. Look at the size of that thing! It likely weighed about 5000kg and had a HUGE thrust-to-weight ratio.


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Jan 14, 2008)

I wonder how strong it was? Was it a blower upper, like the Zero?


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## HealzDevo (May 1, 2008)

It looks like it belongs in a Sci-Fi Movie, Book or Picture the ALR Pirana and even the name sounds Sci-Fi planeish. But then perhaps that is just me...


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## Matt308 (May 2, 2008)

Yeah. Just you...


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## pbfoot (May 2, 2008)

Graeme said:


> Interestingly the Swiss had produced an earlier 'fighter/ground attack' aircraft-the P-16. However it never went into production. So they did have experience. Less money than Sweden?


That thing ended up as the first Lear Jet or at least the wings


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