AVIATION FANS

In the beginning of the sixties Egypt started an ambitious project to develop and produce a supersonic fighter with Spanish assistance. Willi Messerschmitt the famous German engineer was responsible for the project, he and his team designed a lightweight supersonic fighter designated as HA-300P. When Spain ended its support to the project the entire Messerschmitt team was moved to Egypt. The Austrian jet engine expert Ferdinand Brandner was invited to develop a new turbojet for the new fighter.

Test facilities and workshops for the new fighter and engine were built at Hulwan airbase southeast of Cairo. The newly built E-300 jet engine ran for the first time in July 1963, While the HA-300 first prototype made its first flight on 7 March 1964. India helped fund development of the E-300 engine in order to acquire a new power plant for its HF-24 Marut jet fighter.

2 Egyptian pilots were sent to India in 1964 and attended the Indian air force test pilot school to prepare for the HA-300 flight development, India also provided a Marut fighter for the E-300 project. After 1967 defeat continues Russian pressure was made to stop the project and due to financial problems and the availability of large amounts of Russian fighters the Egyptian government cancelled the project in 1969 when the third prototype with the E-300 had started taxi test already. The program coasted the Egyptian government more than 135 million Egyptian pounds. And the E-300 engine was used in the Indian HF-24 Marut fighter.

General characteristics

• Type: Single-seat Point-defense interceptor with a limited ground-attack capability.
• Crew: 1
• Length: 12.40 m (40.7 ft).
• Wingspan: 5.84 m (19.16 ft) .
• Height: 3.15 m (10.33 ft).
• Wing area: 16.70 m² (179.75 ft²).
• Empty weight:2,100 kg (4,629 lb)
• Loaded weight: 5,443 kg (12,000 lb).
• Powerplant:
  • 1 x Bristol Orpheus 703 or
  • 1 x  Brandner E-300 turbojet (fitted to the third prototype) .
• Thrust:
  • 21,6 kN (4850 lbs). (with Bristol Orpheus 703 engine).
  • (10540 lbs) (with Brandner E-300 turbojet engine afterburner)
     

Performance

• Maximum speed:  1,146 knots (2,124 km/h) at 12,192 m and 973 Knots (1,802 km/h) with two air-to-air missiles.
• Practical range : 755 nm (870 m, 1400 km).
• Service ceiling: 39,370 ft (12,000 m).
• Initial rate of climb: 203 m/s (4,593 ft/s).

Armament

• Guns:
  • Two 30 mm Hispano or
  •  Four 23 mm Nudelmann-Suranov NS-23 cannon.
•  Missiles: Four infra-red (IR) homing air-to-air missiles.